S E O U L
I was so excited to finally travel to South Korea in April this year. I’ve been interested in Korean culture and food for quite some time now. However, I never really had the chance to visit apparently. I am glad I did this time around and I sure had a blast. However, only downside of that: I gained some weight! I consider that a small evil because the food was just too good. But I didn’t only go there for Bibimbap, Kimchi, Bulgogi and all the other delicious food. On my 11 nights Seoul Architecture Photography Trip I also explored the different districts of the capital city. From all the places I’ve seen, I ended up with 10 Instagram-worthy spots I want to share with you!
#MartExploresSeoul
| Impressions |
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| Shooting in Seoul |
When I first started doing some research on Seoul I quickly realized that the city is huge. There are more people living in Seoul than in New York City. Needless to say, the capital spreads over a wide area. In contrast to some other metropolitan cities though, Seoul doesn’t just have one Downtown area but many districts with their own center points.
When planning my itinerary I marked points of interest on a printed map to get a better understanding on what is where. That greatly helped me planning for accommodation. I ended up staying in 3 different places from where I could easily explore areas nearby covering as much of the city as I could. Those places include the international district of Itaewon, business district Gangnam and popular Hongdae.
| Seoul Photography Spots |
Since I stayed for eleven nights in just one city I got to immerse myself much better in Korean culture compared to just staying for a weekend for tourist stuff. Overall, I visited places no average tourist would know of. For this journey post I decided to structure the photographs by location.
Many people ask me where exactly I took my pictures since I only tag the city name in my posts. I am a strong believer of inspiring people to find out more about things and exploring on their own. This blog post will hopefully inspire you to consider Seoul as a photography destination worth visiting. Nevertheless, I’ll still leave you with some research and exploring to do.
1. Starfield Library
Located at COEX Mall in Gangnam, this library offers open space to sit down, drink a cup of coffee and pick a book to read. It’s iconic bookshelf design attracts many people. So, it’s usually very busy during the day. If you want to take a shot like I did, get to the higher level of the library in the morning. You will probably still have to wait for a couple of minutes to get a composition with only few or no people in it. Time spent here: 1.5 hours.
2. DDP (Dongdaemun Design Plaza)
I believe no photography list of Seoul would be complete without mentioning DDP. According to Seoul’s tourist page, it’s the most tagged location of South Korea on Instagram in 2015. Being the world’s largest atypical building, it’s hard to know what the full image of DDP actually looks like unless you happen to get a bird’s view of it. The building serves as a venue for design exhibitions and conferences. Time spent here: over 3 hours.
3. Inside DDP
Wait what? Yes, inside DDP has to be mentioned because it’s worth checking out the actual exhibition area (for free). If you are lucky, there will be no exhibition which allows for a crazy minimal white hallway shot. If you are into staircases you will find a great lookup opportunity as well as a stunning view from the top floor. Time spent here: 0,5 – 1 hour.
4. Gyeongbokgung Palace
How about combining Korean culture with Architecture Photography? This palace is one of the five palaces in Seoul and arguably the busiest of them. Rent a hanbok (traditional clothing) nearby and explore the palace area. Every hour the guards perform a shift swap worth checking out. I came for the long red corridors though. Since this place is rather crowded you will probably have to wait and look for quite some time to get the right moment to frame a composition without many tourists in it. Isn’t it worth the wait though? Time spent here: 2.5 hours.
5. Leeum Museum
Located in Itaewon, Leeum Museum of Art offers exhibitions for traditional and modern Korean Art. To be honest, I went there for the architecture of the museum but did enjoy passing by paintings, installations and traditional objects. The very center of the museum is a spiral staircase that you can look up to from the entrance area. I prefer standing at the top of the staircase though for a clean white minimal photograph. I did have to wait for a bit until another visitor passed me though.
Also located in Leeum Museum of Art is a unique mirror corridor. Funny that I first heard of this museum because of that. Thanks Instagram I guess. Time spent here: 2 hours.
6. Bongeunsa Buddha Temple
In the middle of modern Seoul you can find several historic temples to visit. Located in Gangnam district, Bongeunsa Temple offers visitors an small insight in Buddhist life. The thousands of lotus lanterns above the entrance road are fascinating. If you visit Seoul in early May you will be able to join and watch the Lotus Lantern Festival, where every lantern gets illuminated. Check out my Featured Photograph for another shot at this location. Time spent here: 1 hour.
7. EWHA Womans University
The biggest university for women only offers a stunning gathering point with glass facades on both sides. At the end of it you will find Instagram-worthy stairs with people gathering to chat and relax. The area nearby also offers a lot when it comes to buying cosmetics and fashion-related articles. Who would have thought. Time spent here: 1,5 hours.
8. Club Chroma
Located in the entertainment complex Paradise City in Incheon (near the airport), this building offers a unique entrance. This spot is definitely not a tourist spot but if you are into architecture it’s worth traveling there (easy to access with public transport). Unfortunately, I had to go there myself and I couldn’t photograph any passing stranger since this is a night club after all. Time spent here: 0,5 hours.
9. Anyang Art Part
Speaking of unusual tourist photography spots in Seoul, Anyang Art Park offers several great opportunities. Not directly located in Seoul but to the South of it you can find a relaxing escape to the busy city. I suggest not going there on your own unless you really want pictures with no people in it. Then, this location is a dream for you. Time spent here: 1 hour.
10. Public Transport System
Last but not least, the final entry on my Seoul Photography list is not just a single location but the totality of public transport stations. Though it’s very very busy during rush hours, it’s design sometimes is worth looking at. Just do not stand in the way! The public transport in Seoul is very easy to use, reliant and cheap. I used it all the time to get from location A to location B after exploring around that area. I especially liked the two stations at COEX Mall and in Itaewon for their white background. Just keep an open eye when taking the subway and you might end up with a great architecture shot.
| Featured Photograph |
My personal favorite shot of the whole Seoul Architecture Photography journey was taken at Bongeunsa Temple. After spending some time capturing the colorful lanterns at the entrance I walked up the road to the main temple. Next to it, an area with only white lotus lantern was present. It was a sunny but also cloudy early afternoon so I had moments of great light and shadow plays from time to time. After I spent several minutes to get the composition right I was waiting for a stranger to pass by to give the image a point of focus. Suddenly, a monk quickly opened one of the doors and rushed back inside. It only took him a second and I am really happy that I was able to capture this rare moment while the sun was present at the same time.
For the editing of the image I basically did not want to change anything about the perspective. Therefore, I only enhanced the image by exposing it much more and by de-saturating and brightening up the yellows. Interestingly, I haven’t posted my favorite Seoul Photograph on my Instagram Account yet. Instead, I keep it as my personal little gem for now and wait for a fitting opportunity.
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