taipei or seoul?
Both are safe, easy cities with good food and good public transport, so they often go head to head for the year-end trip. Taipei is closer and smaller, a long weekend of night markets and hot springs, while Seoul is a longer flight and a bigger trip, built around shopping, palaces and K-culture.
taipei
Dear group chat,Night markets every night, Taipei 101, bubble tea and hot springs at the end of the MRT.Read the guide →To: whoever’s drivingTaipeiTW, Taipei
seoul
Dear group chat,Palaces in hanbok, Myeongdong street food, K-beauty hauls and café hopping till late.Read the guide →To: whoever’s drivingSeoulKR, Seoul
- From KL
- taipeiAbout 3,230 km
- seoulAbout 4,610 km
- Best months
- taipeiMar–May, Oct–Dec
- seoulApr–May, Sept–Nov
- Vibe
- taipeiEasy, safe and low-key, with green hills nearby
- seoulFast, trendy capital of palaces and K-culture
- Food
- taipeiNight markets, beef noodles, xiaolongbao, bubble tea
- seoulKorean BBQ, fried chicken, tteokbokki
- Getting there
- taipeiAbout 4.5 hours' flight from KL
- seoulAbout 6.5 hours' direct flight from KL
- Weather
- taipeiMild winters; typhoons July to September
- seoulFreezing winters, wet summers, clear autumns
- How long
- taipei3–4 days
- seoul4–5 days
- Best for
- taipeiEating, an easy pace and a shorter trip
- seoulShopping, cafés and anything K-culture
Go taipei if…
- you want a shorter flight and a shorter trip
- night markets are your idea of dinner every night
- a hot spring soak in Beitou, at the end of an MRT line, sounds good
- you're travelling in winter and don't want to freeze
Go seoul if…
- K-dramas, K-pop or K-beauty are behind the trip
- you'd like proper autumn colour or a cold winter
- you have four or five days to fill
- shopping is a big part of the plan
The verdict
Taipei is the easier, shorter trip, and it's hard to eat badly there. Seoul is bigger and busier, with more shopping and more to see, and it needs a few more days. Can't decide? With a long weekend, Taipei; with five days or more and a group that loves K-culture, Seoul.