I really enjoyed South Korea possibly more than I thought, and I really enjoyed the DMZ tour to the North Korean border.
Arriving into South Korea we took an airport bus, which was very simple and easy. You find your way to the bus ticket booth and they tell you which bus and gate to go to. We got the 6011 to Ibis Ambassador Isadong, it has a great location and the gym was quite good as well.
We visited the famous sights and on the last Wednesday of every month, it is Cultural Day where all the palaces/museums are free to enter.
We went to Gyeongbokgung Palace (also the Folk museum is inside), Changdeokgung Palace (and secret garden which is beautiful), Deoksugung Palace and Gyeonghuigung Palace. Nearby is the famous Bukchon Hanok village and Jongmyo Shrine.
We went shopping for vegan beauty products in Myeongdong, we picked up Innisfree, Heimish and Cosrx products including of course face masks. Nearby is the Cheonggyecheon Stream. In some toilets I found an etiquette bell to hide any sounds while you are using the toilet!
In Lotte World department store we could get fresh bread, salad bowls and other snacks (muesli/fruit/nuts) which made for good lunches or dinners.
We also went on a DMZ tour to the North Korean border and it was fascinating. We went with Koridoor and the guide was very good. We wanted to do the full JSA tour as well but due to political tensions it was not possible. On the tour you go to the Unification Bridge, 3rd infiltration tunnel (little small and wet but amazing to see), Dorasan Train Station (for an extra 1000KRW you can get a stamp and go down to the platform), Dora Observatory (to see North Korea and the fake village) and Imjingak Park.
http://usodmz.com/bbs/board.php?bo_table=dmz_tour
Near to the tour start/end point is the War Memorial of Korea with machine guns, planes, and even a submarine to visit (free visit).
In Insadong there were poo shaped breads you can buy, the vegan one is the red bean one, unfortunately, chocolate is not vegan. Around Insadong there were many vegan restaurants.
We tried Osegye Hang and the service was a little slow but the food was good. We tried the dumplings (slightly greasy), bibimbap, pumpkin with nuts and ramen with soya bean sauce (really tasty).
Sanchon is a Buddist temple set menu (45000KRW dinner) but for that price, you get so much food and also tea and glass of wine. The food and service were both amazing, definitely recommend.
Mary JaYeonSik Kimbap had good vegan food we had the dumplings (slightly greasy) and ramen (tasty).
