Covered over 25 administrative districts Seoul is the capital of South Korea and also the epicentre of everything that comes out of South Korea. K-pop drama locations to K-pop concerts to Design events to scrumptious food this bustling Metropolis offers the sun and sometimes the moon to the average traveller! And if you can move to Gangnam style there is little you cannot do in Seoul! Starting out with a bang of partying at Itaewon we remained like the Koreans undeterred by the flux of rain. The heating umbrellas dotted across the pub-lined streets of Itaewon were the perfect recipe for warmth but fireworks inside literally made the pub scene super lit!
Starting with a bang, Itaewon district’s lit times are best followed by another district, which is popular, not just for the music that came out of it and put South Korea on the world map, but the beauty treatment industry that dots this district multifold. If you have not jived to Gangnam Style, holding your arms across with your fists enclosed, jumping away in the most funny and may I add fun manner, you have not experienced what it is to hear and move to the beats of K-pop.  Oppa Gangnam Style is the song that hit charts everywhere in the world and it’s hook step has a statue in reverence to the song in this eponymous district. Located right outside the COEX mall  the statue is a huge draw to the tourist, just like the Fairfield library that it houses inside the mall. The books lined up across the walls of the library with the natural light coming in on all the sides makes it a beautiful location point to reflect, read and indulge in what seems to be the most popular activity today – take 1000 pictures! This most Instagram place like all similar others can be ventured out to only after standing in the long ques! Today’s monuments are totally different from those of the past, what we lineup for today as humans is completely different than what we lined up for in the past.
The beauty industry in Gangnam is extremely revelatory, from the Egg Clinic to the Shinebeam clinic to the ever popular Unni Guide, there is something for all. And at all starts with a skin analysis. The skin analysis is mostly conducted by a machine and then guided by a dermatologist who deciphers the AI generated evaluation for us mere mortals. JANUS and META VU are two such AI power devices that look into the very many layers of the human skin. Beauty is more than skin deep, we know, and so I thought, as I stuck my head into the META VU machine in the Unni Guide dermatology Centre, but in Korea, the skin is given its sheer adherence in the beauty standards. As the machine studied the various aspects of my face and my skin I prayed that I was okay, such is the peer pressure in the atmosphere! After an in depth analysis, some rotations with the eyes open and some with the eyes closed, splashing UV, IR and what not rays across my face my skin age was deftly deduced, and with that the potential underlying issues crafted out in a 10 page report, I was ready for meeting the Dermatologist!
When asked about my basic skin care routine, the dermat analysed my skin analysis report and enquired about the products I use. She was shocked that sunscreen isn’t slathered on my skin 24×7. Of course I do use the appropriate sunscreen only when it’s a very very sunny day. Brian Nobbay, the celebrated Bangalore dermat would have been extremely proud of me, but this one she was completely aghast! So as she convinced me about the merits of using sunscreen, repairing the barrier of my skin with moisturiser and steering clear of any other product because I wouldn’t need them she struck off retinol vitamin C and a lot of others from my list since they are extremely drying, while saving me a lot of time and energy in my morning routine or at the Olive Young clearly! So I posed my own question to her saying that if I use sunscreen, then how would my skin with the help of cholesterol in my bloodstream make vitamin D, a very essential vitamin for every process in the human body. She flatter her eyelids for a second thought deeply and said that’s a good question and that’s probably why we Koreans take it orally! The cosmetics industry also puts forward an entire nutraceutical industry, all for beauty that is skin deep! Nevertheless, armed with all our skin analysis reports, six of us, women completely at the mercy of the AI generated skin reports marched into Olive young and well, what can I say, the GDP of Korea has definitely seen a stark rise!
The other districts of the South Korean capital may not have been as glitzy as beauty is concerned, but they were beautiful in their own right. The Onion Cafe in the Seongsu district was an ode to good design, I wouldn’t just say good design but charmingly sustainable design. Seongsu is filled with beautiful cafes, Boutique stores and a vibe that is futuristic, but quaint. Though the food in the Onion Cafe is to die for the interior design of the cafe is starkly refreshing. The salt bun one can taste here or in the many cafes across Seoul is delightful! But the cafe’s interiors deserves more praise, it is a dilapidated building converted to use in such honest breaking apart yet the field of the cafe is five star, totally luxurious. Be it the stretch ceiling lights, the snazzy, air conditioning, or the comfortable furniture embedded in the cafe interiors. And as one crosses into Dongdaemon, the future comes calling.
Straight out of Zaha Hadid’s Studio is the Dongdaemon Design Plaza, which is futuristic unabashedly. The doyenne of architecture this project of the Master architect from London suggests her merit as someone who is beyond the masters and that’s what one feels while one experiences this design plaza. Built to house a performance space, an art gallery and shops, the public utilisation of this Design Plaza is incomparable. With the BTS army taking over, totally active at this spot one got to witness their new single light up the space with sound and lyrics. The massing is what she gets totally right, the two bean shaped domes uncover several layers of floor spaces that flow into each other. The facade of the building itself comes alive with all its materiality. A feat that is also observed at the LOTTE tower or the Seoul Sky as the tallest building in South Korea is fondly called. The LOTTE tower is built by the group and is the 5th tallest building in the world at about 555m, shaped like a split cone with a connection at the top, the sky walk is a must do for the adrenaline junkies of the world. At its base, it has the Lotte World Mall and the very delightful Seokchon Lake that celebrates the annual cherry blossom festival when all its cherry blossom trees on it’s fringes bloom. In the evening, the lake is lit up in delightful pink colour focused on the cherry blossoms, therefore making a performance out of the area. With pink cloud balls of candy floss in our hands and the pink cherry blossoms over our head, it makes for an unforgettable memory.
The Namsan tower and its delightful, love, Lock Bridge, which is featured in so many K dramas along with the Gyeongbokgung Palace our places on the list that one cannot ignore. Insadong and Ikseongdong with its tiny streets and delightful stores and restaurants, make for an experience like no other. The Bukchon Village with its Sulwhasoo flagship store is extremely dainty and pretty. These areas remind one of the way people would live in close proximity building their built structures to protect them from the biting wind or the cool climate that the region endures. In the past, only nobility were allowed to wear colour in Korea. The masses were expected to dress white hanboks, the tourist today, also rent, and where in splendid colours walking into the palace free of cost if one has rented and worn the hanboks! On an average day the visitors are encouraged to wear the hanboks and stroll around the palace precincts that make the palace and its grounds come alive greatly. Personally I felt it was a splendid idea for the visitors to be wearing the traditional outfit and setting the stage for a perfect setting to view. The ombré outfits are the best of all the colours one witnesses across the far field all matched with beautiful hairdos with creativity befitting a king! While we excitedly reminiscenced of the shows we saw, Bon Apettit your Majesty to Crash Landing on You, the country’s most popular export lies in the lingering sense of comfort, brilliance, awesome natural setting one gets to experience.
Vedasri Siddamsetty 