5-Day Self-Care Trip to Seoul, South Korea

After arriving in the South Korean capital, you can take the Airport Railroad Express (AREX) train from Incheon International Airport to Seoul Station, which will take around 45mins. After checking into your hotel and getting settled (or even if it’s too early to check into your hotel), take this time to relax after the long flight and do something nice for your body by heading to a Korean Jjimjilbang (sauna and bathhouse). Sparex, located in Dongdaemun, is currently the largest sauna facility in Seoul.

After checking into the sauna and bathhouse, you’ll be given a key to your locker, towels and a t-shirt and shorts to wear around the bathhouse. Make sure to take a shower before entering the baths. You have the option to soak in warm pools, and do a cold plunge, or relax in one of their temperature-specific rooms (i.e. high-heat sauna, low-heat sauna, an ice room to help you cool down after the heated saunas, salt room to help with respiratory issues, crystal rooms with healing properties, etc). Attempting to shape one of the towels given to you into the infamous Korean towel hat is also a whole experience on its own. Have some local Korean dishes inside the bathhouse at the restaurant (make sure to try eggs cooked on the heated stones, and the Korean rice punch!), or you can even opt for a full-body scrub. I could spend hours relaxing at a jjimjilbang!

Not too far from Sparex is the Gwangjang Market, which is full of stalls selling traditional Korean food, as well as clothes and souvenirs.

After relaxing, head over to the Hongdae area, where more self-care will be done! Let’s start the trip right with a personal color analysis at Color Society. Here, a specialist will do a personalized analysis of colors that will make you shine. This will be very useful for all the shopping you will probably end up doing! They’ll also provide other recommendations, such as foundation tone, lipstick and even what type of metal suits you best for jewelry.

Once you have all your recommendations on hand, you’ll be ready to wander around the very hip Hongdae neighborhood and check out all the boutique shops, and maybe even one of the many photobooths they have available! Make sure to have some Korean barbecue at one of the many restaurants around Hongdae for dinner (you can’t go wrong). If you still have enough energy left over, end the night with a karaoke session! Hongdae has a ton of spots where you can enjoy karaoke, but the most fun ones are similar to Su Noraebang, where rooms have windows that face the street. You can go all-out on your rendition of I Wanna Dance With Somebody, performing for all the onlookers!

After having coffee and pastries at a unique place like Boeing, which is an airplane-themed cafe, head over to Gyeongbokgung Palace. But before going inside, head a block over, where you can rent traditional Korean outfits, hanbok, at one of the many rental shops. You have the option of adding on hair and makeup, and getting a photographer as well. With the hanbok, entrance to the Palace is free. Plan to be at the palace at 10 am or 2 pm to watch the changing of the guard ceremony. The palace is beautiful, and has plenty of photo-op spots!

Once you’ve explored the palace, get ready for the viral 15-Step Scalp Treatment at Parkjun Beauty Lab — they have two locations, in Gangnam or Myeongdong. Don’t forget to make reservations beforehand. You may have seen this on social media, where they start with a microscopic evaluation of your scalp to show you dandruff and follicle inflammation up close, and after all the steps, which include multiple massages, a waterfall wash, some light therapy and acupressure, you get to look at your scalp through the microscope again and see how effective everything was! If you like, you can also add on a haircut, or even a digital perm if you’re feeling adventurous.

While you’re in Myeongdong, one of the busiest shopping districts, you can wander through the many stores and beauty shops, grabbing some snacks from street vendors in between. Don’t forget to check out HBAF, which has the most delicious flavored almonds you can also take home as gifts for your friends, and of course, the very popular Olive Young. Once you’ve built up an appetite after all that walking, grab dinner at Myeongdong Kyoja, a Michelin Guide restaurant known for its tasty kimchi, dumplings and soup.

After all the walking and shopping from the last couple days, start Day three with a slower morning by walking around Seoul Forest Park. In the spring, you can enjoy the beautiful cherry blossoms all around, as well as a ton of tulips! Summer has peonies and poppies in bloom, and in the fall, the gingko tree forest has picture-perfect autumn foliage. You can walk around, or rent bikes to explore the different areas of this park. The Seoul Forest Cafe Street is lined with murals, cafes and shops you can visit while you’re in the area.

In the afternoon, head over to Bukchon Hanok Village, where you can wander around and see traditional Korean houses (hanok), and then head over to Insadong for lunch. Insadong also has traditional Korean tea houses and pottery shops. Here, you can enjoy a calming Korean tea ceremony and spend the day relaxing and, of course, more shopping.

For dinner, head over to Kyochon Pilbang, a cute speakeasy-style chicken restaurant with a hidden entrance. After the fried chicken and fun drinks, if you’re up to exploring the nightlife, the popular Itaewan is not too far away, with a whole street of fun bars you can check out.

By this time, you will have probably shopped enough for a whole new wardrobe. Put on your best makeup and outfit for a fun photoshoot! Siyunhada has professional photographers that will put together a fun shoot, with physical copies to take home afterwards! They have locations in Gangnam and Hongdae. I would choose the Gangnam location, because after the photoshoot, it’s time for more self-care with a trip to a skincare clinic!

With Korean skincare routines being the gold standard for attaining the coveted “glass skin”, skin health has become deeply ingrained in Korean culture. It is no surprise that South Korea is basically the mecca for skincare (Olive Young), skincare treatments and clinics. There are an abundance of skincare clinics in South Korea, specifically in the Gangnam area, but my personal favorite is Fine Clinic. Unlike some of the other clinics, where you have to go to and from one treatment room to another for your treatments, Fine Clinic is one where you stay in one room, and the professionals come to you for your treatments. Here, you can consult with a doctor and they’ll make recommendations based on what your primary skincare concerns are. From botox to microneedling, laser treatments and PRP, clinics usually offer cutting-edge technology for all of your skincare needs.

After your treatment, spend the rest of the evening exploring the iconic Han River. To make it even more of a local experience, pick up some instant ramen at one of the many convenience stores located in the parks (CU, GS25 or 7-Eleven). Cook your ramen so you can set up a little picnic while enjoying the view.

Your last day in Seoul is an opportunity to go back and revisit one of the areas you really enjoyed. Hongdae, Myeongdong, Insadong, Gangnam — you can choose last-minute shopping or food adventures, before heading back to the airport and getting started on planning your next trip back.