Dongdaemun Market : one stop away on a subway
Diehard shoppers will love Dongdaemun Market. Just one subway stop away, this is Korea’s largest wholesale and retail shopping district (covering 10 blocks), with 26 shopping malls, 30,000 specialty shops and 50,000 manufacturers. Basically, you can find anything here- clothes, shoes, silks, leather goods, sporting goods, office supplies, toys, plumbing and electronics and a lot of Korean food stalls. And most importantly: all at inexpensive prices (you can try haggling, a 10% discount is possible, but depending on where you’re shopping, you might find that many shops have fixed prices).
Around the main street you can find modern shopping malls as well as older and smaller buildings providing a less organised shopping environment and thousands of outside stalls.The modern malls (like Dootta and Migliori) attract young and fashionable people, offering mostly clothes, shoes and bags in a pleasant, organised and clean shopping environment (money exchange facilities and information desks with English speaking staff available). They sometimes organise events in the evening (around 7 or 8 pm) which is a nice opportunity for you to get a glimpse of Korean popular culture. The outside stalls are also great to explore, you can loose yourself for hours wandering through the network of tiny shops. And don’t forget to try authentic Korean food which you can find at any of the numerous food stalls in the area.
The shops in the area are open from 10 am to 5 am the next day (individual store hours can vary), offering 19 hours of shopping bliss. Keep in mind that many shops close on Sundays or Mondays and holidays.

Changdeokgung Palace : 20 minutes on foot
Registered on UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage List, this palace is four subway stops from Bong House. By many people regarded as the most beautiful palace in Seoul, Changdeokgung Palace is the second royal villa built after Gyeongbokgung Palace in 1405. It served as the main palace for many Joseon kings and is the best preserved one of the five royal palaces.
The rear garden, known as the Biwon Garden, is one of its main attractions. You can see (very) old trees, beautiful pavilions, fountains and ponds.  
To visit the palace and garden, you have to take a tour. English tours are available at 11:30am, 1:30pm and 3:30 pm daily (except on Mondays when the palace is closed).

Gyeongbokgung Palace : 7 minutes by bus
Built in 1395, it was the first palace to be built by the Joseon Dynasty. Though many of the buildings were destroyed during wars with Japan, it has always been rebuilt with accuracy and great care for detail and it is the most beautiful and grandest of all the five palaces. Every day you can witness the changing of the guards ceremony (10am, 11am, noon, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm), which is great fun to watch and an excellent picture moment. The great benefit of visiting this palace is that you can walk around freely for as long as you want on the enormous palace grounds, which also house the National Folk Museum and the National Palace Museum of Korea. English tours are available for free at 9.30am, noon, 1.30pm and 3pm (in front of the tourist centre inside the palace grounds next to the entrance). The palace is closed on Tuesdays. Five subway stops from Bong House.

Insadong Traditional Culture Street : 5 minutes by bus
Insadong is a famous art and antique district, home to numerous art galleries (selling traditional Korean ceramic ware, paintings and calligraphy), antique shops (selling old books, pictures, calligraphy, pottery and jewellery), souvenir shops, tea shops and Korean restaurants. You can find accessories, handicrafts, traditional Korean clothes and all kinds of artistic and authentic Korean items here. In the weekends Insadong is packed with people, and fortunately also closed to vehicles. Be sure to explore all the side alleys, where you can find many more special and unique little shops, traditional Korean restaurants and tea shops. You can get a map of Insadong at the Tourism Information Centres in the main street.
It’s a great place to stroll around and explore, and extremely close to Changdeokgung Palace (and similarly just four subway stops from our guesthouse).

Please note:
DMZ tour- If you would like to take the DMZ tour, please contact the staff. We can organise pickup for you right outside the guesthouse (no additional fee needed).