Seoul Tower

This week, we decided to make the long awaited trip to the Seoul Tower. This striking structure (236m) sits on top of Mount Namsan (which by itself is 243m) and can be seen from almost anywhere in Seoul, North of the Han river. It is also a pretty amazing structure to watch out for in the nights with the colorful lighting.

Reaching the Seoul Tower

Cable car we had to took to the Seoul Tower. (It was crowded)

• Subway-cable car: The subway line 4 exit at Myeongdong and a 10min walk takes you to the inclined elevator Ormi (free) which leads to the cable car ticketing booth.  
• Namsan Shuttle bus-(in green and clearly marked in English) is available from multiple areas in the city. The No.3 bus goes via Itaewon. This will be the fastest and direct way to get to the Tower from Itaewon. 
• Car: Parking is also available at the cable car ticketing station and at the Namsan Park.
• There is also a trek route to reach the top of the Mount Namsan. 

We took the cable car to reach the top of mount Namsan to reach the base of the Seoul Tower. There is a trekking trail too, to reach the base of the tower. The cable car ride round trip costs 7500won (one way- 6000 won) for adults and 5000won (one way- 3,500won) for kids.

The Ormi inclined elevator leading to the cable car station to Seoul Tower

The cable car ride was just around 5-6mins and we reached the base of the Seoul tower after another flight of stairs.

Haechi is a mythical animal symbolizing Seoul

 The base of the Seoul Tower has events running on the whole day. (and probably at night too) We were able to see some talented South Korean Folk artists (Pungmal) play on their instruments while rotating their heads in such a way as to make synchronous designs with the long-ribboned-fancy-hat. This was really interesting to watch and couldnt help but wonder about the neck-health of these artists!

Folk artists with their instruments and fancy long-ribboned-hat.

The base of the tower also houses the beacons used in the past.

Beacons at the Seoul Tower

The tickets to the fast speed elevator to the top of the Seoul tower can be obtained with various combinations-

• Including food (fancy Korean, French and Italian restaurants - French one is the rotating one, right on the top!)
• With the Teddy bear museum. We took this one. (14,000won for adults, 10,000won for teenagers, 7000won for kids)
• Without any combination, it costs (9,000won, 7,000won and 5,000won respectively)

Seoul Tower

The Teddy bear museum basically shows all things about Korea with Teddy bear characters. The life in villages, the army of the king, the traditional wedding of the king, building of the palace, to the modern day weddings in Korea, the christmas trees in the Seoul Plaza, shopping in Myeongdong and many more. The animated characters was a worthwhile timepass with the kids.

The teddy bear version of the crowning ceremony of the king

We couldnt wait anymore and rushed to the high speed elevator to the top of the Seoul tower. We could hardly feel that we were moving, except for the blocks in the ears. The view from top was good. Should have been amazing to see all this in the night, though. And the tower is open all days and on Fridays and Saturday until 12AM. So, maybe another visit, some other time?

View of Seoul from the Seoul Tower

We checked out all the places written in the brochure (available in English at the Ticketing booth) and also had a bite to eat at the top. Even checked out the restrooms with a view!

Restrooms with a view

We went down the elevator after getting the mandatory magnet of the Seoul tower to add to our collection. And took the not too long but crowded and hot ride down the mount on the cable car.

I was kind of curious to find what the N in the N Seoul Tower stood for- ( The green N is very obvious on the brochures and websites and there is a huge green N logo in front of the Seoul Tower itself) my guesses were Namsan or North (of Han River, but there arent any S(outh)Seoul Tower, hmmm...) But actually, after a bit of googling, i found out N stands for New as in the Tower's New Look!

Seoul is a crowded city anyway. My recommendation is: go visit this place at night, (when you'd be pushed around by hordes of people) but when the view is going to be spectacular and the tower itself lighted colorfully! If you'd rather skip the crowd, like me, the tower opens at 10AM :) And for moms and dads of little kids, there are plenty of food to grab and toilets all along the way!

Check out Buddha's Birthday Bash in Seoul, if you have hots for the city ;)

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