Someone once asked me what I like about Seoul. At the time, I couldn’t quite articulate what it was about South Korea’s largest city that made me enthusiastically rave about it. Honestly, I didn’t think there was a need to explain Seoul’s significance. To me, it was evident. How could you see Seoul and not fall in love with it immediately? Coming from the suburbs of a mid-sized city, all I wanted was endless exploration, hordes of people, and colorful neon signs of businesses open past midnight. People warned me that it seemed great until you actually had to live there. They were wrong. It was more than great. In fact, it only made me want to live in as many big cities as I can throughout my life.
I still can’t quite explain what makes Seoul so great. It might be the endless cafe’s, shopping, restaurants or events. However, there are certain special places that I think encompass why I love it so much. They’re neighborhoods you may not think to go to as a tourist on a short trip. In about the span of a year, these were my favorite pockets of Seoul, all wonderful in their own way. I often found them through wandering and while they may not be underrated by any means (most of them are quite popular!) stumbling upon them made them that much more special to me.
Seongsu-dong
Seongsu-dong is dubbed the “Brooklyn of Seoul”. It’s trendy and incredibly popular amongst locals. It borders the beautiful Seoul forest which is especially incredible during peak fall foliage. The architecture is quite different from the rest of the the city and it feels like a piece of Brooklyn carved out and dropped into Seoul. The streets are lined with eateries, cafes and boutiques. Often times, there are little tables and stalls outside of the stores with more jewelry, clothing, hats, etc to peruse. Not to mention, one of my favorite bakeries, Pitch, is located there. They have the best Pain au chocolate and banana choco caramel croissants. Down the street, Zesty Saloon is a great burger joint albeit a busy one (it takes over an hour to get a table, thankfully, you can leave your number and stay in the queue). If you feel like change of scenery or mixing outdoor/indoor activities, this neighborhood should be on your list!
Samcheong-dong
Samcheong-dong is a part of greater Jong-no, on the eastern side of Gyeongbokgung Palace. This area is tied with Seongsu-dong as one of my favorite neighborhoods in Seoul. My usual foot path to this area starts at Anguk station, taking exit 2 and walking up Bukchon-ro. You’ll pass another amazing bakery, Layered, which also has some of the best pastries in Seoul. Then turn left on Bukchon-ro 5-gil and walk down until you reach Bukchon-ro 5ga-gil. All the while, there are plenty of places to stop along the way. Bukchon-ro 5 ga-gil, as well as Samcheong-ro to which it leads, are lined with cafes, restaurants, shops, art galleries and, my favorite, photo booths. I highly recommend Analog Cafe if you’re missing more western style food in Seoul. There’s also Seoul Sticker Shop which sells, you guessed it, stickers that are fantastic gifts and keepsakes. Additionally, famous Bukchon Hanok Village is a few streets up but try to visit on weekday mornings as it can get packed.
Tongui-Dong/Tongin-Dong
The West side of Jong-no was an area I only came to see later toward the end of my year in Seoul. I regret not finding it sooner! It feels like walking in a cute, small town in the mid-west. The buildings are low and eclectic, there are book stores everywhere and quaint cafes that are so small and colorful. It also contains the oldest book store in Seoul, Daeo Bookstore which is a nice slice of history wedged between the newer businesses. The neighborhood also contains Tongin Market where you can purchase little coins to use at a plethora of stalls and fill up a lunchbox with food. Seochon Hanok Village is also located within it and while smaller than its Eastern counterpart, it’s still worth a stroll.
Sinsa-dong
Sinsa is hands down the best place to wander in Gangnam. If you’re up for the walk, my friends and I usually get off at Sinnonhyeon on line 9, hit up Shake Shack and walk straight up to Sinsa. We love to walk down 신사동가로수길 상세보기 (Garosu-gil Road). It’s a famous Gingko tree lined street filled with Western and Asian stores, restaurants and cafes. I recommend Brooklyn Burger or Maddux Pizza if you’re craving Western food, or hitting up any of the outdoor Korean bbq places lining the street if you’re craving Korean.
Yeonnam-dong
Yeonnam-dong is a part of Mapo-gu and sits to the northwest of Hongdae. This neighborhood is home to Greem Cafe, the black and white cafe seen in To All The Boys: Always and Forever. There’s more than that though. It also has Dongjin Market, a traditional market that has young artists selling their handmade wares, and Hwagyo Restaurant Street, aka “Little Chinatown” which is lined with amazing Chinese restaurants. It also contains a myriad of unique cafe’s like Ver’s Garden, which looks like a lush garden between concrete walls. I had gone to Mapo numerous times without ever seeing this part of it! It’s easy to miss pretty popular places in a big city like Seoul! There’s so much going on that it’s difficult to see all of the city. I lived there for a year and went out practically every Saturday and Sunday and I still feel like I haven’t seen even half of everything this amazing city has to offer.
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