Jay
Style & Design Editor
“By the time it's trending everywhere, we've probably already moved on to what's next.”
17 stories
Autumn Leaves in Seoul: Where to Go, and When
The colour moves through Seoul in a sequence. Which spots are worth it, which week to pick, and the one place that needs a booking.
Gyeongju From Seoul: The Day Trip Works. The Night Is the Point.
Three clusters, two-plus hours each way. What fits in a day, what needs a night, and why the lights after dark decide it.
Hyehwa After Dark: Build the Evening Around One Stage
Choose a performance you can follow, then let Daehangno’s theatre streets and the Naksan City Wall shape the rest of the night.
Jeonju Hanok Village: One Hour on the Main Lanes, the Rest of the Day Where the Village Ends
One in three hanok in the village is a business. How to get there from Seoul, what's worth paying for, and why a night beats a day trip.
The Seoul Buildings Worth Going Out of Your Way For
Not photo backdrops — buildings where you can read the architect off the structure. Zaha Hadid's DDP, the Leeum's three architects, Kim Swoo-geun's brick, and what's next.
Euljiro: Seoul's Old Hardware District Turned Creative Hub
Hardware stalls and printing presses hide craft bars and rooftop cafes — plus why the redevelopment pressure means this look won't last forever.
Hanbok Studio Photos: The Other Way to Do It, Off the Palace Street
Street rental gets you into the palace for free. A studio session sells something else entirely — and the styling is the one thing that actually changes the photo.
The Korean Fragrance Brands Worth Knowing (and Bringing Home)
K-fragrance is the next K-beauty export wave. Four brands to know, what each smells like, price bands, where the flagships are, and how to pack a bottle home.
Where Seoul Actually Buys Streetwear (and Why It's Seongsu Now)
Korean streetwear was an app for a decade; in 2026 Musinsa built a 5-floor megastore in Seongsu. Where to go, and how the retail-vs-resale split (Musinsa vs KREAM) works.
How Seoul Does Museums (and Which Ones Are Worth Your Half-Day)
Permanent collections are mostly free and the galleries are free to walk into. Which big museum is for what, the walkable gallery belts, and the closed-Mondays info that's out of date.
Renting a Hanbok for Gyeongbokgung: Traditional or Fusion, and How to Pick
The most-photographed thing tourists do in Seoul, turned into an industry. What's actually on the racks, what a rental costs in 2026, and why the traditional cut sits better in a palace frame.
The Seoul Church With No Cross on the Outside
Kim Swoo-geun finished it in 1981 to look like praying hands, with no cross out front and a catacomb-dark interior. For 40 years outsiders could barely get in — that changed in 2026.
Where Seoul Actually Buys Vintage
Seoul's secondhand scene runs on three tiers — the ₩1,000 piles at Dongmyo, brand vintage on the second floor of Gwangjang Market, and the curated select shops of Seongsu and Hongdae. Which one you want depends on how much digging you enjoy.
Seoul's Shopping Districts, Decoded: Which One for What
Stop looking for the same thing in five neighborhoods. Each district is for something specific — here's what to buy where.
Thanks Books Isn't Trying to Be Instagrammable — That's Exactly Why Design People Still Go
A handwritten note on every book, no photogenic backdrop required — the Hapjeong bookstore that stayed the same while the trend cycled past it.
Musinsa Standard, SPAO, TOP TEN, 8seconds — Korea's Own SPA Brands, Explained
You know Uniqlo and Zara. Here's what Korea wears instead.
3 Concept Shops That Explain What Seoul Design Is Into Right Now
Not a hotspot list — an answer to why spaces like these are getting attention right now.