Seven Basic BTS Locations Every ARMY Must Visit in Seoul

If you’re a travel junkie, more so if you are a K-drama or K-pop fanatic, Seoul, South Korea is most likely on top of your travel bucket list. And who could blame you, the place is rich in culture and beautiful sceneries that could touch your soul in different ways: be it within the feels of the bustling city or the calmness of its park and forestry. Here specifically I am to jot down a list of the most basic locations a BTS ARMY could go to when you visit your beloved’s home country. 갈까요? (Shall we go?)

As the group gets more well-known and with the number of side projects, RUN BTS, music video, photo shoots and endorsements that they now have, the number of BTS-related locations also multiplies. But it is fun and nostalgic to see (and experience indirectly) where the dreams have all started. It is almost strategic as well because most of the locations are within the Gangnam area since the management’s old office is located there.

Having such limited time (we only stayed in Seoul for five days) and a vast number of sample itineraries used to plan the budget-friendly itinerary thoroughly, here’s what we came up with for our mini-BTS tour.

어서 와 방탄은 처음이지? 

(Welcome, first time with BTS?)

BTS ARMY, we got you!

What you (always) need: 

What you will see:

Oh, this was fun. RM’s Chair is located in the heart of Seoul Forest so we had a good, refreshing walk early in our itinerary. You will see the culvert area first (just make sure to check the forest map, okay?). It was drizzling that morning giving the walk a more chill vibe. Forever Rain from Namjoon’s second EP, mono is playing in my mind the whole time.

Ah, instant healing, indeed.

My friend is Yoongi-biased so we had to reenact this scene, obviously.

Last year, a Namjoon fansite has organized a tree planting project (RM Forest) in Jamsil area and this year, a Seokjin fansite has initiated a “chair” in the park for Jin as well. Something to look forward to should we all get to come back after this whole pandemic situation.

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The BTS Gangnamdol (12) is a staple tourist spot because it is free and very accessible. You could also find other groups like 4Minute, Super Junior, 2PM, FT Island, SHINee, Miss A, CNBLUE, TVXQ!, Girls’ Generation, EXO, AOA, B1A4, VIXX, INFINITE, KARA and Block B in here.

Multis are definitely going to enjoy this part as JYP Ent building, Cube and FNC Entertainment building can also be found in this stretch. However since we already have a full day of schedule, we didn’t go to said locations.

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This quaint little cafe owned and managed by 2AM Changmin and his family is a must-visit location for the OG ARMYs and it will definitely incite good old memories as the members used to go there in their pre-debut days. Now it is adorned by their signed albums and stuff.

The father says to order Five Berries Tea... because it’s Bangtan’s favorite and it tastes so refreshing, no wonder they like it a lot.

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This location will also take you down memory lane. It is also heartwarming how ahjumma (the owner) still calls the boys by their real names and how sweet it is whenever she shares stories about them.

They also have a vegetarian bibimbap for those who cannot have meat.

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Reminder: Fangirling doesn’t have to be expensive. It is okay to splurge a bit sometimes but only within your means, though. 

These cuties make you want to take a piece of them home. And just like their appas, they are also everywhere! Name it! From plushies to cutlery and home necessities, there is a BT21 item for you.

Personally, BT21 is one of the reasons that furtherly drove me to appreciating BTS and their artistic side (aside from their music). I loved the fact that these creatures and their universe are from their initial sketches and ideas. I even used to joke how I am a BT21 stan before BTS. And yes, I have acquired a lot of TATA in the past few years, bought during international travels and even on the official local shop.

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We were still full from our scrumptious lunch at Yoojung Sikdang so we didn’t get to try the same menu that Taehyung and Jimin have ordered. But we did try some drinks and checked out the manga on the shelves.

Also, we took some photos as this comic book cafe is also a previous RUN BTS location.

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We took photos of the hand prints and the closest to my hand’s size is Jimin’s.

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Jamsil Olympic Stadium (Love Yourself/Speak Yourself The Final concert location) — We were in Seoul a month before The Final concert is taking place and since we were headed to SMTOWN (which is sadly inoperational in this present day) the very same day, we also went to take pictures of this historic place.

Old Bighit Entertainment office — We did find the office after being lost in the residential areas of Gangnam (Despite using the ever reliable Naver Maps). However, since Bighit has transferred offices, the old building has other present occupants and it feels wrong and creepy to take photos even of the outside vicinity so we didn’t do it and we just treasured the moments that we had while searching for the place (all while the rain is pouring hard).

BTS is literally everywhere. We were in Korea on Jungkook’s birthday week so there are a lot of fansite subway ad projects that we were able to see, too. 

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There are a lot of factors that we have considered while coming up with this itinerary. Say for one, we visited these places off-comeback season so we were able to access the places easily.

Yoojung Sikdang is always packed when there’s a BTS concert looming around. This is because international fans are making sure to check this one off their BTS bucket list as well. But as for us, since it is on a weekday plus there is no official BTS schedule then, we didn’t have to wait longer outside even though it is already lunchtime when we visited. Some of my friends have to wait for hours in the cold just to be able to taste the best bibimbap themselves. 

We even did score the whole place all by ourselves at one point. We were the only customers at The Min’s and we get to have a bit of small talk with the owner too.

The “VMIN” Café is placed under renovation a month after we visited so I think the universe has really conspired for us to be able to visit the place before that. Unless the soulmates or BTS hails the place again in the future, the feels won’t be the same should they reopen soon, right? But it is still worth it, eh?

We went to the LOTTE MALL Star Avenue near its closing time so there are less people lurking around the actual hand prints. However, there are a lot of people on their way home but despite that minor miscalculation we still managed to get a few snaps.

Lastly, we have The Laundry Pizza (the location for Love Yourself: Her album photoshoots) on our itinerary initially but the fatigue factor has already set in plus the occasional pouring of the rain is draining our energy so we collectively decided to already call it a day and we just spent the remaining time that we had shopping in Gangnam’s underground markets.

We did this Bangtan Tour (excluding the Star Avenue) in just one day. *Haruman plays in the background* This was in 2019 so there may be a lot of changes in the forex and prices but can you believe we only spent around 50,000 KR Won (2000php) for this tour?

There are a lot more to explore especially these days. Personally I’d like to visit Daegu (Taehyung and Yoongi’s hometown) and experience the beaches of Busan but unfortunately we didn’t get to squeeze it in. No regrets, though because we had the time of our lives then. It is also good to have something to look forward to after everything that is happening in the world. Daegu and Busan will be on the new list when we get back. Hopefully.

What was your favourite part of our trip? (Dora, is that you?)

If you want to have a copy of our full five-day itinerary, just let me know in the comments or message me personally.

Stay safe and healthy and see you around! x

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Watch the vlog here: