Are you planning on visiting Gangnam area while in Seoul ? If you have some time and want to do have a complete perspective of the area without taking the subway too many times, go around the Coex Mall. This place is perfect to experience the luxury of the area but also visit and experience korean lifestyle. Gangnam is the most famous business district and in here the apartment are really expensive ! Gangnam means โSouth of the Riverโ in korean because it is located South of Han River. Explore the area and follow us today with this day itinerary to the Coex Mall !
BONGEUNSA TEMPLE
Start your day by some fresh air ! Head to the Bongeunsa subway station and go to exit 1. Once there, go straight to the Bongeunsa Temple. This temple is the home of more than 3 000 Buddhist scriptures. Itโs the only temple that is surrounded by so many tall buildings. Itโs a very nice spot to get unrealistic pictures but also enjoy the silence in the middle of the busy city. The main thing to see is the giant ( 23 meters tall) Buddha statue.
If you are interested you could also spend the night there and do a temple stay but be aware to book it in advance.
GANGNAM STYLE STATUE
After the temple, itโs time to get into the building area ! Go from the temple to close to exit 7 of the Bongeunsa station. Do not go inside of the Coex Mall just yet. After the exit 7 just go straight and try to find the โGangnam Styleโ statue. This statue is inspired by the famous song โGangnam Styleโ from Psy. There is other statue along the way. Itโs the perfect place to get a lot of snap for your social media !
BIG SCREEN SHOW
A little bit further down the statue area, you will find some of the biggest screen of the whole area. On the screen you can check different advertising but also nowadays (summer 2020) there is an art exposition. This exhibition is about nature and you can experience 3D vision of a wave and other earth related content. There is seats just in front of the screen to enjoy the show. In between each art there 5 to 10 minutes of advertising. Please be aware that the big screen can give you a headache so do not fix it for too long.
Read more: SM Town โ COEX Atrium
ENJOY A NICE LUNCH
Itโs finally time for you to get inside the Coex Mall ! Also as you might have walk a lot and explore, you might start to feel hungry. There is many options to eat inside of the Coex Mall. You could either try some typical korean food or find some western food too. For example what about a delicious tteokbokki (spicy rice cake) with multiple toppings choice at โSideshowโ for a korean dish. You could also try some mexican food at โOn the Border.
While inside of the Coex you can find some board with the map of the place and select the restaurant to see all of the options. There is around 90 restaurant !
LIBRARY INSIDE COEX MALL
The main activity and the reason why most people are going to the Coex Mall is to check out the library. This giant library is really impressive and makes a good spot for picture too. You can select some of their english books and get some rest while reading. You can also just look around to see the large book selection that this library is offering.
Read more: Starfield Coex Library โ A Heavenly Place for Book Lovers
In any case please do try to stay silent while visiting as many koreans come there to study.
SHOPPING TIME
One of the main reason you would come to a mall usually would be to go shopping ! Do it korean style and shop like crazy ! In there you will find some korean stores like Top Ten or 8 seconds but also worldwide famous brand like H&M, Zara, Nike etc but also some luxury brands. This mall includes more than 200 stores.
You can purchase clothes, shoes, accessories, lifestyle items etc. The only limit is your wallet !
ATTRACTION LIKE CINEMA OR AQUARIUM
To end up the day what about some show ? If you come there with your family, we recommend to check out the Aquarium. It will take you about 1h30 to check out the 40 000 sea creatures that are displayed in more than 250 tanks. The most famous sea animal you will find there are sharks. Regarding price the entrance for adults is 28,000 won, teenagers 25,000 won, children 24,000 won and senior citizens 20,000 won.
If you visit the Coex with your loved one than what about a nice cinema date ? Do not be afraid most of the english movie will be in original version with korean subtitle ! So grab some popcorn and drinks and select an english movie for you to enjoy. Inside of the cinema there is also a slide so jump on the ride before the screening starts.
For dinner time you have multiple option, either you can stay in the Coex Mall and try another restaurant or you could just go outside for some barbecue. If you want to see a little bit more of the Gangnam area then you can head either to Apgujeong Rodeo or Garosu-gil. Those two other areas are really nice to check out so do not hesitate to move a little bit around. If you are interested we could write about the nice place to eat in those area ! Please share with us if you did visit the Coex Mall and what was your favorite part.
