Every fall, sightseers flock to Korea’s beautiful rural destinations to enjoy the fiery colors of autumn. It’s time to immerse yourself in a sea of red, orange, and yellow leaves. Fall or autumn is indeed one of our favorite seasons with the colorful leaves that warm our souls. In this post, we are going to show you some of the best places to visit and enjoy fall foliage in Seoul during the autumn season. Hopefully, it can help you plan your itinerary for Autumn holiday.

If you’re heading to Seoul in mid to late October and early November, you’re in luck as that’s the period when the autumn leaves are predicted to be in bloom! Last year on the second week of November 2016, we had an awesome #FoodInLoveKOREA autumn holiday. In 9 days, we explored Seoul and also Nami Island and we were lucky to be able to visit Seoul during its peak autumn foliage season.

Need help planning your trip? Click here!

For complete guide and list of 30 things to eat in Seoul, please read [KOREA] FOOD GUIDE – What to Eat in Seoul

Need more info to plan your daily itinerary in Seoul? Check our itinerary guide [KOREA] ITINERARY TRAVEL GUIDE – Top Places to Visit in Seoul

South Korea has four seasons, Spring in April to May, Summer in the middle of the year, Autumn in September to November and Winter from November/ December until March. Autumn season from September to November is definitely one of the best seasons to visit Korea with its sunny weather and spectacular colorful foliage. The weather fights between warm to cold, giving you the optimal number of “sweater weather” days. Every corner of the city was just simply magical and beautiful with its scenic colorful leaves, green, yellow, orange yet read in one tree resulting in very warm and romantic vibes.

THE WEATHER

Our visit to Seoul on the second week of November 2016 luckily was the peak season of autumn and the weather was very cold. It was around 2°C until 18°C with light rain occurred. Lucky us we were prepared with warm outfits such as thick autumn coat, scarf, umbrella, etc. We highly recommend you to check the weather forecast before going in order to prepare a proper outfit.

TOURIST SPOT

So you didn’t plan your trip around the autumn foliage but you’ll be Korea for that period of time anyway? Don’t worry, we have you covered with these tourist attractions in Seoul and the best places to enjoy fall foliage in Seoul. Most of them have a beautiful and picturesque colorful autumn trees.

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1. Nami Island

First thing first, Nami Island is the mandatory places to visit in Autumn! Located around 90 minutes from Seoul, it is no longer a secret that the famous tourist destination Nami Island is one of the best spots in Korea to enjoy autumn foliage.

The schedule for autumn foliage in Nami Island is slightly earlier than Seoul. It would be perfect if we visited Nami Island in last week of October or first week of November. For more info about Nami Island such as how to go there, what to do, what to eat, etc, you can read our Nami Island Travel Guide blog post [KOREA] NAMI ISLAND (NAMISEOM 남이섬 종합휴양지) – Travel Guide.

2. Gyeongbokgung Palace

Gyeongbokgung Palace was the main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty.  It’s considered to be one of the famous tourist spots and the grandest of the five palaces in Seoul. You can find beautiful autumn viewing spots with beautiful trees lined around the palace. Besides the gorgeous autumn leaves, don’t miss the royal changing of guards ceremony at the Gwanghwamun gate daily at 11 AM, 2 PM and 4 PM! For more info about Gyeongbokgung Palace please read our blog post [KOREA] GYEONGBOKGUNG PALACE (경복궁) – Travel Diary.

3. Deoksugung Palace

Despite it’s not as big as Gyeongbokgung, Deouksugung Palace has more beautiful colorful leaves tree. If you can find many ginkgo trees with golden yellow leaves in Gyeongbokgung, in Deoksugung there are pretty natural landscape with a mix of yellow, red, orange and green colors. Besides the palace complex, you can also walk on Jeongdong-gil road (Deoksugung Stone Wall Road), the road along Deoksugung Palace’s stone wall and is a popular place for romantic strolls. This elegant road is about 900 meters long and stretches from Deoksugung Palace by Seoul City Hall to Jeongdong Theater.

4. Namsan Tower / N Seoul Tower

Standing 236.7 meter tall is Korea’s most famous landmark, the N Seoul Tower, originally known as the Seoul Tower. It sits right at the summit of Namsan mountain and is marked as the highest point in the city. This popular tourist spot is also a great place to enjoy the autumn scenery in Seoul from the top observatory with its mountain surroundings. Besides the observatory, you shouldn’t miss “Locks of Love” that located at roof terrace, a spacious wooden viewing deck whose exotic atmosphere makes it very popular with lovers. There are thousands of padlocks attached to the fence by romantic couples symbolizing their eternal love. For more info about N Seoul Tower, please read our blog post [KOREA] N SEOUL TOWER / NAMSAN TOWER (남산서울타워) – Travel Diary

5. Samcheongdong

This is one of our favorite areas in Seoul with its quaint and peaceful atmosphere. Also called ‘Gallery Road’ and filled with hipster cafes, restaurants, museum, antique shops, and art galleries, walking around this area is a pleasant experience with its golden tree-lined street during autumn along with scenic mountain views. You can also find several unique Korean Tea House or Cafe in traditional Korean house. The ginkgo trees paint the area with striking yellow hues, and sightseers can travel down the path through the autumn atmosphere.

6. Ewha Womans University

Designed with large green space, on autumn as you can see from the pictures below, the campus is surrounded by the pretty natural landscape with a mix of colorful trees. This place is just too awesome to pass up. So many tourists visit this place to snap some photo and enjoy the scenery. The area around the university is full of budget friendly street food, cafes, restaurants, shops, and stores with beautiful trees lined on the street. For more info about Ewha Womans University, please read our blog post [KOREA] EWHA WOMANS UNIVERSITY – Travel Diary.

7. Namsangol Hanok Village

Namsangol Hanok Village located on the north side of Namsan Mountain in the center of the capital. This village has five restored traditional Korean houses, a pavilion, traditional garden, performance art stage, making it a perfect spot for both locals and tourists to take a leisure walk. The traditional garden with its pavilion and the traditional houses create a peaceful ambiance with many species of trees and plants, making it a great spot to enjoy autumn. For more info about Haneul Park such as how to go there, what to do, etc, you can read our Haneul Park Travel Guide blog post [KOREA] NAMSANGOL HANOK VILLAGE (남산골한옥마을) – Travel Diary.

8. Haneul Park

One of the 5 World Cup Parks, Haneul Park has the highest elevation with great view of Seoul. It has a unique, different yet beautiful landscape with silver grasses during autumn. It’s definitely a must visit! Not only enjoying a breathtaking and spectacular view of Seoul, walking among the silver grass field in Autumn will surely be an unforgettable experience. For more info about Haneul Park such as how to go there, what to do, etc, you can read our Haneul Park Travel Guide blog post [KOREA] HANEUL PARK (SEOUL WORLD CUP PARK) – Travel Guide.

Well, now you know why it’s so hard for us to move on from our #FoodInLoveKOREA autumn trip right? Because autumn in Korea is just way too beautiful! It’s definitely the best season to enjoy Korea and if you’re planning to visit South Korea, we highly recommend you to go in the autumn season and we’re sure that you’ll love it as much as we did. Hopefully, this post can simply help you to plan your upcoming trip to South Korea, especially Seoul. Thank you for reading, Kamsahamnida!

KOREA ULTIMATE TRAVEL GUIDE:

• [KOREA] FOOD GUIDE – What to Eat in Seoul
• [KOREA] AUTUMN IN SEOUL – Fall Foliage Destinations and Places to Visit
• [KOREA] ITINERARY TRAVEL GUIDE – Top Places to Visit in Seoul

Korea Travel Series:

• [KOREA] NAMI ISLAND (NAMISEOM 남이섬 종합휴양지) – Travel Guide
• [KOREA] SEOMHYANGGI (섬향기) – Korean BBQ in Nami Island
• [KOREA] HANEUL PARK (SEOUL WORLD CUP PARK) – Travel Guide
• [KOREA] N SEOUL TOWER / NAMSAN TOWER (남산서울타워) – Travel Diary
• [KOREA] GYEONGBOKGUNG PALACE (경복궁) – Travel Diary
• [KOREA] EWHA WOMANS UNIVERSITY – Travel Diary
• [KOREA] BUKCHON HANOK VILLAGE (북촌한옥마을) – Seoul
• [KOREA] SEOUL LANTERN FESTIVAL 2016
• [KOREA] SULBING (설빙) KOREAN DESSERT CAFE – Seoul
• [KOREA] SOFTREE ICE CREAM – Itaewon, Seoul
• [KOREA] LINE FRIENDS STORE & CAFE – Seoul
• [KOREA] OSULLOC TEA HOUSE 오설록 티하우스
• [KOREA] HANCHU (한추) – Gangnam, Seoul
• [KOREA] BHC CHICKEN – Seoul
• [KOREA] MIRAK CHICKEN (미락치킨) – Seoul
• [KOREA] CHICKEN & CURRY GOON (치킨앤 카레군) – Hongdae, Seoul
• [KOREA] TOSOKCHON SAMGYETANG – Seoul
• [KOREA] MYEONGDONG KYOJA (명동교자) – Myeongdong, Seoul
• [KOREA] GOGUNG (고궁) – Myeongdong, Seoul
• [KOREA] JAEDONG SUNDUBU (재동순두부) – Seoul
• [KOREA] SAEMUL SIKDANG / NEW VILLAGE KOREAN BBQ RESTAURANT (새마을식당) – Hongdae, Seoul
• [KOREA] GIMGANE – Myeongdong, Seoul
• [KOREA] BUKCHON SON MANDU 북촌손만두 – Seoul
• [KOREA] JINOKHWA HALMAE WONJO DAKHANMARI (진옥화할매원조닭한마리) – Dongdaemun, Seoul
• [KOREA] ME? STEAK! Steak & Beer in a Cup – Hongdae, Seoul

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