Are you a die hard K-pop fan? Do you love Korean make up or skin care products? If yes, you might have plans to visit Korea but kinda hesitant because you’re thinking that it is too expensive!

Korea probably seems intimidating to go in terms of cost but do not let that stop you from going to your dream destination! Read on to see how I managed to travel to a place that requires us a visa – South Korea for less than P30,000 ($600)! BTW, it was my very first trip abroad!

Here is the story and costing me and my friend incurred:

Round trip ticket (P6000): One random day a year before our flight when my friend contacted me and asked me if I wanted book next year’s flight to South Korea and who can say no to a round-trip ticket amounting P6000 ($120)? The key is to patiently wait and look for the cheapest promo round-trip tickets or have a thoughtful friend who will book for you.

Accommodation for 5D4N stay for 2 (P 10,000/2 = 5000 each or $80): We got lucky here for finding this very affordable place to stay for 5 nights! Try looking from different accommodation sites. We tried several sites (Agoda, Airbnb, Booking) and they all gave us several selections of places to stay and we compared prices and terms of agreement on lodging. Make sure to eye for a place near to your itinerary or train stations. We ended up in a single room with two beds, air-conditioning unit, common restroom, free self-service laundry amenity, free breakfast and free wifi plus it is near the train station and places we planned to visit. Bonus point was they have English speaking and accommodating personnel.

Visa processing (P2,000 or $40 since SK requires our country for a visa): Entry to South Korea requires visa for Philippines residents. Prepare your application form, passport, ITR (if you do not have an ITR, you need a letter stating why you don’t have one), certificate of employment, bank certificate and bank statement. Make sure you have a reasonable amount of money in your bank for the duration of your travel (I only had P50,000 or $1000 in my passbook). We had an agency to process our visa.

Pocket money (P15,000 or $300): The pocket money I had was allocated for food, transportation, entrance fee and pasalubong. I exchanged my Peso bills at BPI to USD in the Philippines and then exchanged the USD to Korean Won in Korea. Don’t worry, there are several money changer kiosks in shopping districts (like Myeongdong) in case you run out of cash. I also had to pay for transportation from my house to NAIA and travel tax with a total of P2,000.

Transportation (round-trip): P6,000

Accommodation for 5D4N: P10,000/2pax = P5,000 each

Pocket money: P15,000

Others (visa, travel tax, transportation): P4000

Itinerary:

Day 0

5:10PM (ETD) – 10:40PM (ETA) : NAIA to Incheon Airport

11:30 – 12:44AM – immigration stuff duties

12:45 – 1:15AM – strolled around Incheon airport, ate midnight snack, bought T-money card and SIM card for internet

Day 1

1:16 – 4:50AM – waiting/sleeping time

5:25 – 6:30AM – Incheon airport to Seoul station

6:31 – 8:00AM – Strolled around Seoul Station

8:00 – 10:00AM – Bfast, Myeongdong Cathedral

10:00 – 1:00PM –  Myeongdong and Hoehyon (lunch + makeup and beauty products shopping)

1:20 – 2:20PM – Seoul Station to Jongno

2:30 – 7:00PM – Rest time

7:30 – 9:40PM – Strolled around Jongno + dinner

10:00PM – Sleep time

Day 2

9:00 – 9:30AM – Guesthouse to Gyeongbokgung Palace

10:00 – 3:00PM – Gyeongbokgung Palace, Bukchon Hanok Village and Changdeokgung Palace + lunch

3::30PM – 4:00PM – Gyeongbokgung Palace to Dongdaenum History and Culture Park

4:10PM – 9:00PM – Gwangjang market and Dongdaenum Park + dinner

10:00PM – Sleep time

Day 3

9:30 – 11:00AM – Travel time from our guesthouse to Gapyeong station

11:20 – 3:00PM – Nami Island + lunch

3:30 – 6:30PM – Garden of the morning calm

7:00PM – 9:00 PM – Dinner + travel back to the house

10:00PM – Sleep time

Day 4

10:00 – 10:45 AM – Guesthouse to Seoul Grand Park

11:00 – 1:00 PM – Seoul Grand Park and Rose Garden+ lunch

1:20 – 2:20 PM – Seoul Grand Park to Yeoido Park

2:30 – 5:00 PM – Yeoido Park and KBS

5:00 – 7:00 PM – Yeoido Park Station to  N Seoul Tower

7:01 – 9:30 PM – N Seoul Tower, Observatory, Hello Kitty store + dinner

9:31 – 10:30 PM – Going back to guesthouse

11:00 PM – sleep time

Day 5

10:30 – 11:00 AM – Guesthouse to Ihwa-dong mural village

11:10 – 6:00 PM – lunch + Insadong, Myeongdong, Jongmyo, Lotte World, Muji

6:00 – 7:30 PM- Went back to guesthouse to leave the pasalubong + freshen-up

7:30 – 8:00 PM – Guesthouse to Myeongdong

8:00 – 10:30 PM – Myeongdong night market

10:30 – 11:00 PM – Myeongdong to guesthouse

11:30 PM – sleep time

Day 6

9:30 – 10:00 AM – Guesthouse to Itaewon

10:00 – 11:00 AM – Around Itaewon

11:30 – 4:30 PM – Seoul, Gwangja, Myeongdong

4:40 – 5:10 PM – Going back to guesthouse

5:10 – 7:00 PM – Prep to go to Incheon airport

7:30 – 8:30 PM – dinner

9:00 – 11:30 PM – Guesthouse to Incheon airport

Day 7

3:05 – 6:05 AM – Incheon airport to NAIA

Up to this point where I have been to quite several places out of the Philippines, this was still the best travel I did! I think it was because of the cheap cost of the overall trip, my first travel out of the country, with one travel-responsible friend, the opportunity to go to an old palace I have seen from my favorite K drama (I am a big fan of historical places), good food and accommodation. It was my first time travel abroad and everything felt perfect!