A long, 10 or more -hour layover in Seoul is an excellent opportunity to sneak into the capital of South Korea and dive into the unique culture of one of the world’s most influential cities.
Last updated: November 5, 2026
Should You Visit Seoul during a Long Layover?
Seoul is a beautiful city in its own right. Dominated by skyscrapers, dotted with modern and traditional restaurants, shops of all kinds and sizes, health and wellness clinics, and packed with vehicles and pedestrians, Seoul, however, hasn’t lost its unique authenticity.
Traditional style palaces, pagoda-style temples, and hanoks (traditional Korean houses) stand proudly alongside modern structures, retaining the rightful place allowed to them centuries ago.
You don’t need to visit Bukchon Hanok Village to feast your eyes on traditional buildings. They are spread across Seoul, sitting with quiet dignity amongst towering structures that have only been a part of the city for a few decades.
This mix of the new and the old adds a unique feel to Seoul. You may want to just step out of Seoul-Incheon International Airport during your long layover to experience this unique blend. Later, you can sample traditional Korean food, and, if time permits, step back in time to wander through historic palace grounds where Korean royalty walked centuries ago.
How to Get to Seoul from the Airport during a Long Layover
To get to Seoul Station, hop on an AREX Express. The train departs from terminal 1 and 2 and reaches the city in about 45-50 minutes. It’s the fastest and most cost-efficient way to get to the heart of Seoul during your long layover.
The slower version of the same route is All-Stop train. The train makes stops at all stations along the way.
The option that comes to mind at once and suggests that it can be the fastest and most convenient way fails to be so in Seoul. Taking a taxi is by far the longest way to get to the bustling city from the airport due to heavy traffic.
Once you make it to Seoul Station, use Kakao T, a local ride-hailing app that accepts international cards, to book a taxi for short trips within the city.
READ MORE: What Not to Do in Seoul (Almost Missed Our Connecting Flight)
THINGS TO DO IN SEOUL DURING A 10+ HOUR LAYOVER
1. Explore Gyeongbokgung Palace
We started our layover trip to Seoul in no other place than a former royal palace. Gyeongbokgung Palace is one of the Five Grand Palaces built by the Joseon Dynasty in Seoul. Although devoid of its former residents, the expansive complex still looks like a place where emperors and their families could live.
The place encompasses intricately decorated pavilions with pagoda-style roofs and linked by narrow walkways.
In the rear garden, behind the historic buildings, is located Hyangwonji Pond. In the middle of it sits a small artificial island with the opulent Hyangwonjeong Pavilion. Massive leaves of lotuses cover much of the water near the pond shore, adding a finishing touch to the “royal” setting where visitors often stop to take photos.
In the background, towering mountains guard the palace from a distance and create an eye-pleasing extension to the historic site.
2. Have a Korean Dress-Up Moment
The palace with all its exquisite inner courts and alleys and colorful traditional buildings inspires a “complete immersion” or, simply speaking, a Korean dress-up moment.
TIP: Thousands of visitors make a stop at specialized shops near the royal palace, in Bukchon Hanok Village, and Insadong to rent a hanbok (traditional Korean clothes) before making their way to Gyeongbokgung.
Women dressed in heavy skirts (chima) and jackets (jeogori) and men wearing traditional trousers (baji) and matching jackets look like they belong here. Interestingly, in this disguise, the colors of the skin of a dress-wearer doesn’t matter. White, brown, black, yellow… Between these walls, they look more appropriate than visitors in western clothes.
Due to our limited time during this Seoul layover, we skipped the makeover part of the Gyeongbokgung Palace experience. But trust me, the temptation was hard to resist, at least for me.
Cost: Hanbok prices range. Normally, one attire costs anywhere from 15,000 to 25,000 KRW ($11-$18 USD) for 2-4 hours. The price goes up for specialized attire or a full-day rental. Alternatively, you can purchase a hanbok.
TIP: Gyeongbokgung Palace and other royal palaces don’t charge admission fees if you wear a complete hanbok.
3. Visit Gwanghwamun
While creating the itinerary for our 10-hour layover in Seoul, I came across Gwanghwamun. This public square features the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin and of King Sejong the Great – two of Korea’s most prominent figures – and is infused with centuries of history.
Location: Gwanghwamun is located right in front of Gyeongbokgung Palace.
Although I kept the square on our itinerary, it was that “if we have time, we’ll swing by” destination. We ended up spotting the iconic statues from our taxi on the way to Gyeongbokgung Palace. So, in a way, we ticked the place off our Seoul Layover itinerary.
4. Wander around Bukchon Hanok Village
Even a long, 10-hour layover in Seoul can feel like a time-pressing excursion. The streets are busy. The crowds are endless. One short taxi ride after another and you’re looking at almost an hour in transit just in the city itself. Anticipating this, we decided to group our points of interest and see places that are relatively close to each other.
After the self-guided tour of the royal palace, we headed to Bukchon Hanok Village. A hanok is a traditional Korean house built using natural material such as wood, stone, and mulberry paper (hanji). These structures date back to the Joseon period. Today, only a few hundred hanoks remain in Seoul.
You can find the largest concentration of them in Bukchon Hanok Village. Consequently, the area is one of the most visited places in Seoul where the blend of the old and new is the most apparent and preserved. Many of the traditional hanoks have been transformed into gift shops, restaurants, and tea houses.
Given that your layover allows only for a limited time in Seoul, you may want to start your souvenir and gift shopping right here in Bukchon Hanok Village.
Our Pearls of Wisdom
I learned one thing from the years of our travels. If something catches your eye, whether it’s a beautiful overlook or a traditional Korean doll, don’t talk yourself out of it. Get out of the car and enjoy the view. Or, in the case of Seoul, purchase that doll. The chances of you coming back to the same place or finding the same souvenir are not high. Or you may not feel like shopping later on.
With that said, Dylan and I started our souvenir shopping therapy right here in Bukchon Hanok Village, at almost the first gift shop we came across.
The truth is, it wasn’t convenient to travel with that delicate doll. We couldn’t put it in our luggage because it would get ruined. To make matters worse, it was just the first stop in our Asian adventure. From Seoul, we traveled to Kuala Lumpur then Kathmandu before making the return journey in reserve – all while carrying that Korean doll in a gift bag through every airport and city.
We had the second, shorter layover in South Korea (we visited the city of Incheon this time) more than a week later. However, we’d never felt compelled to do any shopping in the country after our trip to Bukchon Hanok Village. In the end, that doll turned out to be such a lovely and memorable souvenir.
Alternatively, you can wait until you get to Samcheong-dong Street, a street of different shops located near Bukchon Hanok Village, before going on a shopping spree.
5. Eat and Shop at Insadong
If you haven’t found a special gift or souvenir yet, are looking forward to a Korean traditional cold noodle soup, or want to grab a cup of distinctive Korean tea, jump in a taxi, on a bus, or walk (it’s about a 15-minute walk from Bukchon Hanok Village) and head to Insadong.
Insadong is a historic neighborhood in the heart of the city. The place is known for its traditional arts and crafts and tea houses. The center of attraction is Insadong-gil, a 700-meter pedestrian-friendly open walkway lined up with bountiful traditional Korean art galleries, shops, tea houses, and calligraphy supply stores. It’s also home to Ssamzigil, a unique multi-story open-air shopping complex.
In my one-page itinerary that I always print out and take out of my purse as needed, I typed “souvenir shopping” next to “Insadong”. Clearly, I wasn’t wrong. You can come to this part of Seoul just to shop for unique gifts and souvenirs – you’ll be spoiled for choice.
With a bag full of souvenirs we had got earlier at Bukchon Hanok Village, we just enjoyed the architecture, sites, and landmarks, and later navigated the busy streets for the most accessible taxi pick-up.
Insadong was everything I imagined South Korea’s largest city would look like: a lovely mix of traditional Asian charm with a touch of Western influence. I would love to have more time to wander through this bustling area of Seoul.
6. Admire Namsan Seoul Tower
Just like with the Gwanghwamun square, we didn’t step inside the iconic Namsan Seoul Tower. First, the iconic tower was a bit out of the way from the places we planned to see in Seoul during this layover. Second, as first-time visitors, we focused on the parts of the city where the traditional Korean customs and architecture were most intact and where the blend of the old and new created a distinctive feel about Seoul.
Yet, we did feast our eyes on the signature tower not once, but several times, from a distance. And so will you.
Let your eyes scan the buildings and streets near and far as you ride in a taxi to your next destination. Dwarfing many other structures, the Namsan Seoul Tower comes into view often.
How to Visit: Set aside approximately 2 hours (plus additional 40-60 minutes for transit) if you want to visit the site. Take a taxi at Seoul Central. It takes approximately 30-40 minutes to get to the tower. Once at the site, ride a cable car, take a public shuttle bus, or walk all the way up Namsan Mountain.
Is It Worth It: Those who’ve been here claim that the trip to the N Seoul Tower is worth it for the stunning city views from the observatory deck and the mountain itself.
7. East Traditional Korean Cold Noodles
We had an unforeseen issue on our way back to Incheon International Airport at the end of our layover trip to Seoul, which granted us an additional 40 minutes in the city. The natural thing to do after a busy day of exploring was to eat some traditional Korean noodle soup.
Daom Vegetarian Noodle Restaurant was an easy choice. It sits right across the street from Seoul Station and offers vegan and vegetarian dishes.
The place didn’t look anything fancy, but it served hearty noodles and their portions were big, perfect for hungry travelers with big appetites.
I accidentally ordered Dylan kimchi noodles, which were quite spicy for him. Once we realized this mistake, we switched the plates: Dylan got my vegetable noodles and I finished his buckwheat noodles with traditional Korean flavor. Both of us agreed that the less spicy version of the noodles suited our taste buds better.
Our only regret was that the noodles were cold. Cold buckwheat noodles is a traditional Korean dish that goes back to the Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392). At that time, the technique was necessary to preserve the food and taste. Nowadays, the tradition remains as a way to cool down during hot and humid summers.
Hot or cold, the noodle dishes were delicious. We highly recommend the restaurant as a quick and affordable dining option during a layover in Seoul.
Alternative Itinerary for a 10-Hour Layover in Seoul
Years ago when we started traveling as a family with a baby, I tried to include as many places in our itineraries as it was probably beyond possible. Ticking off the boxes was more of a security measure in case we wouldn’t be able to revisit that same destination. Well, we’ve traveled to some places several times over the years. The truth is we discover something new every single time.
In Seoul, having had a 10-hour layover, which is still rather short considering the size of the city, our itinerary wasn’t long to begin with. And yet, we skipped some places along the way.
The years of travel have taught us a valuable lesson: measure the moments in quality experiences not the quantity of places.
If you, however, have more time or travel faster than us, here are a few more iconic places you may want to add to your Seoul Layover itinerary.
Gwangjang Market
This vibrant and extremely busy street food alley is one of the iconic landmarks of Seoul. It’s also known as South Korea’s first permanent daily market and offers tons of traditional street foods such as bindaetteok (mung bean pancakes), mayak gimbap (tiny seaweed rice rolls, kalguksu (hand-cut noodles), and many, many more.
Myeongdong
If you are someone who likes to try new beauty and skincare products, Myeongdong is a place you can’t miss. Seoul’s popular shopping district is located in Jung District and has everything one can only imagine: K-beauty and skincare stores, lifestyle shops, pop-up retailers, and street food. On top of that, the district features several cultural landmarks such as Myeong-dong Cathedral and the Bank of Korea Money Museum.
Gangnam
Are you familiar with the song “Gangnam Style”? The Gangnam district, which inspired PSY to write and produce the track, is exactly like what you see in the video: flashy, extremely wealthy, and dotted with modern skyscrapers and high-end shops.
The Starfield Library
This place would be at the top of my 10-hour Seoul Layover itinerary if I were traveling by myself or just with Dylan. Roshan isn’t thrilled about visiting a library when time is so limited. The Starfield Library is massive and beautiful. It’s located right in the Gangnam District. Today, it attracts book lovers and influencers alike, and its stunning design has been featured all over Instagram.
READ MORE: Inside the 7 World’s Most Remarkable Libraries
