6 Unique Workshops To Join While in Seoul

Visiting South Korea with your best buddies? There are plenty of fun things to do in Seoul with friends, but if you’re looking for the best way to immerse in South Korean culture, join some unique workshops! Stray from the usual sightseeing tours and spice up your SoKor trip with one of the most unique things to do in Seoul. There are different workshops to try with your friends, from learning how to prepare a full-course meal to crafting quirky trinkets.

Here are six workshops you can begin with!

If you’ve seen a proper Korean meal in K-dramas or have eaten one in South Korea, you’d know that banchan or side dishes are very important. In fact, market stalls sell a wide assortment of side dishes, such as kimchi, spiced salads, and stir-fried veggies. Wanna know how to prep these side dishes?

Join a cooking class in Seoul with your friends and enjoy making a hanjeongsik or a Korean full-course meal. Put on your aprons and get ready to cook more than 10 dishes (side dishes and main course) from scratch — you’ll visit Mangwon Market to buy the freshest ingredients for your meal. You’ll even have the chance to try street food as you shop. Don’t fill up on street food yet — you’ll eat what you’ve cooked after the class!

Familiar with tteokbokki? It’s mouthwatering stir-fried spicy rice cakes with eomuk (fish cakes), spring onions, and boiled eggs! These vibrant red plates are usually served in market food stalls or street stalls. But, did you know that there are different kinds of tteok in South Korea?

Try one of the most fun things to do in Seoul with friends: a traditional dessert rice cake-making class! Learn how to whip up your own Korean dessert made with sweet rice flour and filled with red bean paste. You’ll also enjoy tea and refreshments as you make these desserts. These are usually eaten on special days, and at this cooking class in Seoul, you have the chance to wrap these adorable treats up and bring them home in case you wanna save them for a rainy day.

If you and your pals share a love for sweet desserts, then you might enjoy munching on yeot-gangjeong. But, what are they exactly? A yeot-gangjeong is a traditional Korean dessert with toasted seeds, nuts, beans, or puffed rice. This crunchy snack is made by mixing the grains with mulyeot or rice syrup to form it into a candy bar. Yeot-gangjeong is usually eaten during Korean holidays or as a winter snack.

Another fun thing to do in Seoul with your friends is this yeot-gangjeong cooking class. On this class, you’ll be able to learn how to make this crisp and sweet dessert and master the traditional way of wrapping cloth, so you can bring your snacks home as a souvenir! Aside from those, this class will also let you try five types of Korean liquor made by your food masters themselves.

Of course, who would ever pass up the opportunity to create the quintessential Korean side dish? Discover the secrets of making the Korean staple with a hands-on kimchi making course, so you’d have the chance to enjoy homemade kimchi even when you’re not in South Korea!

If kimchi making is on your list of unique things to do in Seoul, head over to Museum Kimchikan, or Kimchi Museum, in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Their cooking class costs KRW 20,000, and it takes place every Wednesday and Thursday from 14:20 to 15:00. The kind of kimchi they teach differs every season. They use white kimchi from January to April, cucumber kimchi from March to August, and whole cabbage kimchi from September to December. Schedule your visit wisely!

Cooking classes are not the only fun things to do in Seoul with your friends. You can also create your own matching trinkets, starting with this handmade ring-making workshop. At Hongdae Rings Village, you and your pals can design your own friendship rings according to your personal style. What better way to make your South Korea trip than to immortalize it with some accessories, right?

Here, you’ll see the process of how to make a ring — from preparing the raw materials to the methods of engraving your own design. Hongdae Rings Village has been featured in K-variety shows like We Got Married and Amazing Korea, and has been visited by K-pop groups like BTOB, TWICE, and Gugudan. This place has become trendy for young people, so make sure to book in advance.

Another accessory you can gift your besties are these trendy Korean alphabet charms. Make your friendship memento even more special by making it yourselves at this jewelry-making experience in Seoul.

Learn the Hangul translation of your names or use a sentimental Korean phrase (perhaps, the names of your K-pop biases?) for your matching trinkets. In this workshop, you have the freedom to choose between a necklace or a bracelet, or you can opt to adorn a mini photo frame instead. Afterwards, you can have them wrapped up to take home with you!

Can’t wait to do fun things in Seoul with friends? Book ‘em all on Klook, and share unforgettable memories with the gang!