8 Places to Make you Fall in Love with Seoul

So I’ve held out on you. In the past 2 months, I’ve been to Seoul four times.  I was right– I don’t hate Korea, just banal suburban existence and a bad start. Why do I know this? Because I love Seoul!

What is the Korean formula for cities?

There’s something to the saying “If you’ve seen one Korean city, you’ve seen them all“. Cities here make themselves pretty redundant by using a ‘controlled urban formula’, which is mildly reminiscent to townhouse communities in the U.S.  The Korean formula? Graveyard-like apartment high-rise neighborhoods, markets with food vendors, cellphone shops, theme parks with cutesy bouquet statues and enough neon light signs to make your eyes go ga-ga. It can’t all be cherubs and Hello Kitty here; at some point, you’ll wanna scream- gimme raw, gimme edge, gimme funk, gimme… Dynamic !

Seoul’s dazzling urban design makes it a city you’ll want to see.

As the international capital in Korea, Seoul certainly lays  distinction to more futuristic and modern urban design sensibilities. Neighborhood themes? Gotta love ‘em! They vibe with their own influences of innovation, art and architecture spanning the globe from European chic to Soho stylish, British punk and Tokyo Crazy. This metropolis brings the color back to my cheeks and has me dreaming big city BIG,so much that I feel about it the way Carrie Bradshaw feels about shoes! Life can feel crappy until she walks into a shoe shop and if traveling Korea is my shoe shop, then Seoul is my Manolo Blahniks! .

6 Places in Seoul to Fall in Love with:

1.  Forbidden Itaewon

Some say avoid Itaewon, I say Go into it! According to resident guide and fellow expat, Raymond Hahn, Itaewon touts an infamous history- both rough and violent (publicized by the media)- as it is the foremost place to welcome foreigners and marginalized mainstream. With Hooker Hill, Homo Hill and Trans bars, Itaewon also boasts the largest mosque in Korea. Grit, grime, dirt and foreigners. Upfront, Itaewon might appear trashy, dirty and ragged around the edges. Think of it as a Little Tangiers.

For expats living in an ethnocentric country, this neighborhood will burn the most color you’ll ever find in one spot in all of Korea, as it boasts a grainy mix of foreigners- GI’s to Muslims, Africans, Indians, Russians, etc…  Inhale the spices from Indian and Muslim markets and kabob stands. Taste a whiff of Nag Champa-ish incense or even a bit of some Mexican food up the block. Dine at one of the many ethnic restaurants here (for once, foreign restaurants outweigh Korean ones) and check out the Indian, Muslim or African black markets for foods imported from home!

This is the neighborhood, where I finally gave into a Subway Veggie Delight sandwich! The moment I saw the Subway sandwich store from the bus, I knew it’d be like life-long lovers meeting up after years. There was a hookup… several, in fact!.

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2.  Posh and pricey Apgujeong

In Seoul, when someone walks by you in a face mask, you have to wonder if it’s the sign of an ailment or ‘procedure’. In Apgujeong the latter is your best bet!  A  hotspot for medical tourism, plastic surgery and the celebrity circuit (dans wannabes),  this neighborhood is the IT spot for those who want to see and be seen. Dubbed the Beverly Hills of Seoul , its streets flavor a bit of Parisian chic and houses small boutiques, cozy cafes, designer shops, wine bars and restaurants. The quietly quaint streets offer valet service to clients of top-tier luxury restaurants and clothing stores.

Apgujeong was once, historically known as a wealthy neighborhood, where families sent their children abroad for education. Those children came back, bringing their international designs and worldly sense with them to make this area what it is now. Today, it is one of the poshest and trendiest neighborhoods in Seoul. In Korea however, a bargain is always to be found no matter where you are.

Apgujeong, the  Beverly Hills of Seoul.
Left to right: Barbie shoe store (for human-sized folk who want to dress like Barbie!
Bottom: Inside the Dashing Diva Nail Salon; Right: Actual restaurant and film location of the hit K-drama, Pasta.

Above: One of Appujeong’s many valet shacks for individual stores and restauarants.Above pic: celebrity jewelry store

If a thirty-something elegance is your thing, then  Cheongdam is more your style. The area patrons  galleries, cafes, designer stores,  bridal salons and some pretty cool and modern architectural designs. Turn off the surface street & you’ll find galleries and boutiques quietly tucked into the side and back streets! Preening down Luxury Good Street, you’ll be shocked to see designer flagship stores and multi-shops taking up practically a block’s worth of real estate! Walking or driving down this street, unless you have the proper sugar daddy funds, you’ll probably feel out of your league window shopping here. Still, its worth the spectacle!

Cheongdam’s flagship stores on Luxury Goods street.
Most flagship stores take up an entire block. Behind the stores, the backstreets sometimes house art galleries, bridal stores, jazz bars and cozy restaurants.

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3. Romance traditional arts in Insadong

Insadong stole my heart simply by speaking my language-  arts and traditional crafts! A small hearty neighborhood, the Insadong’s main vein is the walking street, which consists of about five blocks, lined with art galleries and stores selling traditional and handmade crafts. Off-shoot alleys house traditionally styled restaurants which strive towards the traditional Korean flavor. This folksy neighborhood has a very low-key and inviting vibe and makes for a great Sunday afternoon stroll. Streets of Insadong

Above: Insadong’s Traditional restaurants

Insadong’s traditional side. From left to right: Traditional candy making show (ingredients: flour, water, honey); traditional food restaurants; below: stone figureheads mark entrance to Insadong; bottom left: walking street.

The contemporary funk of Insadong; Shopping in Insadong; Taking your picture at a webcam kiosk with friends and emailing it to yourself (for free!); eating street snacks; graffiti

4. Exploring the funky with contemporary art in Seongcheong

Adjacent to Insadong and Gyeongbukgung Palace is Samcheondong, a sparkling jewel of a neighborhood I wouldn’t have discovered if my friend, Soo Ha and I,  didn’t follow our wandering feet …AND where the long row of galleries led us.  If you’re an art lover like me, you ‘ll have the opportunity to see what current exhibitions are surviving Seoul’s art scene! Seoul has a gallery walk of contemporary galleries and museums, located conveniently across the street of Gyeongbukgung Palace and the National Folk Museum .

.Seoul art gallery Taking in the gallery scene of Seoul with friends
Guard gate at the base of the street of the “Blue House” (Korea’s version of the U.S.’s White House”).

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Continuing on this street, you’ll eventually hit Samcheondong-gil, the heart vein of Samcheondong. Here, contemporary art knocks up against  funky graphic design fonts and chic galleries and designer boutiques to make its own fun statement. What gives this neighborhood both, a unique retro and urban electric charm is the traditional hanok houses in the backdrop, reminding you of a distant time! Into Samcheondong’s hilly climb sits the Bukchon Hanok Village (constructed in the 1930′s during the Joseon Era) where you can feel the old world charm cohabit with the youthful urban scene nearby.

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Above: Chinese restaurant: funky architecture and photo murals of chinese lanterns; Below: Mural art.

My recommendation: Grab a waffle at one of the trendy waffle cafes to see what the Korean rage is all about! Then explore an off-the-beaten path tour of the side streets or climb its stairs into the hilly or hanok areas. You may just stumble upon local treasures of the neighborhood in art murals, daily Korean culture and tucked away coffee houses, which might just be a neighborhood’s best kept secret.

5.  Youthful, fun and cafe-fresh in Hongdae

There’s something about Hongdae, which feels a tad like the bar and club scenes of New York’s East Village. The Hongik University fortress is an impressive rainbow crown to the end of the main drag. The area feeds a young alternative, clubby crowd that might bring your best Tim Burton impressions into life.  My first love impression here: thematic restaurants from hip, funky and FUN! Hang out at an artist cafe or hit the quirky cafe themes of Hello Kitty or Charlie Brown. At The Bau Haouse Dog Cafe, dogs get to have their own fun bow-wowing and mingling with their own social crowd . Cafes aren’t your scene? Perhaps you’d like to rent out your own private 2-level norae-bang room for you and your friends to belt your karaoke lungs out loud in living room fashion. Your options in Hongdae carry a fun and themed variety.

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Hongdae style

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6. Fuel your love for shopping at Myeongdong

If you’ve seen one market in Korea, you’ve seen it all. So as marketplaces go, make Myeongdong your first. It’s a vast and overwhelming maze of stores, restaurants and street vendors. Situated in the cosmopolitan shade of Seoul it tows enough wattage and electric signs to stand proud as the queen bee shoppers fashion catwalk.

Shopping in Myeongdong: All this walking and shopping can build up a Korean appetite. Duck into one of the many Korean restaurants and order up a Soon doobu jigae (a spicy soft tofu soup)

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7. Performing Arts in Dehangno

Energetic, youthful and theatrical. There are live street performance acts put on by university kids in the park and a flurry of posters advertise black box venues in Korean drama, comedy and improv.

Daehangno, the youthful area for drama and theater area in Seoul

Billboard of performance shows

8.   Fall in Love at Namsan Seoul Tower

If you want to know the exact spot I fell in love with Seoul, it’s Namsan Seoul Tower. Day or night, it feels magical. The highest point in Seoul with the best view of the city, you’ll reflect on what the city itself, offers in possibility. For friends and lovers,  take a pair of lockets up to the Locks of Love and renew your vows of loyalty, as all of Seoul looks on. Take a bus to the top or hike. Take the cable car up and re-live that K-drama’s Boys Before Flowers scene, when Gu Jun Pyo and Jan Di are trapped overnight in a cable car!

Namsan Seoul Tower

Lockets of Love Seoul

To see more pictures of Seoul, just click on the picture links. <Backpacking Seoul: Getting there from Daegu>