Author: Sam Konneh

Cheong Wa Dae (Blue House) is the former presidential residence of South Korea, a sprawling hillside compound of blue-tiled pavilions, gardens and recep…

Gwangjang Market is Seoul’s oldest covered market (est. 1905) and the city’s undisputed street-food heavyweight home to bindaetteok, mayak gimbap, yukho…

Cheonggyecheon is a 10.9-kilometre restored urban stream running east through central Seoul once buried under a highway, now a landscaped walkway with w…

Samcheongdong is Seoul’s most elegant neighbourhood a sloping strip of art galleries, designer boutiques, independent cafés and hanok-roofed restaurants…

Ikseondong is a warren of restored 1920s hanok alleys filled with indie cafés, boutique shops, and restaurants, just east of Insadong in Jongno. It is f…

Namdaemun Market is Korea’s oldest and largest open-air market, open since 1414, with roughly 10,000 vendors across dozens of streets. It is free to ent…

Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) is Zaha Hadid’s neo-futurist spaceship in central Seoul an exhibition hall, fashion hub, and the centerpiece of Dongdaemun…

Han River Parks are Seoul’s waterfront green belt 12 riverside parks stretched along the Han. All are free, open 24/7, and connected by bike paths.

Gangnam Underground Shopping is a budget fashion and cosmetics arcade built into the corridors of Seoul’s busiest subway station. It is free to enter an…

Starfield Library is a free public library inside COEX Mall with 13-metre-tall bookshelves holding 50,000 books. The library and mall are free to enter;…