Seoul swarms with places to eat out- it’s one of the main forms of recreation for much of the local population, and so there’s lots of choice. All the hotels have restaurants and coffee shops where you can get very fancy food, but there are also a number of stand-alone eateries, which serve good food at very reasonable prices. Among these are the ubiquitous food stalls selling good Korean food. Try the stalls around the Seoul Railway Station and the Chongno area; down every lane you’ll be able to find some stall or the other, though- so while you won’t go hungry, you may have a tough time deciding on what and where to eat. If you’re in a more adventurous frame of mind, some searching can yield unusual though dubious, for Western palates delicacies- such as boiled silkworm pupae and live octopus.

If you’d rather stick to something familiar, there are a number of fast food outlets and Western restaurants where foods like pizzas, burgers and their kind are easily available.

When it comes to entertainment, Seoul is the heart of South Korea- it has the greatest range of recreation facilities, whether you’re interested in traditional performing arts or a more familiar Western-style discotheque or nightclub. If it’s the latter you’d prefer, you might do well to visit the Itaewon district- it’s full of pubs, bars, discotheques, nightclubs and noraebangs (singing rooms- basically karaoke lounges) and videobangs (video rooms); the last two are also very popular with the locals. There are theme parks too, especially Lotte, which is usually quite a hit with the kids.

If you’re more interested in culture, then you can have a real treat in Seoul- traditional music - Chongak and Minsokak performances are held at a number of venues, as are performances of traditional dances, theatre, puppetry and martial arts particularly the Korean form, taekwondo. Popular venues for cultural performances- both traditional and Western- include the Sejong Cultural Centre, the Municipal Performing Arts Centre and the Seoul Arts Centre, the biggest of them all.