For boutique retail remedy, choices abound. Ji Yeon Jung’s Recto is famend for its refined and androgynous takes on wardrobe necessities (suppose: leather-based bombers, blazers, denim), and the model’s new flagship in Hannam-dong—which is accented with Woorim Kang’s sculptural wooden furnishings—gives a fittingly trendy setting to store, whereas Korean style model Ader Error’s Seongsu flagship sells its edgy streetwear in a futuristic, gallery-like setting. There’s additionally a cool crop of impartial magnificence boutiques price scoping out, together with dwelling perfume model Soohyang’s new outpost in Apgujeong, Seongsu’s fragrance store Written on Water, and Whipped House (additionally in Seongsu), the place you may make your personal vegan face cleanser.
Where to eat in Seoul
Want to uncover a lesser-known facet of Korean delicacies? Bypass the barbecue, and as a substitute attempt Pyongyang naengmyeon, North Korean buckwheat noodles in an icy beef broth, from Wooraeok and Jinmi Pyeongyang Naengmyeon. Another inexpensive on a regular basis staple, kalguksu, or knife noodle soup, represents consolation in a bowl. Though it’s doled out all throughout the town, Myeongdong Kyoja has been serving up a number of the greatest since 1966. (You may even ask for a free second serving to of noodles.) And for sluggish mornings following late nights, a bowl of gamjatang (spicy pork bone soup) from Seongsu’s Somunnan Gamjatang, a standby hangover treatment that’s open 24 hours, will repair you proper up.
While Seoul is filled with respected, high-end institutions—Michelin-starred Jungsik and Mingles are among the many greatest for modern Korean high-quality eating—road meals is the place you may faucet into the town’s culinary soul cheaply and simply. Established in 1905, Gwangjang Market is South Korea’s oldest and largest market, and is at all times crammed with hungry locals and out-of-towners hovering over crispy bindaetteok (mung bean pancakes) and steaming bowls of kalguksu. Other markets you need to have in your radar are the smaller-but-charming Mangwon Market and Tongin Market, and Noryangjin Fish Market, the place you may store the recent seafood stalls, then have your choices ready as you would like (uncooked, steamed, grilled) at certainly one of its on-site eating places.
Where to drink in Seoul
No longer overshadowed by Tokyo and Singapore, Seoul has emerged as certainly one of Asia’s prime cities for bars and cocktails. If you favor to spend the evening in one neighborhood, as a substitute of bopping round, the hip neighborhood of Sindang has you coated with 4 spots: wine bar Soak, the Chinese zodiac-inspired Zoo Sindang, Jimbba (a conventional liquor store and tasting room), and Gu, a wood-paneled bar turning out technique-driven cocktails. Though the subterranean speakeasy Pine & Co. is hard to discover—search for the reflective glass door, and climb downstairs—when you’ve arrived, you’ll be rewarded with whimsical drinks spotlighting Korean substances, just like the refreshing Omija (Korean five-flavor berry) punch. For drinks which can be straightforward on the palate and the surroundings, go to award-winning Zest, an modern bar that champions sustainability.