Does anybody have advice on what to do and see when in Seoul?

there are some great shopping districts

a trip to the DMZ is certainly worth it, take the tour that takes you down one of the tunnels

some great temples and gardens in the direct Seoul vicinity.

 

Go see the World Cup stadiums.

 

Depends on what you want to do. If you just want to get some cheap tourist souvenirs, you could go to Itaewon. You would meet many Americans there, since that is the tourist district and GIs tend to go there a lot (it also has an extensive redlight district with hookers all over the place). However, I would not recommend visiting that area.

This link pretty much sums it up:

Top 5 tourist attractions in Seoul

I'd probably do number 2 and 3 on that list if you only have 24 hours and want to get a taste of the city.

Seoul is one of the largest cities in the world (probably about 3-4 times as large as Houston) and you might be shocked and impressed at the same time by the experience of visiting that city. Lots and lots of people everywhere, Internet cafes ("PC bang" (bang = room)) and computer game rooms at every corner, and lots of things to see.

If you want to have a nice view of the city, there is a building called "Yook-Saam" building (it has 63 floors and the word means 6-3). I think there is a restaurant on one of the top floors and you should have a nice view over the city from the top.

I would not go see the world cup stadiums since there is not that much to see when nothing is going on, same goes for the Olympic stadiums (btw, I got to visit the Olympic village a couple of weeks before the Olympics in 1988 because we knew some people, and unfortunately, some guy died that day when practicing for the opening ceremony because his parachute did not open).

If you want to do some "nice" shopping (shops are a bit more upscale, at least the last time I was there, which is a few years ago), you can do this for example in the "Lotte Hotel".

Have you decided on a hotel already?

P.S.: If you are interested in trying some food, I would probably recommend going to a nice Korean restaurant and trying "Bul-go-gi" (don't know how one would spell that in English). It's barbecued marinated beef filet and I think it is very good. If you are not afraid of spicy stuff, also try "kim-chi", it's a kind of spicy cabbage which is more or less the Korean national dish. This might have the positive side effect of you having a free seat on the plane next to you since it does have some effect on your breath etc.

P.P.S.: There is also some info here: What to do in Seoul for 12 hours (Flyertalk) (the second link given in the thread does not work anymore)

While on that page, you could try to do a search using the keyword "Seoul" and you will get more threads with information.

Have a nice trip and don't hesitate to ask if you have further questions!

 

I went to the "motherland" (both parents are Korean) last year for the World Cup and had a blast in Seoul.

If you like Rodeo Dr in Beverly Hills go to "Dongdaemun" or something like that. Lots of shopping and hot/stuck up girls.

There are bars and clubs all over Seoul.

Lotte Hotel is indeed a nice place. I took a shuttle from the Incheon Airport to Lotte, where my parent's friends picked me up. IIRC, the German soccer team was staying there at the time.

I was in Seoul for about 9 or 10 days, and didn't get to see as much as I would have liked.

Have fun.

And for the Red Light District... Look for the barber shops that have a red light on top of the patented red, white, and blue swirlie thing. Rumor has it that those with red lights on top have some girls... I don't know how I know this info...