It’s midnight in a small room of leather banquettes and disco lights, and I’m belting out Summer of 69 with a bunch of semi-strangers. The table has disappeared beneath a huddle of Midori and Suntory highballs, beers and plates of chips. I’m full of barbecued beef, gliding on a cloud of soju as I give Bryan Adams a run for his money. I can only be in Seoul, South Korea’s loud, stylish, colourful capital.
Away from the prim scenes of wing-roofed palaces and fluttering clouds of cherry blossom, Seoul is packed with personality. You’d need at least a week to really dig into its many neighbourhoods, but you can get the greatest hits down in two or three days — followed by your own greatest hits at one of Hongdae district’s noraebangs (karaoke bars).
It’s easy to fall in love with Seoul — the effortless street style, the accessible and air-conditioned metro, the generously-portioned comfort food — but it does require research. My first afternoon in the city was spent wandering the historic centre for hours, feet aching and flustered by the taxi system. As every TikToker will tell you, this is a walking city — pack more than one pair of trainers and leave sandals at the hotel — but beyond that, everything can feel upside-down. Cabs display red text when empty, green when occupied (a third white option means reserved). Buying a metro card (£1.50 for a top-up card, £2.50 for one day’s travel) and untangling the taxi code, I felt back in control.
Next, to navigate the neighbourhoods: my base was Itaewon, an LGBTQ+-friendly nightlife quarter, but I had Hongdae (neon buzz and fried chicken), Myeongdong (street eats and shopping) and Seongsu (hipster cafés and concept stores) on my list. Booking a guide for at least a half-day will help orient you, as well as giving vital cultural context.
Itaewon’s Mondrian Hotel (£200, mondrianhotels.com) encapsulated Seoul’s trendy, aesthetics-obsessed scene: art installations featuring ropes, nets and luminous swings adorn the lobby, while a fifth-floor pool terrace attracts Seoul’s partiers come summer. Outside was a peaceful, shabby-chic district of antique stores, vintage shops, tiny bars like Apt and plant-based restaurants such as Alt.a. Near the metro station is a neon-signed bar strip, overflowing with good vibes and loud beats.
One big draw of Seoul compared to other Asian cities is its excellent value. Hotels are staggeringly affordable — many luxury properties from well under £200 a night, including the riverside Hotel Naru, which has an indoor and sky pool, high-rise bar and restaurant with city-wide views (from £175, hotelnaruseoul.com). Restaurants, too, are generous and cheap. Take the huge barbecue feast — slabs of the best beef and pork belly you’ve ever had, sizzled by you, to your liking — at Gogikkun Kim Chun Bae, for £59 for two people. At Yukjeon Gukbap, an enormous, simmering beef hot pot comes with several side dishes of kimchi, pickles and rice, for the princely sum of £6 (a sharing-sized bottle of soju is £3).
One big draw of Seoul compared to other Asian cities is its excellent value
Seoul knows the global appeal of its music, TV dramas and beauty, and locals have jumped to provide immersive tours. I take a fun K-Pop dance class at Real K-Pop Dance in Hapjeong (£25, realkpopdance.com), sweep the shelves for K-Beauty masks and serums at cult store Olive Young (in most neighbourhoods), and have a personal colour analysis in Myeondong (£150 for two, colorizestore.cafe24.com). This is a huge trend among young Koreans: staff appraise your skin, hair and eye colour, declare your “seasons” and show you the clothing and make-up that suit you most (be prepared to have attention drawn to wrinkles and eye bags). I’m told that yellow washes me out, grey-blues even out my skin and emphasise my eyes, and I’m prescribed “low saturation” make-up. Where else would I learn the exact Pantone shade (#16-5810, Green Bay) of my eyes ?
Colorize feels fitting, as colour simply bursts from the buildings, shelves and plates here: the ornate dancheong detail at the city palaces, the puffs of hot-pink azaleas, the baby-pink, plum and gold hanbok traditional outfits tourists are encouraged to rent and wear at the palaces (gaining free entry). The hot pepper reds of top street food tteokbokki (rice tubes smothered in gochujang) and the pastel and cobalt of the pretty fabric crafts you’ll find in every gift shop (buy your mum some coasters).
On leaving, I felt inspired — infused with colour and energy, and a certainty that this would not be my last visit.
Virgin Atlantic has return flights to Seoul from £889. InsideAsia organises seven-day tours of Seoul and South Korea from £1,143, excluding international flights
