Aficionados of historical architecture will appreciate the setting of the Namsangol Hanok Village, where a number of relic structures from the Joseon era have been gathered together and lovingly restored. An ever-shifting collection of reenactors and artisans gather here on the weekend to cook traditional dishes, weave fabric, brew rice wine, practice calligraphy and build colorful traditional kites. The village hosts a vibrant gathering during the local harvest festival, when hundreds of participants gather for a food-centric festival resplendent in ancient costumes, elaborately choreographed performances and Korean music.
As much of a hiking area and picnic destination as it is a zoo, the shaded hillsides of Seoul Grand Park host hundreds of visitors from near and far on good-weather weekends. Once visitors ride the chairlift to the entrance gate, they're able to spend the day gazing at an exhaustive list of animal residents, including an African area, immense aviary, dolphin show and humorous chimpanzee act.
Shoppers flock to the Seoul Folk Flea Market to browse an encyclopedic collection of typical Korean goods, cut-price everyday items, antiques, secondhand rummage items, souvenir knickknacks, novelties and handmade traditional wares. The collection of food stalls allows visitors to resupply and easily spend a full day browsing the immense inventory of the two-story complex. Expect a loudly entertaining lunch break, as the market almost always throbs with live traditional music by the resident "pungmul band."
Korean freedom fighters opposed Japan's rule of their country from the entire period of their occupation from 1910 until 1945. One of the most poignant relics of this fight for independence is Seoul's Seodaemun Prison, a harrowing collection of free-to-the-public exhibitions arranged within the original cellblocks and illustrating the prison's chilling conditions, not all of which offer English translation. The torture chamber maintains its original equipment and features a couple of nightmarish audience participation reenactment exhibits.
After dark, Seoul organizes itself into crowd-specific nightlife districts. The hippest one, Garosu-gil, thrums with charming cafes, highbrow boutiques and hipster bars. A younger crowd heads to neon-splashed Hongdae for a carnivalesque atmosphere shot through with open-stage rock acts and trawling circus performers as a rock band plays nearby. Sophisticates go to Gangnam-gu for expensively dressed scenesters filling slickly modern spaces.
