19 November 2025
We plan to spend about 2 hours just walking about the park in the early morning before visiting Seongsu-dong when the shops and cafes open after 11 AM.
Seoul Forest was originally old royal hunting ground and then a water treatment facility before it was transformed into a city park in 2005. It is quite massive at about 500,000 square-meters and is divided into five areas, including a Culture and Arts Park, Ecological Forest (with deer), Wetland Ecological Garden and Hangang River Park. We planned to see only a few key highlights.As the cafes around Seoul Forest Park do not open before 10 AM, we had a light breakfast of coffee and toast at Ediya Coffee near our hotel in Myeongdong.
From Myeongdong, we took the subway to the Seoul Forest Station. One of the largest K-Pop companies SM Entertainment’s main headquarters is located near Seoul Forest Station, Exit 5. Those interested in buying K-pop souvenirs like albums, light-sticks, and various artist-themed goods can buy them at the popular SMTOWN &STORE (formerly KWANGYA). The store opens at 10.30 AM so we gave it a miss.
Seoul Forest was right across from the subway station. The first area we went to was the Cultural and Arts Park. This is the main area of the Seoul forest located at the main entrance of the park. We saw a group of locals on a company outing next to an impressive sculpture representing horse racing. We could not go beyond that since there was some maintenance work going on and the area around the famed mirror pond with the Metasequoia Forest was not accessible.
I wanted to see the deer at the Ecological Forest so we headed in that general direction. There were few people around on a weekday morning. The temperature on this day is lower than usual but the morning walk was comfortable and pleasant since there was no wind under the clear autumn sky.
There are some red maple trees but after our visit to the fantastic Naejangsan National Park earlier, the views of red maple trees had lost the wow factor. Nevertheless, they are still a pretty sight.
We had to walk under a vehicular bridge to get to the deer corral at the Ecological Park which is located at the far corner of Seoul Forest Park.
Two species of deer were kept here. Both are local to Korea. Their ancestors were hunted by the royals in the long ago era at this area but these deer in the corral enjoy a peaceful life.
The deer corral has many deer. The deer enjoy a pretty big enclosure and they are well maintained. There is practically no smell of animal dung.
We could walk on a bridge to see the deer from above. The bridge also took us through a habitat designed for wild animals and plants.
The pedestrian bridge also leads to a park next to Hangang River. We saw some wetlands below the bridge. We saw a lady photographer trying to photograph some birds above the wetlands so we went past her quietly.
The pedestrian bridge to Hangang Riverside Park offers beautiful views of the Hangang River and Seoul City skyline.
The last “attraction” we visited in Seoul Forest Park is the gingko forest which is best experienced in autumn.
We came at a time that is slightly past the peak so most of the yellow gingko leaves were on the forest floor. The forest floor carpeted with yellow gingko leaves was still a slight to behold.
It was about 11.30 AM when we left Seoul Forest. We made a stop at Lowide Coffee Bakery, located near Seoul Forest. This popular local bakery and cafe offers a selection of finely crafted bakery items along with a quality cup of coffee.
After the coffee break, we were ready to continue our exploration of Seongsu-dong.
We tried the pies at Ho Gwa Dang Tiger Pie House. Their taco pies are made from premium French butter and came with a savoury filling made using Korean pork, fresh tomatoes, potato, rich cheese and crispy nachos.
The freshly baked pie had a flaky French-style crust and very hot fillings. Despite the friendly warning from the owner of the pie shop, I burned my lips at the first bite.
After finishing our pie, we went to check out the local branded handbags in the Samo Ondoh Flagship store, just a few metres down the same street.
We then took a stroll to Yeonmujang-gil. This area used to be an industrial area with factories and warehouses. The old shoe factories and warehouses had been repurposed into hip cafes, fashion pop-ups, and galleries. The vibrant, trendy street hosts many flagship stores from brands like Adidas, Dior and also pop-up stores like the K-pop Demon Hunter pop-up store.
For lunch, I had shortlisted a few restaurants which included Damsot Seongsu, Solsot and Somunnan Seongsu Gamjatang.
We saw long queues outside Somunnan Seongsu Gamjatang so we went to search for Damsot Seongsu, a cosy eatery renowned for its comforting Korean rice bowls. A sign indicated that the store had shifted to a nearby location and we could not find the new store. It is probably still under renovation. Went to the Solsot, another place offering similar rice bowls. There was a long queue and seems like reservations have to be made using a local booking app that requires a local phone number. Hm… a good way to turn away foreign customers.
We went back to Somunnan Seongsu Gamjatang (Pork Bone Soup) and sat on a bench to wait for our table. The queue moved fast and we waited only about 15 minutes before a staff came out and brought us, plus some others, to a nearby shop which is an extension of the main store.
This place serves only gamjatang, a Korean pork and potato stew that comes with a mildly spicy kick. The staff will bring out the amount of food accordingly to the number of people in our group. We were served a large bowl of gamjatang meant for two persons to share. The serving of pork bones was generous. The stew included chunks of potatoes. Those who needed more carbohydrates can order rice, hand-torn dough flakes or ramyeon to add to the stew.
There were also side dishes that included large chunks of radish kimchi, pickled onions, ssamjang, sliced cucumbers and green chilli peppers that were super long.
The meaty pork bone was well cooked, tender and falls off the bone easily. Best was the flavorful and tasty soup in the stew. It was particularly good on a cold day. Although the food was good, the restaurant was not a place where we could linger after our meal.
Seongsu-dong has many cafes where we could laze over a cup of hot drink. I had ear-marked Daelim Changgo as our next stop.
On the way to Daelim Changgo, we made a brief stop to buy and try the famous salt-bread from Jayeondo Sogeumppang Salt Bread. There is always a queue at this shop but the ordering process was fast and efficient. We placed our orders and pay via a machine, then get a receipt and collect the food almost immediately from the staff at the counter.
Sogeumppang Salt Bread
The buttery bread was soft with a nice crust. We ate 2 on the spot and saved 2 for later, which was a mistake. Once cold, the bread became chewier and not as good.
After trying the salt bread, we went to our coffee place. Daelim Changgo resides in a gigantic warehouse with a faded red brick façade.
The interior is spacious, as is expected from a warehouse. Even then, most of the tables were occupied but we managed to get seats in the far corner of the cafe.
The interior is quite rustic with open beams, unfinished walls and cement floor.
There is a display case in the middle with an array of pasta, pizza, and baked goods. Although there are many tempting pastries on displayed, we were too full to eat anymore.
Taking a selfie via a mirror. 
Some hot tea, instead of coffee, for a change.
After recharging ourselves at the cafe, we walked to another interesting place to see in Seongsu-dong.
Haus Nowhere is a relatively new store that opened in September 2025. Haus Nowhere features global fashion brands such as Gentle Monster (eyewear), Tamburins (fragrances), and specialty brands like Atiissu (headwear like caps, beanie) and Nuflaat (tableware). There is also Nudake Teahouse offering artistic desserts worthy of Masterchef.
Upon entry, we were wowed by a gigantic animatronics dog. The sleeping dog was so realistic, complete with gentle breathing, muscle twitches that reminded me of my own dog sleeping at home.
In addition to the dog, there are other impressive displays of robots.
We took our time to browse the items on sale and see some of the art on display. The service staffs were attentive but I noticed not many customers buying.
From Haus Nowhere, we took a short bus ride to COEX Mall just to visit the famous Starfield Library. Located within the mall, the library has become a tourist magnet and no wonder. It is extremely beautiful and photo-worthy.
It is a working library housing about 50,000 books. We saw more tourists snapping photos than locals reading the books. Actually, there were not many places to sit and the selves were too tall for most of the books to be accessible,
Since we visited in November, there are impressive Christmas lightings within the library, which attracted even more people.
Christmas decorations inside the Starfield Library.
We came to COEX Mall just to see the Starfield Library.
Is the library worth visiting? Yes, if you like to see something unusual. It is quite photogenic too.
Would I come again? No.
The shops within COEX mall were not that impressive. We were looking for toys stores but found none. The food options were also limited.
We ended the day back in Myeongdong where we had our dinner. We had already tried the lamb BBQ Skewers and Pork Barbeque. This time, we had craving for beef barbeque.
We chose to go to Wangbijib Korean BBQ Restaurant, Myeongdong branch to satisfy our craving.
The quality of the beef is good and the staff was helpful to assist in grilling the meat and taking our photo.
It was a good choice as we had a delicious meal in a pleasant restaurant. Overall, a satisfying beef BBQ dinner in Seoul.