Here is the sample South Korea itinerary for 5 days and 4 nights for first-time travelers. You will also find here the 5 best tourist attractions you can visit on your 5-day trip.
South Korea is probably one of the best countries in East Asia that Filipinos should visit once every 2 years to experience the 4 amazing seasons. At the same time marvel at the skyscrapers, high technology infrastructure, super-fast internet, and a very clean environment.
I was able to visit South Korea for 5 days and 4 nights during the Winter Season. We plan to go back to this beautiful travel destination probably during the Autumn, and Spring Seasons to experience the country when most of the trees have leaves and fascinating colors.
South Korea or Korea as a whole has a very rich history and culture. It has 14 world heritage sites. There are several landmarks that are well preserved even though it is at the center of a vibrant city such as Seoul.
Judging from its numerous historical Korean Drama TV series, it seems that the country has a well-documented history. They love their past and even up to the present time they still make movies about their ancient history.
Thanks to Jumong, Winter Sonata, Jewel in the Palace, and several other historical K-dramas that came after. Because of them, I began to have an interest in South Korea and want to learn more about the country. As a result, I decided to put South Korea on my travel bucket list.
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South Korea Itinerary for 5 Days DIY Sample
Finally, this dream turns into reality. I was able to visit South Korea with my family. This is memorable for me because it is also the first time I travel by air with my parents. We stayed in Hotel Kuretakeso in Insadong for 4 nights and 5 days.
I will share with you the things we have done and the tourist attractions we have visited with our South Korea 5 days itinerary. You can make it your reference. Just make some adjustments depending on the season or month that you will visit South Korea.
Day 1: Fly to Korea and Enjoy the Walking Tour at N Seoul Tower
- 7:00 am – Fly from NAIA terminal 3 to South Korea
- 12:00 NN – Arrival at Incheon International Airport Seoul South Korea
- 12 to 3 pm – Travel to Insadong to Check in at the Hotel
- 3 to 5 pm – Rest, the reason this is long because I have with me my parents who are already 60 years old
- 5:00 to 8:00 pm – Visit the N Seoul Tower by Namsan Cable Car
- 8:00 – 9:00 pm – Dinner
Day 2: Explore the Gyeongbokgung Palace, Bukchon Hanok Village, and Myeongdong
- 9:30 to 10:00 am – Visit a rental shop to rent a Hanbok
- 10:00 to 12:00 Noon – Gyeongbokgung Palace Tour
- 12:00 to 2:00 pm – Lunch
- 2:00 to 3:30 pm – Walking tour to Bukchon Hanok Village
- 4:00 to 7:00 pm – Go back to the hotel to take a sleep and rest
- 7:00 to 9:00 pm Myeongdong walking tour and try some street food
- 9:00 to 10:00 pm Go back to the hotel by walking from Myeongdong to Insadong
Day 3: Go to Gangnam District, ride the Hop-On Hop-Off Bus, and walk at K Star Road
- 9:00 to 10:00 am – Travel to Gangnam
- 10:30 to 12:00 noon – Avail the hop on hop off bus tour to Gangnam
- 12:30 to 1:30 pm – Lunch at a nearby fast-food restaurant
- 1:30 to 5:00 pm – Continue the hop on hop off bus tour and visit K-Star Road by walking
- 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm – Go back to Insadong
- 6:30 to 7:30 pm – Lite dinner
- 7:30 to 9:00 pm – Walking tour to Cheonggyecheon stream until we reach Gwanghwamun Plaza
- 9:00 to 9:30 pm – Go back to the hotel in Insadong by walking
Day 4: Travel to Nami Island
- 9:00 to 11:00 am – Travel from Seoul to Nami Island by public transportation
- 11:00 am to 3:00 pm – Nami Island Tour
- 3:00 to 6:00 pm – Go back to Insadong
- 6:00 to 7:00 pm – Buy some souvenirs from nearby stores in Insadong
- 7:00 to 8:30 pm – Tried some authentic Korean barbeque
- 8:30 to 9:00 pm – Go back to the hotel in Insadong
Day 5: Fly back to Manila Philippines
- 7:00 to 8:00 am – Breakfast in the hotel
- 8:00 to 8:30 am – Checkout at the hotel
- 8:30 to 10:00 am – Travel from Insadong to Incheon International Airport
- 12:50 pm – Fly back to the Philippines
Top 5 Tourist Attractions to visit in Seoul South Korea with your 5 Days Itinerary
These are the things that you can do and places you can visit on your 5-day trip to South Korea:
- Enjoy the 360-degree view of Seoul at N Seoul Tower / Namsan Tower
- Explore Gyeongbokgung Palace
- Rent a Hanbok
- Explore Bukchon Hanok Village
- Walk along Cheonggyecheon Stream
- Enjoy the street food along Myeong-dong
- Visit Gangnam District
- Travel to Nami Island
Enjoy the view of Seoul at N Seoul Tower or Namsan Tower
This is a romantic place to visit in Seoul especially together with your loved ones. This is located at Namsan Mountain at the heart of Seoul. 
The place is an observation deck 236 meters above sea level. This is considered to be the second-highest peak in Seoul. You will be able to have a 360-degree view of the city.
Do some selfies, and fix a love padlock to make it more memorable. I actually prepared a padlock for my parents and have them fix it in one of the fences.
Explore the Gyeongbokgung Palace while wearing a Hanbok
As the saying goes, your visit to South Korea is not complete, if you haven’t gone to Gyeongbokgung Palace. According to https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/, there are around 5 palaces in Seoul alone, but Gyeongbokgung is the biggest and the most beautiful. 
You can roam around the heritage site in your usual travel clothes or you can rent a Hanbok – Koreas traditional dress, so you can enter the palace for free. Plus, you can at least have a memorable experience wearing the traditional attire of Koreans. We’ve tried this one, and for me, this is a must, hahaha.
The Hanbok rental cost is around 13000 to 15000 Won or $9 to $12 for the usual commoner clothes. If you want to wear the high-ranking officer version of the Hanbok, then you need to spend a little more cash. For ladies, there are free hairband that comes with the Hanboks, but if you have long hair and you want it fixed, you have to shell out an extra fee.
You can also watch the royal guards changing ceremony at the palace. This happens twice a day at 10 am and 2 pm. Every ceremony lasts for about 20 minutes.
Walk along the streets of Bukchon Hanok Village
You need to visit this place if you want to see the traditional ancient houses of Korea during the time of the Joseon Dynasty.
This is a walking tour on sloping roads. Make sure to wear comfortable shoes when you visit the place. As much as possible maintain silence or keep your tone down when you walk past its street as the location is still part of the residential area. 
Some of the Hanok serves as a guesthouse. You can book a night or two to have a glimpse of how the ancient people of the Joseon Dynasty lived during its time.
Do a leisure walk along the Cheonggyecheon Stream
Do a leisure walking tour at this lively stream at the center of the city. I was amazed when we follow this stream as it looks very clean and vibrant even at night time. We tried to cross to the opposite side of the stream by stepping on large rocks placed on the riverbed. 
It’s unbelievable, we were not able to notice the noise coming from the roads even though this tourist attraction is located in the Downtown area of the city. 
The best time to visit Cheonggyecheon Stream is during nighttime. Take a selfie in front of the small ‘I Seoul U’ sign on the bridge.
Enjoy the street food along Myeong-dong
Walking tour along the streets of Myeong-dong. We went to the place only for food tripping. 
However, the location is a good place for those who want to shop for Korean and international luxury brand beauty products. You will find shops for skin care, makeup store, and lots of fashion boutiques in this place.
After visiting this jam-packed street, we took a photo of the popular Myeong-dong cathedral. This gothic style church is a century-old structure and is considered to be the birthplace of the catholic religion in South Korea.
Visit the Gangnam District
We visited this place because we want to see the K-Star road and have a selfie with the GangnamDol and the life-size bears bearing the prints of popular K-Pop groups. 
We spend the whole day at this location. We avail the Hop On Hop Off bus during our visit to Gangnam District.
Visit Nami Island
This is outside of Seoul but this is a must-visit location if you are a fan of the “Winter Sonata” K drama series and also want to experience nature in general. You can get around Nami Island by just walking or renting a bike.
Nami Island is 1 hour and 30 minutes by train from Seoul. We can’t miss visiting this place so we included it in our 5-day itinerary. We spend 1 whole day in this place. 
Is 5 Days enough to enjoy South Korea?
Based on our experience, 5 days and 4 nights of travel to Seoul South Korea are not enough to enjoy the whole city. Probably, when we go back, I will a lot an additional 5 days to make it a 10-day trip. In this way, we will just be in chill mode.
What are the 5 things that I like in South Korea?
First, are its people, particularly those persons that I’ve talked to for directions. They have tried their best to explain to me the way in English.
Second, the heritage sites. They are so captivating. It is amazing, how their people were able to preserve century-old buildings.
Third, the food especially those sold by food carts on the streets of Insadong and Myeong-dong. The 7-Eleven also has massive offerings of affordable yet ready-to-eat food on sticks and meals hahaha.
Fourth, is the city as a whole, the main roads are very wide around 6 lanes. the sidewalks to are wide and clean.
Fifth, the transportation system is very efficient. From the city, there are buses that go directly to Incheon International Airport and vice versa. They have high-speed trains called the Intercity Train Express (ITX) and Korea Train Express (KTX) that runs at a top speed of 180km/h, and 305km/h, respectively.
I hope this helps guys!
