15 best Instagram spots in Seoul

Seoul had been on my list to visit for a couple of years after I kept seeing photos and hearing of people that had visited and loved their time there! I managed to find some lovely cheap connecting flights from Australia to the UK via Seoul and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to explore and break the long journey up. With six days in South Korea, I spent three of these exploring the capital. I was surprised by how fun, friendly and historic the city was and have been recommending a trip to all the friends and family I’ve seen since I returned. Seoul is a bustling place where historic temples sit next to modern shopping malls and royal palaces rub up against charming Hanok villages. The cafe scene is epic and there are art galleries everywhere. All of this means it’s a fab place to take your camera and capture some beautiful shots for your IG grid (and the holiday album!). Read on to find the 15 best Insta spots in Seoul 🇰🇷

Top Tip – Booking Activities & Tours

My favourite app for booking tours, adventures and plenty of fun is Get Your Guide. There are so many epic memories that you can choose to make from food tours to entry tickets, laidback wine tasting to adrenaline filled adventures. Make sure you use my discount code CATTHOMSON5 for 5% off your first booking when you download the app as a new user 👇

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1. Bukchon Hanok Village

The absolute most iconic and postcard perfect Insta spot in Seoul is the Bukchon Hanok Village. This lovely area is a residential corner filled with gorgeous traditional homes. What is absolutely non negotiable in this area is respect for the residents. These are people’s homes so it’s important to be respectful. The best view is to head up the hill and take a photo looking down a street with a view to Seoul in the background and the recognisable shape of Seoul Tower on the skyline.

2. Starfield Library

Over in the COEX Mall is a beautiful library which should be on your list to visit for photos. This is the Starfield Library and it’s a stunner! Absolutely not practical, I’m not sure if it’s possible to borrow those books or not and it’s certainly far too noisy to do study so really this library is more like an art installation. A great capture is towards one of the escalators. If you’re with someone then get the iconic shot riding down the escalator. I arrived for what I thought was opening time (based on Google Maps) and it was already busy so that information can’t be correct – I’m not sure of the actual opening time!

3. Cafe Onion Anguk

Seoul is chock a block full of gorgeous cafes for brunch, coffee, cake etc (check out my post 10 cafes to visit in Seoul for more inspo) but the most Instagrammable has got to be Cafe Onion Anguk. It’s located very close to Bukchon Hanok Village and you’re well worth setting your alarm to get here at opening time. If you’re there at opening time you can hopefully snag a photo of the onion sign and the charming, traditional seating area without lots of people making the shot busy. A very kind American guy offered to take a photo for me and it turned out one of my faves from my trip! The pastries and coffee are also super yummy and very ‘grammable, particularly their Pandoro cake with its icing topped peak!

Top Tip – Data Roaming
If you’re visiting Seoul from overseas then getting online with an eSIM from Holafly is such a game changer. No swapping SIMs. No complicated data roaming. Lots of choice. If your phone is compatible, just download the eSIM and get going!

Holafly

4. Gyeongbokgung Palace

Gyeongbokgung Palace was built in 1395 for the Joseon dynasty and is the most northerly palace in Seoul. This means that there are some beautiful views of the mountains in the background as you explore the castle complex. Gyeongbokgung is (IMO) the most beautiful of the palaces and it is also the largest so it offers plenty of gorgeous corners for you to capture. Whether that’s in the details, as a backdrop or to capture a posed shot.

You can rent a hanbok which allows free entry into the palaces and is a super popular way to experience a little of South Korean culture and to take some beautiful photos. I was by myself so didn’t opt for this option but of course you can hire one even if you’re a solo traveler!

5. Gangnam Hands

If you remember 2012 then you most likely remember Gangnam Style taking over the charts and the hits radio stations. Whether it was on your most played or it’s one of your least favourite songs, Gangnam Style was a sensation and was the first video to hit one billion views on YouTube, making it hugely influential. As a dedication to the song and to PSY, there is a giant pair of bronze hands outside the COEX mall fashioned into the position from the song’s iconic dance. Take a snap beneath the hands and replicate the dance move!

6. Changdeokgung Palace

The second palace that I’ve added to this list is Changdeokgung Palace. This palace complex was built in the 15th century, this time as a secondary palace to Gyeongbokgung Palace above. Much like Gyeongbokgung Palace, there are some extraordinary details and wonderful colour schemes to capture.

7. Changdeokgung Secret Garden

An additional area of Changdeokgung Palace is its Secret Garden. It’s listed separately because you need a different ticket to enter the Garden. You can only visit on a guided tour and there are a limited number of tours and a limited number of places on each tour to be able to visit. Some tickets are available online in advance, otherwise you’ll need to queue to buy a ticket on the day; the earlier the better to get the tour that you want!

8. DDP

Seoul is very much a city of two stories. On the one hand there are so many historic areas and palaces whilst on the other it is a city of design and technology. This future facing side of the city is best represented in the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) which has a neofuturistic design with some mind bending architecture and construction. This makes it an epic place for Instagram shots, especially if your grid has a more modern outlook and it provides an incredible background for fashion, music or dance shots.

9. Arc n Book

The second book related Insta spot on this list is Arc n Book in the Lotte Tower Mall. This is a gorgeous book and gift shop (I could have walked away with so many trinkets, candles and gifts) which is very aesthetically pleasing. One design element is the arcs that form a walkway down the aisles and this makes a beautiful photograph.

10. Leeum Museum of Art

Seoul has plenty of art galleries to keep you busy but one which doubles as art for your Insta is Leeum. There is a permanent exhibition which is free to enjoy although it does have temporary paid exhibits depending on what you might be interested in. There are two sections which are particularly photographic. One is the stairs in the free exhibition space which spiral around a column which lets rainbows of light in through the slits and the other is the exit hall from the permanent space which has lights and mirrors to create some fun shots.

11. City Walls

The Seoul City Wall is an excellent way to enjoy some time in the city and to capture some great views along the way. The walls once marched over 18km around a central section of Seoul so it would be tough to try and walk the whole route! A couple of sections are pretty epic so try x y z if you’re short on time or just don’t want to commit to a considerable amount walk.

12. Greenmile Coffee

I’ve added Greenmile Coffee to this list because its rooftop terrace is a great place to capture some IG shots. Greenmile is located in a historic area of Seoul and very close to Bukchon Hanok Village. The rooftop terrace gives you a charming view onto the surrounding rooftops and you can see the craftsmanship of these up close.

13. Ikseon-dong Hanok Village & Cafes

The Ikseon-dong Hanok Village is far more about cafes, bars and bustle than the Bukchon Hanok Village is so it’s a little more rough and ready but equally a bit easier to photograph. Here, lots of the hanoks have been converted into characterful places to eat and drink and so many of these are Instagrammable. Stroll the streets early before people are up and then come back again to enjoy the noise, the smells and the sounds. Take a look at my post 10 cafes to visit in Seoul for some inspo! And head to Art Monster if you’re a craft beer and pizza fan.

14. Ihwa Mural Village

The Ihwa Mural Village is situated on a hillside that descends from a section of the Seoul Wall. It’s an enjoyable area to walk around and to find as many of the art pieces that have been added to the Ihwa Village. It was once scheduled for demolition but an arts project stepped in to save the area and transform it into an outdoor exhibition of fun murals. See how many you can find. The most Instagrammable is probably the angel wings which you can stand in front of.

15. Bongeunsa Temple

You can find the Bonguensa Temple on the north of the COEX shopping mall. It’s a beautiful Buddhist Temple with gorgeous details to admire. The most Instagrammable part of the temple is the canopy of brightly coloured lanterns that line the walkway up to the temple hall.

Cat x

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Flying Scots Girl

Cat Thomson