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It was, in its own way, exactly the kind of trip a published book deserves to celebrate.
Where to Stay, How to Get Around, and One Lesson Learned
Juliet and Avvie stayed at The Shilla, a five-star hotel in central Seoul, chosen for its reasonable rate, a central location that was neither chaotic nor crowded, and a breakfast buffet of almost bewildering scale. “The buffet was one of the largest I’ve ever seen and had everything from fresh-made soufflé pancakes to dim sum,” Juliet says. It also served as a daily introduction to Korean dishes she could then look for later in the day.
Getting around Seoul mostly meant Uber, which proved affordable given the current exchange rate, affordable enough that a car and driver for the full trip would have been worth it in retrospect. But Uber came with a caveat, learned the hard way on day one. A miskeyed address sent them to a quiet residential neighborhood forty minutes from their actual destination, a popular bakery in Seongsu. It was a daytime mistake in a safe area, and Avvie handled the detour without drama.
“Avvie, to her credit, kept her cool, which made the experience far less stressful,” Juliet says. The lesson: double-check the route before confirming any ride.
The Advice for Any Mother Considering This Trip
Seoul is enormous, and the most important preparation is deciding in advance how to divide the time between cultural sites, kid-targeted activities, and the slower hours of wandering. There are limits to how many palaces a 10-year-old can absorb in a day. Two, spread across two visits, proved to be the right number for Avvie. There is no such clear ceiling on K-Beauty stores.
Download a translation app before you land. Most shop and restaurant staff do not speak English, and neither will your Uber driver. Learn a few words of Korean: the effort is noticed and appreciated. And hire a guide, at least for part of the trip. The two days with Alice were the most textured and memorable of their four days in the city, not because the solo days were wasted, but because the guided days set a standard for what understanding a place can feel like.
“It’s most important to plan out what you want to do ahead of time, and how you want to spread that out between cultural excursions, kid-focused activities, and time to wander,” Juliet says. Then leave enough time in the afternoon schedule for an unexpected trip.
The Bottom Line
Group size: One adult, one child
Days on the road: Four nights
Cost of Flights: $1,728 (Tokyo to Seoul, Seoul to New York)
Cost of Hotels: $1,400 for four nights
Cost of Food and Activities: $856
Cost of guide: $2,250 USD per person
