Seoul stopover

I'm stopping off in Seoul on the way to and from the UK in a few weeks; I have 2 days on the way there and 4 on the way back. Should I base myself in Seoul, expore the city and do a couple of day trips (I was thinking of Suwon and the DMZ) or should I just spend a couple of days in Seoul and spend a few days elsewhere in South Korea? If so, any suggestions on where? I like walking so was thinking one of the national parks might be a good choice.

Seoul is a huge city, the 6th biggest in the world, and so therefore has so much to see. there is no way you can cover everything in the time that you have so I would suggest baseing yourself in Seoul and perhaps doing a day trip or 2 out of Seoul. Seoul is basically a lot of different towns all linked together to form 1 huge city. For example I was in Seoul last weekend and we managed to visit:
Itaewon, which is the foreigners district where there are loads of bars and restaurants from all over the world.
Myongdong, which is the food capitol of Seoul.
Insadong which is a great area for shopping and hanging out as it is very cosmopolitan and one of the main roads is closed to traffic at the weekends for a street market.
Gwangwamun to see the amazing royal palaces.
Hongdae, which is the Universtiy area and so has a great nightlife scene...so many bars and clubs.
Dongdaemun, which has a huge market and you can stroll along the man made canal that flows through Seoul.
We did all this in 3 days yet there is still so much more to see that we will visit on our next weekend there.
Seoul is up there with the great cities like Bangkok or Hong Kong in my opinion and we cant wait to go back (I live in Korea, about 4 hours outside of Seoul).
Have a great time!

Thanks a lot Brian- I think I'll take your advice and base myself in Seoul. Sounds like there is loads to do!

Have you done the DMZ tour and if so could you recommend a company to go with?

Suggest you arrange for one of the free Goodwill Guides - I did, and was pleasantly rewarded with a great experience in Seoul. Language can be a problem in Korea, and I would have been totally lost on my own. You need to make a reservation for the guide about 30 days out - mine responded in a matter of hours.

[ Edit: Edited on 11-Aug-2009, at 21:13 by Daawgon ]

Quoting Daawgon

Suggest you arrange for one of the free Goodwill Guides - I did, and was pleasantly rewarded with a great experience in Seoul. Language can be a problem in Korea, and I would have been totally lost on my own. You need to make a reservation for the guide about 30 days out - mine responded in a matter of hours.

I've just googled this and it sounds like a lovely idea. How long did you spend with your guide?

I second the recommendation of visiting Myungdong and Insadong. There's a nice mix of the old and new - big departmental stores co-existing with small niche stalls, and it was lovely to be able to just wander along and browse at leisure.

Suwon is also a very nice place. If you do go there, do stop by the Hwaseong Fortress, it's definitely worth a visit.