On our final full day in Seoul we decided to keep with a theme and join one final walking tour starting from Gwangtonggwan. Our guide was Jongmyeong, a local student who was keen to introduce us to the Seoul he knows and loves.

Our first stop was at the City Hall, where almost daily there are either protests or events…today they were preparing an outdoor library for the start of the weekend. As it’s been a glorious sunny day, it sounded just the way to start the weekend along with a beer in hand.

Jongmyeong explained that Friday is a big night for the young, who think nothing of hitting the bars for beer, makgeolli and Soju (rice liquor akin to Vodka), the latter is the nation’s favourite and which accounts for 97% of the spirits drunk in Korea!

From there we wandered up Sejong Daero the main thoroughfare in the city and where the majority of the theatres, arts and culture are situated.

Sejong Centre is the largest arts and cultural complex in Seoul. Its claim to fame is that it is home to the biggest pipe organs in Asia!

We got a history lesson on the various warrior kings in statue form, notably Sejong the Great, the fourth king of the Joseon dynasty, who personally created Hangul (the Korean alphabet) in 1443.

As we idled our way to the Gyeongbokgung Palace we walked past another outdoor library, a thing we’d never heard or seen of until we arrived in Seoul a week ago.

Back at the Gyeongbokgung Palace, we managed to grab a few last photos of this amazing place, aided by the clear blue skies that were helping to make this a perfect last day in Korea.

Keeping with a narrative around life in Seoul as a local, we headed to a store where you can get your own stamp created. This is a key part of Korean life and every family has one that they use when making a purchase or demonstrating ownership.

Before we knew it the 3hr tour had finished and we said our goodbyes to the group and headed up to Bukchon Hanok Village to have a proper look around the traditional houses first occupied by the wealthy palace courtiers, traders and businessmen.

On the way we stopped for some street food and Andy bought himself a Gyeran ppang, essentially eggy bread which proved scrumptious.

Up at the Bukchon Village, we were under surveillance from the guarding patrons in yellow reminding us to be quiet as this was an area that people still live and work in. Must admit we aren’t sure if we’d be happy for people to march up to our doors and get photos on our steps and hang around the windows!

After taking a break at one of the local tea houses and then a great little bakery for another sweet dessert, we decided to take a look at the famous Namdaemun Market where the locals go to shop and eat.

On the way we passed a school choir practicing for a weekend event and we watched in awe at the children’s singing and courteous expressions when we clapped as they finished.

Once at the market, we realised the scale of the place and how many stalls there were and how much cheaper it was than the Myeongdong night market, which is clearly aimed at tourists and their willingness to pay more.

There was a great array of foods on offer, hot & cold, sweet and savoury as well as every dried herb and vegetable you can think of.

This evening we went for a Korean BBQ and experienced the full range of alcoholic local drinks with both Soju and a Terra beer, before hitting the pork loin on the bbq along with mushrooms, garlic, peppers and onions.

The experience of cooking our own food bbq style was helped by the intervention of one of the waiters who could see we were a little inexperienced at this cooking game. Well we haven’t had the opportunity in the last 12months with all this travelling.

The meat once cooked was excellent, helped by numerous dips and seasonings including wasabi and chilli, that we had to choose from.

Once we had finished the meat and kimchi, Andy was able to help reduce the remaining soju, although we couldn’t finish the whole bottle and ended up gifting it to a group of young Korean men on the next table.

In the end the meal for two with a beer and soju was very filling, not bad for c. £16 all in.

Before heading back at the end of the evening, we went for a walk around Gwangtonggwan to see an ever increasing number of office workers descending on the various restaurants and bars. This is just the beginning for many, with many hardcore drinkers carrying on well into the night with many of the bars & restaurants open until 6am. This is roughly the time we will be up and in a cab on our way to the airport…!!

We’ve had a fun time in Seoul and have really enjoyed our Korean experience. The people and the city have been so very welcoming and we will definitely return in order to see more of the country. Until then the memories we have made here will help to encourage us to revisit.