This is a hard time for everyone. Travel became almost impossible in this era of pandemic. Air travel and cross-border travel have been significantly limited. I wanted to travel abroad this summer but I will probably have to call off the plan. Likewise, many of you might have cancelled your plan to visit Korea this year. Only if there was a way to travel around Seoul without air travel and having any risk of COVID-19…… Oh wait, there is one possible way. Virtual travel it is. Even when we are stuck at home, we can still watch Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+, and more!
There are so many K-dramas and K-movies which would guide you to various landmarks throughout Seoul. Here is a list of some of my favorites. You can find these programs on Netflix.
Welcome, First Time in Korea (어서와 한국은 처음이지)
Sin-Young recommended a few Korean TV programs last year and Welcome, First Time in Korea is one of them. You can check more about this program in her article. 🙂
Mr. Sunshine (미스터 션샤인)
I didn’t watch Mr. Sunshine when it was aired on TV. I had no interest in this drama until last autumn when I participated in Jeong-dong Culture Night Festival. Jeong-dong is a center of Korea’s modern history so it was so fascinating to wander through historical sites. A guide shared interesting facts about each site and pretty much every time she mentioned Mr. Sunshine like “This is the place where Eugene Choi, the main character, worked” “As you may have seen on Mr. Sunshine, the American embassy is housed in a hanok”. Everyone in the group seemed to have watched it. So I got curious about this drama and I have finally watched it recently. It is a fiction based on some real events in the early 1900s. So, you will learn Korean modern history and you will be familiar with landmarks around Jeong-dong.
Dramaworld (드라마월드)
If you are a K-drama fan, you will have so much fun watching how they play with K-drama cliches. Claire is a huge fan of Korean dramas and somehow she is transported into her favorite drama. Dramaworld is about Claire’s adventures in her favorite drama world. It consists of 10 short episodes and features cameos by some famous Korean stars including Super Junior’s Choi Siwon and Han Ji-min.
VisitSeoul TV
VisitSeoul TV is a YouTube channel presented by Seoul Tourism Organisation (STO). STO is funded by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and has resources to produce high quality contents. I was quite impressed by various videos on its YouTube channel. VR 360-degree shots of Seoul, videos starring BTS, contents in collaboration with Influencers and some survival tips such as how to use Korean transportation card are featured.
Korea will be waiting for you when this pandemic is over. So, please stay safe and healthy until we will be able to travel again!
