Yes, South Korea is one of the easiest countries in Asia to backpack on your own, thanks to safe streets, punctual transport and signage in English almost everywhere that matters.
Buy a T-money card on arrival to tap through subways and buses nationwide, and download Naver Map or KakaoMap, since Google Maps gives poor walking and transit directions here. Hostel dorms in
Seoul and
Busan run about ₩20,000 to 35,000 (US$15 to 25) a night, and a backpacker budget of ₩63,000 to 105,000 (US$45 to 75) a day covers beds, food and transport. Outside the big cities, menus are often Korean only, so a translation app helps.
Ten to fourteen days is the right amount of time for a first trip to South Korea, long enough for the capital, the southeast and Jeju without rushing.
Plan 3 to 4 days in
Seoul, including a day trip to the DMZ, 2 days in
Gyeongju, 2 to 3 days in
Busan and 3 days on
Jeju. With one week, stay around Seoul or pair it with Busan, which is 2.5 hours away by KTX. Three weeks lets you add Seoraksan and Sokcho on the east coast, Andong’s Hahoe village and the south coast towns of Tongyeong and Suncheon.
Yes, you can travel all of mainland South Korea without a car, because trains and buses reach nearly every town and national park.
The KTX connects
Seoul to
Busan in about 2.5 hours for roughly ₩59,800 (US$43), while express buses cover the same route in 4 to 4.5 hours for ₩25,000 to 45,000 (US$18 to 33). Seoul to
Sokcho is about 2.5 hours by bus. Domestic flights to
Jeju take around an hour and often cost ₩40,000 to 90,000 (US$30 to 65). Jeju is the one place where a rental car saves real time, since island buses are cheap but slow.
The must-visits in South Korea are Seoul, Busan, Gyeongju and Jeju, with Seoraksan National Park as the top mountain trip.
In
Seoul, give a day to Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung palaces and another to the DMZ.
Gyeongju, 2 hours from Seoul by KTX, needs 2 days for Bulguksa, Seokguram and the royal tombs.
Busan pairs beaches like Haeundae with Gamcheon Culture Village and the seaside Haedong Yonggungsa temple. On
Jeju, climb Seongsan Ilchulbong and, with a permit, Hallasan, the country’s highest peak at 1,947 meters.
Seoraksan is 2.5 hours from Seoul by bus.
If you are short on time in South Korea, skip the theme parks and the second-tier city sights and spend those days on palaces, Gyeongju or Jeju instead.
Lotte World and
Everland each swallow a full day and cost around ₩60,000 to 70,000 (US$45 to 50) for rides you can find elsewhere.
Namsangol Hanok Village is a small reconstruction once you have seen Bukchon or Jeonju.
Incheon is worth little beyond the airport and Chinatown, and
Daegu or
Ulsan can wait for a second trip. In Seoul, the Dongdaemun Design Plaza works as a quick evening stop rather than a planned half day.
Yes, our itinerary-planner does exactly that. Set your trip length in days, give your interests and travel style, optionally give start- and end location and/or some mandatory stops you would like to include and the itinerary planner creates your personalized routes for South Korea in seconds. Try it out!
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