Visit Seoul - Seoul Tourist Organization website offers a lot of useful info, including a section of top-ten lists
Enjoying Seoul (SMG)
Health Information for Travelers to South Korea (US Centers for Disease Control)
Natural Attractions in Seoul (SMG)
Practical Korean Expressions for Foreigners (PDF file from the National Institute of Foreign Language)
Travel.State.Gov country information for South Korea (US State Department)
10 Days in Seoul food guide (zenkimchi, 2019) - includes a recommendation for Samhaejip in Gul Bossam Alley
10 Quick Weekend Trips from Seoul (thetravel.com)
10 Things You've Got to Do in Seoul (CNN Travel, 2017)
14 Best Things to Do in Seoul (Timeout)
36 Hours in Seoul (NY Times 2022)
36 Hours in Seoul (NY Times 2016)
36 Hours in Seoul (NY Times 2010)
Attractive Places In Seoul (by Professor Jeong Dong-Seop of Hoseo University, October 2014)
Autumn walks in Seoul: Recommendations by Visit Korea and Lonely Planet
Chef recommendations: 3 Korean restaurants for foreign visitors - these places look worth trying
Climate Card for public transportation in Seoul
Cross-Country Cycling in the Republic of Korea
Naver Map is better than Google Maps for Seoul, notwithstanding some challenges of the English-language version of the app
오래가게 (Oraegage) This notice about recently named "Seoul Historical Stores" includes a link to an interactive map of all oraegage
Pleasures of Seoul (Se-Woong Koo in Korea Expose, 2020/12/18)
Seoul Bamdokkaebi Night Markets
Seoul Food Tour with Haechi (via Internet Archive): Introduction and Episodes 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 10, 15, 16, 17, 18 (굴 보쌈), 19 (회), and 20
Seoul on a Shoestring Budget (VisitKorea)
Seoul Travel Guide (National Geographic)
SMG's Guide to Vegetarian and Halal Restaurants in Seoul
Six of the best hiking trails in Seoul (National Geographic)
Vegan Restaurants in Seoul - Happy Cow
Bongeunsa - Buddhist temple in the midst of intensely developed Gangnam, near the COEX Center and Teheran-ro. The sunset ceremony is particularly wonderful, and offers a contrasting respite from or precursor to exploring Gangnam's urban delights.
Bugaksan fortress path - is steep and narrow, and subject to tight security - you might have to show your passport at the entrance gate - but totally worth it (SCSP-relevant themes include the Pungsu-jiri-seol, nature vs. built environment, inter-Korean issues raised by the bullet-scarred tree, ancient history via the Jangseung totem poles, etc.). It's also part of a larger system of trails along the Seoul City Wall (see below).
Bukchon Hanok Village is a gentrified neighborhood in which many traditional hanok houses have survived and are in use today
Changdeokgung palace complex - this breathtakingly beautiful UNESCO World Heritage site is near the Kukdo Hotel. I had the good fortune to be able to participate in a Sunday-night moonlight tour in October 2019, and it was glorious!
Cheonggyecheon - the Cheonggyecheon museum is often part of the official SCSCP program. The stream is fun for walking and jogging, and often a quicker way to get from the Kukdo to Gwanghwamun Plaza than walking on the streets.
Deoksugung Palace is near Seoul City Hall and hosts daily changing-of-the-guard ceremonies.
Dongdaemun Design Plaza - near the Kukdo Hotel and several open-all-night fashion malls, with lots of street food options, this building and park designed by Zaha Hadid is built on the site of a former baseball stadium where the Seoul Folk Flea Market used to be
Gyeongbokgung Palace at the head of Gwanghwamun Plaza hosts a daily changing-of-the-guard ceremony (for participants in the SCSP, this is usually part of our Sunday orientation tour, as is Insadong-gil) and is also the site of the National Folk Museum of Korea, which is on my list of things to see
Hangang - the Han River runs through the center of the modern city, with parks, trails, and bridges to see by day or night
Haneul Park - delightful park atop a retired landfill, lovely views by day or night, and home to the Silver Grass Festival every October. While you're there, check out the Mapo Agricultural and Marine Products Market
Jongmyo Shrine - this UNESCO World Heritage site is near the Kukdo Hotel. The adjacent Jongmyo Park is or was (I don't have personal experience other than passing through what looks like a pleasant park to me) also a site where older men hang out and "Bacchus aunties" work
Namdaemun Market and MyeongDong are very entertaining for shopping and street food
Namsan Park and the Namsan Seoul Tower and Namsan Hanok Village museum
National Hangeul Museum - I just learned that this exists from a classmate at the Delaware Korean School, and now it's on my list of things to see
National Museum of Korea - a beautiful building filled with cultural and artistic treasures, a lovely tea shop, and a great gift shop. This is definitely worth a visit in my book.
Pyeonghwa Market - wholesale and retail, 24/6 (closed Sundays) clothing and accessories mall on multiple levels of multiple connected buildings (in its former life as a complex of garment factories, this gets a mention in Han Kang's Human Acts), near the Kukdo Hotel. And while you're there, get a snack on Dongdaemun Grilled Fish Street
Seodaemun Prison History Museum tells an intense story of resistance to the Japanese occupation and can be visited immediately before or after hiking Inwangsan Mountain. When I tagged along with my students a few years back, we started with the museum and then decompressed on Inwangsan. It made for a fine morning outing.
Seoul City Hall and City Hall Plaza, and the Seoul Metropolitan Library
Seoul City Wall - http://seoulcitywall.seoul.go.kr/front/eng/index.do. Ambitious hikers can do a daylong circumnavigation of the wall. (You might be required to show your passport to hike the glorious Bugaksan portion, which is well worth the effort.) If you are less ambitious than that, consider hiking just one or two sections at a time. From the Kukdo, it's easy to take a day or night walk between the Heunginjimun (Dongdaemun) Gate and the Hyehwamun Gate, via Naksan Park, or just do the Naksan City Wall Tour portion from Dongdaemun to Naksan Park. The part of the wall nearest Dongdaemun offers views of the area around the DDP and hosts the Seoul City Wall Museum. But that only scratches the surface of the possibilities for excursions along the wall.
Seoul Guided Walking Tours (서울도보관광) can be booked in advance
Seoul Museum of History - worth a visit for its scale model of the city alone, but that's just one highlight among many
Seoullo 7017 - Seoul's version of the NYC High Line is worth at least two visits, one by daylight and one by night. And check out Seoul Station while you're there.
Seunsangga (세운상가, also Seun or Sewoon Market, Mall, or Plaza)- just across the street from the Kukdo, Sewoon Plaza is well worth exploring for its delightful mix of gritty new-and-used electronics and hardware shops and chic "maker spaces" and cafes. A quick google search will get you all kinds of historic photos and architectural proposals from a design competition a few years back, which was part of the city's redevelopment effort for the Plaza; there's also an Atlas Obscura entry with some interesting backstory.
Tapgol Park combines historical significance with pleasant greenery and a tall pagoda, near the Kukdo. You'll pass by here as you walk from the hotel to Insadong-gil.
War Memorial of Korea - many interesting exhibits inside, and a vast collection of airplanes and other equipment outside
Gyeongui Line Forest Park is a linear park that runs from Mapo-gu to Yongsan-gu, on my list of places to visit
Hang-dong Railroad & Pureun Arboretum look like great fun, and should be reachable by Metro
Ihwa Mural Village is fairly close to the Kukdo by subway or by walking uphill along the Naksan City Wall Tour. It is not heavily promoted of late, possibly to spare residents the crush of gawking tourists like me, but there's plenty of info just a search engine away, like this walking tour map
I've been working up my nerve to visit a jjimjilbang or mogyoktang one of these days. I've linked here to Wikipedia entries, but all kinds of travel advice will come up if you do a quick internet search, including advice from Lonely Planet, Travel-Stained, and others.
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art - recommended by colleague Robert Warren, this is on my list to visit soon
Seoul (Ttukseom) Forest Park - gets a shout-out from Project for Public Spaces, and has long been on my list to visit as have been the Seoul Olympic Park and the Mongchontoseong and Pungnaptoseong clay fortresses
Bossam Alley - is near the Kukdo, and worth a visit (directions here) if you are an adventurous eater of oysters as well as pork. 굴보쌈은 정말 맛있어요!
Chosun Ok at Euljiro15-Gil 8 is near the Kukdo, recommended by Seoulselection and a few Tripadvisor reviewers for bbq, and on my list to try since somebody at UOS mentioned it a few years ago
DD Chicken Hope - the Jonggak branch at 40 Samil-daero 17-gil is a short walk from the Kukdo Hotel and recommended by a knowledgeable colleague for chimek (chicken and beer - a late-night treat). I enjoyed it, and they had baseball on the TV, so I will happily go back even though it's not on this top-eleven list. (And if I can find the name and link for the new place we went to in October 2019, I'll post that here as well - maybe the best fried chicken I've ever eaten, and very close to the Kukdo. Possibly 만선호프 노가리체인본점? Stay tuned!)
Gwangjang Market - OMG! Besides being a fun place to shop for clothing and textiles, this is street-food heaven with something for almost everyone - try the bindaettok, gimbap, japchae, and tteokbokki, even if you don't share my love of hoe (raw fish) and sundae (blood sausage) - and it's very near the Kukdo.
Lee & Cho's Table (이조식탁) - recommended by staff at the Kukdo, this place was still new enough in October 2024 to be a bit hard to find on Naver or Google maps (Google still lists a place called Juk Hyang at its address), but it's worth seeking out at Jong-no gu, Euljiro dong, 14 Mareunnae-ro, 2nd floor (there's a map in this blog post).
Palsaik BBQ 8292, 17 Jong-ro 8 gil was pretty close to heaven for pork eaters, and a short walk from the Kukdo (very near DD Chicken, above). Prof. Sunghee Lee said this was her favorite, and it was easy to taste why. That location seems to have been replaced by Jaengban Jip 8292 Jongno Branch, Gwancheol-dong 43-13.
Pojangmacha (포장마차) - These pop-up / semi-permanent food tents are a fun form of street food (and drink). They are common in the commercial areas within walking distance of the Kukdo.
Samwon Garden, 835 Eonju-ro - recommended to me by colleague Shin Soong-Chull, Samwon Garden has a lovely garden, superb beef bbq, and high prices.
Sanchon - popular and delicious destination for a luxurious, not totally authentic approach to (vegan) Buddhist temple food in Insa-Dong. Also on my list to try is Baru Gongyang.
Tosokchon - famous, delicious, but apparently only one of "Seoul's 3 most famous samgyetang [ginseng chicken soup] restaurants". Now I want to try the other two as well!
Tree Full House (나무가있는집) - specializing in everything tofu, in a space configured as a whimsical quasi-treehouse. Delicious and great fun!
Yeongnak Golbaengi - This turns out not to be the place my friend's cousin owned that I went to a few years back, where the snails and omelette were both delicious (that place was a block away and was demolished to make way for an office building), but it gets good reviews online, so I might try it
A spread worthy of royalty - NY Times banchan recipes and links to further information about Korean royal cuisine. There are many, many things to love about Korean cuisine, but banchan is close to the top of the list for me.