Do high fuel prices make you think twice about leaving the city? Seoul still has plenty of ways to offer a small escape. This weekend, check out the new Italian pavilion at Nowon Train Village, which takes visitors through famous landmarks in miniature. Or head to Namsan, where ByTofu serves tofu-centered vegan meals for runners and casual diners looking to recharge.
Italian pavilion at Nowon Train Village (Nowon-gu Office)
Here, you don’t need a plane ticket to take a trip through Italy. At Nowon Train Village in northern Seoul, a newly opened Italian pavilion invites visitors into a miniature journey through Italy. Though you may be able to walk through it in a short time, taking in all the details with your eyes can take much longer.
It follows the success of the Swiss pavilion, which opened in 2022 with its finely detailed dioramas and quickly became a local favorite for its meticulously crafted Alpine landscapes and continuous miniature train routes.
If the Swiss pavilion is a moving postcard of mountain villages and valleys, the Italian pavilion feels like stepping into a condensed atlas of Italian history and architecture stitched together by rail.
Italian pavilion at Nowon Train Village (Nowon-gu Office)
Iconic landmarks are recreated in astonishing detail. The facade of Milan Cathedral, or Duomo di Milano in Lombardy, alone carries more than 3,400 sculptures. Nearby, St. Peter’s Basilica, St. Mark’s Square and the Tower of Pisa stand alongside sweeping scenes of the Port of Naples, the Dolomites and Mount Vesuvius.
Everything is built at a 1:87 scale, but the effect is less about reduction and more about immersion. A 160-meter network of tracks winds through the entire exhibition, with miniature trains chugging through cities, coastlines and mountain passes.
Scenes are alive with tiny narratives. Inside the Colosseum, gladiators face off while miniature spectators react in animated detail. At the press of a button, gondolas drift through Venice’s canals and chariot races erupt inside an ancient arena.
Entry is priced at 2,000 won for children and 4,000 won for adults, with a 50 percent discount for Nowon district residents.
The exhibition is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The eggless egg sandwich (left) and the sunrise bowl, served with vegan taro boba tea and strawberry latte from ByTofu in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul (Lee Jung-joo/The Korea Herald)
Located near Namsan in central Seoul, ByTofu offers a vegan dining experience built around one ingredient rarely positioned as the centerpiece of a full meal: tofu.
In a country where meat-heavy dishes remain deeply embedded in everyday dining culture, restaurants that provide satisfying vegan options are still relatively uncommon. By Tofu distinguishes itself not simply by being vegan, but by approaching plant-based food with variety and creativity rather than restriction.
Open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday-Monday, the restaurant serves a range of tofu-based dishes, from grain bowls and wraps to sandwiches and desserts. No reservations are required, though the compact space can become crowded during weekends and holidays.
What makes ByTofu particularly notable is the breadth of its offerings. Rather than relying on a repetitive formula of salads and other vegetable-heavy plates, the restaurant presents dishes designed to feel substantial and varied. Popular menu items include the sunrise bowl, topped with baked tofu, quinoa salad and broccoli, as well as as a taco salad that balances freshness with stronger seasoning profiles.
Its sandwich options also stand out. The restaurant’s eggless egg sandwich uses mashed tofu to recreate the texture and richness of egg filling, while the ByTofu Wrap combines tofu baked with spices with a homemade chili mayo dressing for a meal that feels closer to comfort food than stereotypical “healthy food.”
Staff at ByTofu prepares a wrap in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul. (Lee Jung-joo/The Korea Herald)
The restaurant also extends its vegan approach to desserts and baked goods. Its offerings rotate regularly, with recent specials including strawberry cupcakes for Children’s Day and vegan banana pudding inspired by the infamous banana pudding sold at the Magnolia Bakery in New York.
Its location near Namsan has also made the restaurant increasingly popular among runners, as the mountain area has emerged as one of Seoul’s most frequented running courses in recent years. ByTofu embraces this identity, referring to itself as a “runners’ station” where visitors can recharge before or after a run.
The restaurant’s current branding also draws inspiration from the film “Forrest Gump,” emphasizing endurance, persistence and moving forward at one’s own pace. Running shoes and “Forrest Gump”-related objects placed throughout the space subtly reinforce the theme.
For runners, vegans or simply those looking for a more thoughtful approach to casual dining, ByTofu offers a stop that feels both nourishing and deliberately crafted.
(hwangdh@heraldcorp.com) (lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com)
hwangdh@heraldcorp.com
lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com