Seodaemun Museum of Natural History is located in Seodaemun-gu (District) in Seoul, Korea. The museum was planned and constructed by the Seodaemun District Office. After 6 years of planning and construction, the museum opened on July 10th, 2003. The museum was established to collect, preserve and exhibit natural history. The museum has 84 fossils, 302 [...]]]>

Museum of Natural History Seoul

Seodaemun Museum of Natural History is located in Seodaemun-gu (District) in Seoul, Korea. The museum was planned and constructed by the Seodaemun District Office. After 6 years of planning and construction, the museum opened on July 10th, 2003. The museum was established to collect, preserve and exhibit natural history. The museum has 84 fossils, 302 plants, 85 birds, 7 mammals and 1522 insects.

The museum is broken into 3 sections over 3 floors. The best way to enjoy the museum is to start from the 3rd floor and work your way down. The 3rd floor is called the Earth Environment Hall. This hall explores the earth from the time of its creation to present day. The hall covers topics such as the solar system, creation and structure of the earth, geological wonders and the forming of the Korean Peninsula over 3 billion years ago. Each exhibit has lots of pictures, videos and scale models to keep you entertained.

Floor 2 is called the Life Evolution Hall. This floor covers the birth and evolution of life and the diversity of living creatures. In the hall you will learn about the dinosaurs, origin and birth of life, appearance of humans over the years and information about animals, endangered animals and insects. There are fossils of dinosaurs, wax models of the appearance of humans over the years, stuffed animals and insects.

Floor 1 is called Harmony of Human and Nature in Beautiful Seoul. This hall focuses on the importance of environment preservation and the Eco system in Korea. You can see pictures and videos of damage done to the environment in Korea by people nad the past and present of Seoul. It was only a few years ago that all the parks / land around the World Cup Stadium was a huge landfill with over 92 million tons of waste. Also covered in the hall is the Han River, forest ecosystem of Korea and everything you need to know about plants.

The Seodaemun Museum of Natural History is a great spot to learn something about this planet that we live on and have some fun. Most of the explanations are in Korean. This is only a small deterrent as most of the exhibits are visual. This museum is popular for school tours so at times can get a bit crowded or loud. Other points of interest at the museum is the Dinosaur park located outside on the third floor, the small tropical fish aquarium, the museum shop and a Hollys coffee shop.

Opening Hours / Admission:
March ~ October: 09:00 – 18:00
November ~ February: 09:00 – 17:00
Closed on Mondays or Tuesday if Monday is a National Holiday.
Opening hours are extended by 1 hour on weekends and national holidays.
Last entrance is 1 hour before closing.

Admission:
Children 6 – 12: 1,000 won
Youth 13 – 18: 2,000 won
Adults 19 – 64: 3,000 won
Seniors: Free
People living in Seodaemun-gu can get a 50% discount on showing their resident’s card with address.

How to get to Seodaemun Museum of Natural History:
Unfortunately the museum is not located near any train station. There are two stations which you can get the bus to the museum from.
The first is Hongje Station on Line 3. Leave exit 3 and get the 7738 (green) bus and get off at Seodaemun Museum. Announcments are in English.

The second way to get there is from Sinchon station, Line 2. Leave exit 1 and head straight for about 300 metres. The bus stop is in front of GS25 (convenience store). The bus stop was relocated here in June, 2011. You can take bus number 110 (blue) or 7720 (green). Get off at Seodaemun Museum Stop. See the map below for the museum location and bus stop locations. See picture below of the bus stop and Museum stop highlighted in Korean. Announcements are in English on the bus.
If it is your first time taking a bus in Seoul check out our Seoul Bus Guide.
After you get off the bus, the museum will be located up the steep hill in front of the bus stop.

Seoul bus guide. Seoul has a very extensive bus system. Buses are very useful for those hard to reach areas or places far away from train stations.

There are four main buses in Seoul:

Blue Bus: The blue bus connects the suburbs and the city centre. This bus usually takes a direct route with minimal [...]]]>

Green Bus Seoul

Seoul bus guide. Seoul has a very extensive bus system. Buses are very useful for those hard to reach areas or places far away from train stations.

There are four main buses in Seoul:

Blue Bus: The blue bus connects the suburbs and the city centre. This bus usually takes a direct route with minimal detours.
Yellow Bus: This bus provides transportation around the city centre covering business areas, shopping areas and sightseeing areas. This is the bus that most tourists will use. Usually the bus will stay in the same zone.
Green Bus: These buses have more stops and usually go from one side of the city to the other. The green bus connects to a lot of Blue bus stops to make transferring easier.
Red Bus: The red bus connects downtown Seoul with the border areas of Seoul and Gyeongi-do.

Which bus do I get?

It is recommended while travelling in Seoul to stick to the subway. It is convenient and has English information. Buses  can be more complicated to use and sometimes no English is provided.
To use the bus you must have geographical knowledge of Seoul. Each bus has a 3 part number on the side. The first number is the zone in which the bus journey began and the second number is the zone in which the bus journey will end. The third number is the bus number.

The Zones are listed on this map. This is a general guide of where the bus will start and finish. To find out all the bus routes and stops visit Korea Public Transportation Guide. On this site you can search for buses by location or bus number.

Zone system: If the bus number is 503 this means the bus starts in Zone number 5 and finishes in Zone 0.  3 is the bus number.

Some buses have some of the major stops listed on the front and side.

How much will it cost?

Buses in Seoul cost 1,000 won cash. When you enter the bus you put the money into the machine.
Many people use the T-money system. The fare is 900 won.  After using the subway and leaving the station you can ride the bus for free or 100 won for longer routes only with the T-money system. You must get on the bus within 30 minutes after leaving the station ticket gate.

How do I use the bus in Seoul?

First of all, find out which bus you will be taking. Wait at the bus stop until the bus arrives. Buses will stop at the bus stop if people are waiting there. You must enter the bus at the front. After entering put 1,000 won cash into the machine or use your T-money card and swipe it over the T-money machine.
When you hear the name of your stop press the stop button on the side of the bus and the driver will stop at your bus stop. When leaving you, must use the exit in the middle of the bus. If you paid cash you can just leave the bus. If you used your T-money card you must swipe it again before your leave. The t-money machine will be beside the exit.

Leave a comment below and let me know how it went.