Seoul is ready to grow to be one of the influential model and tradition hubs on the planet. It’s a courageous assertion, maybe. However that’s what defines the Korean creators who’re shaping town: daring, courageous and proud. Go to Seoul and you’ll immediately encounter keys to the success of latest Korean tradition. Dynamic power, velocity and a remix of so many issues (outdated and new, Western and Jap, excessive style and streetwear, industrial and craftsmanship) welcome you – though it’d make you’re feeling barely giddy.
‘If love and hate have the identical which means, I really like you, Seoul, I hate you, Seoul’, sings RM, of South Korean boy band BTS, in his track ‘Seoul’, produced by Honne. Rising up and dwelling in Seoul, that’s how I felt in regards to the metropolis of over 10 million inhabitants, so intense and stuffed with contradictions. From being one of many poorest nations within the Nineteen Sixties, South Korea achieved exceptional financial development, and such fast social change enforced velocity and fierce competitors for Koreans to outperform. A small nation squeezed between China and Japan, it had an insatiable need for exterior recognition, which fuelled its cultural exports, from music and drama to style.
A busy street in Seoul’s prosperous Gangnam district (which impressed Psy’s chart-topping track)
(Picture credit score: Images by Dongkyun Vak)
(Picture credit score: Images by Dongkyun Vak)
If you happen to ask Korean artists how they did it, they’ll inform you that they’re nice at absorbing numerous cultural influences and remixing them to create one thing of their very own. A particularly hard-working ethos retains us going till we’re assured that one thing authentic has been created. As Koreans have delved deeper into identity-seeking, Korean heritage has grow to be a key affect. Eager to face out from the group, Koreans as soon as devoured overseas tendencies, however many now worth our sense of place, our tradition, traditions and the potential to rediscover our id.
Reinventing heritage is prevalent, significantly in two of the capital’s oldest neighbourhoods, Bukchon (North Village) and Seochon (West Village). Designed by main Korean architect Choi Wook, of One O One Architects, the flagship retailer of Korea’s main magnificence model, Sulwhasoo, is situated in Bukchon. Choi’s design displays the character of the neighbourhood, a jumble of alleyways lined with conventional hanok homes. ‘Korean tradition has a protracted custom of juxtaposing photos with a structured logic to specific concepts, as seen in its Hangul alphabet,’ says Choi. ‘I needed to create a spot’s character by means of imagery and simple communication; I hoped to offer again the feeling of the physique together with the visible expertise and convey the distinctive panorama of outdated Seoul.’
Hwuigyumjae is a surprising 120-year-old hanok in Bukchon out there for personal features
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Hwuigyumjae’s Lowroof Café serves a superbly offered pear and ginger mousse dessert
(Picture credit score: Images by Dongkyun Vak)
Choi believes that Seoul’s structure is a mirrored image of Korea’s id. ‘It’s a advanced of many fragments, chaotic however cheerful. It isn’t thought of grand or stunning, but it surely has a singular power that blends with the mountainous panorama. It isn’t a set of particular person buildings however a large collective.’ On the opposite aspect of Gyeongbokgung Palace is the Seochon district, house to the Onjium analysis institute, a cultural guardian of Korean traditions. ‘We stock out analysis, exhibitions, publishing and consulting centred on clothes, the culinary arts and life-style to make sure our conventional tradition continues in trendy life’, says Onjium’s chief inventive officer Jeongin Kathryn Hong.
Royal Banquet Corridor at Gyeongbokgung Palace
(Picture credit score: Images by Dongkyun Vak)
The centre additionally runs one of the revered advantageous eating eating places on the town. Many acclaimed native institutions, corresponding to Mingles, Mosu and Jungsik, reinvent staple Korean elements into recipes with a contemporary flourish. At Onjium, deep analysis takes a driver’s seat. Explaining Onjium’s method, Hong quotes an historical e book: ‘The higher the style, the lighter it’s. It’s straightforward to get uninterested in a stronger flavour after the primary style, however a light-weight flavour step by step seeps in and captivates for a very long time.’
The restaurant at Onjium is one probably the most revered Korean advantageous eating institutions on the town
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Kori gin, on the bar menu on the Rakkojae hanok resort in Bukchon, is made with ten completely different native botanicals
(Picture credit score: Images by Dongkyun Vak)
At Seochon Lounge, run by Seoul’s native authorities, the goal is to offer way more than only a cup of Korean tea for guests. It gives company the possibility to expertise on a regular basis life in a hanok, with ongoing exhibitions on Okay-style dwelling, and a library. ‘Due to fascinating collaborations, right this moment’s hanoks prolong to hip and classy contents, and younger audiences love their more and more evolving attraction and values,’ says Yoo-sik Kim, Seoul’s director of hanok coverage. You possibly can choose up Korean crafts at Solunaliving or Ilsang Yeoback, whereas having fun with exhibitions by Korean designers and artisans.
A newly reinterpreted conventional material at Onjium, a number one cultural basis in Seochon
(Picture credit score: Images by Dongkyun Vak)
The up to date design and life-style gallery Ilsang Yeoback
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Seoul, previously generally known as Hanyang in the course of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897), was chosen as a capital for its excellent feng shui. ‘The 4 mountains surrounding outdated Seoul are its finest landmarks,’ stated Seung H-Sang, who grew to become Seoul’s first metropolis architect in 2014. He shifted course from city development to regeneration, and argued towards individuals who felt Seoul wanted a landmark by a starchitect.
You possibly can simply hike up Inwang Mountain, or stroll across the outdated metropolis partitions to understand the attraction of outdated palaces oddly set towards the dramatic backdrop of the gray slabs of tall buildings. My Life as an Architect in Seoul (Thames & Hudson; amongst Wallpaper’s choose of structure books), by one other established architect Byoung Cho, will equip you with a warm-hearted architectural information to town.
Seoul is dense and chaotic, with buildings tumbling over one another. You possibly can take an underground practice for quarter-hour and stroll out into yet one more bustling centre. However it’s straightforward to embrace this chaos when you realise how aptly it displays the power of town, the place dynamic structure and hyper-aesthetic, cutting-edge outlets are juxtaposed with nice swathes of the outdated gray streetscape.
The Hermès retailer in Dosan Park, designed by RDAI
(Picture credit score: Images by Dongkyun Vak)
Aesop’s new retailer in Seochon, designed in collaboration with Samuso Hyojadong
(Picture credit score: Images by Texture on Texture. Courtesy of Aesop)
Developments come and go super-fast in Korea, however being on development helps the style business to develop quick and nurture gifted designers. PAF (Submit Archive Faction), stocked at Dover Avenue Market and Ssense, is one to look at. ‘For each PAF assortment, there are “Left”, “Centre” and “Proper” labels,’ PAF founder Dongjoon Lim says. ‘In Korea, political rigidity is excessive, however you aren’t purported to casually specific it, so I needed to tackle it in a playful approach by means of garments.’
Right here is why he thinks PAF attracts international followers: ‘With every assortment,we genuinely change. We proceed to interrupt with custom and remix the previous and the current.’ Lim believes that is one of the best time to start out a model in Seoul. ‘The highlight is on Korea and you may entry an excellent infrastructure in the midst of town, one thing that may sadly quickly disappear.’
Submit Archive Faction’s boutique in Seoul’s industrial Dasan-ro district. The sought-after label is thought for its evolving uniform idea
(Picture credit score: Images by Dongkyun Vak)
(Picture credit score: Images by Dongkyun Vak)
South Korean manufacturers corresponding to Hyein Search engine optimisation, Kanghyuk and We11Done established themselves by redefining the up to date notion of luxurious, however Seoul’s sybaritic aspirations are reaching new heights. Homegrown tailoring model Lerici approaches its craft with an architectural perspective. Its eight seasoned Korean tailors produce solely 16 fits per thirty days, spending 90-100 hours for every garment offered at £6,000-8,000.
Within the artwork world, Seoul’s wealthy pool of artists, personal and public museums, and collectors have introduced key gamers, corresponding to Frieze Seoul, and blue-chip galleries, together with White Dice and Thaddaeus Ropac, to city. ‘Seoul is an extremely thrilling vacation spot for the humanities that basically shines amid the breadth and high quality of its cultural panorama,’ says Frieze Seoul director Patrick Lee. ‘I might describe the artwork scenes as each cutting-edge and enmeshed in Seoul’s historical past.’ Alongside staples such because the Nationwide Museum of Fashionable and Modern Artwork (MMCA), which additionally boasts a very good bookstore, and Leeum museums, Seoul has many stellar museums, together with the Seoul Museum of Artwork, which has just a few branches throughout city, and the just lately opened Songeun artwork area.
The Songeun artwork and cultural basis has been devoted to supporting Korean artists for the final 35 years, and its inventive director Laurencina Farrant-Lee has witnessed a big improve within the illustration of youthful abilities. She factors out that the compartmentalisation of artwork departments into particular disciplines, corresponding to Western, Oriental or Buddhist portray, is a particular problem in Korea. However there’s an fascinating twist, she says: ‘Whereas this construction could pose technical limitations on the inventive expression, it has paradoxically spurred artists to forge new languages, leading to an intriguing and distinctive panorama inside the Korean artwork scene.’
The Songeun artwork area by Herzog & de Meuron includes a triple-height void at its coronary heart
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On the fringes of artwork lie the world-famous Korean-style tattoos. ‘The human physique is my canvas and needles are my brushes,’ says tattoo artist Doy, who radiates the dignity of a longtime artist. When he’s invited to Brad Pitt’s mansion in LA to create tattoos, he will get full respect as an artist. Nonetheless, the second he lands at Incheon airport, he’s handled as a felony and customs confiscate his instruments as a result of Korea is the one nation the place performing tattoos with no medical licence is unlawful on account of its historic affiliation with organised crime. Doy has been main the motion to legalise tattoos and is at present producing a documentary about tattooing as an artwork type. He travels around the globe to tattoo a dot – a basic part of tattoos – on individuals, and interviews them on what it means to them.
Pioneering tattoo artist Doy in his studio
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Seoul can be the place you possibly can observe the way forward for retail areas. Some manufacturers right here generate a lot curiosity previous to their shops’ unveiling as a result of they know create jaw-dropping areas that may trigger a buzz. At hip eyewear model Light Monster’s Haus Dosan in Gangnam, immersed within the upbeat music and trendy crowd, I felt like I had grow to be cool. I couldn’t keep in mind the final time I felt that approach whereas visiting a retailer.
The brand new outpost of Light Monster’s perfume model Tamburins is an art-filled underground area in Seongsu
(Picture credit score: Images by Dongkyun Vak)
A Peak cake, comprising a black pastry crust full of wealthy matcha cream, by Light Monster’s dessert model Nudake
(Picture credit score: Images by Dongkyun Vak)
Typically in comparison with Shoreditch or Brooklyn, Seongsu is the place surprising and inventive exploration thrives, as seen in shops by style label Adererror or quite a few pop-ups. The founding father of Level of View and LCDC, which have a good time small native manufacturers, Jaewon Kim lived in east London whereas learning at Central Saint Martins and preferred the outdated redbrick buildings she present in industrial Seongsu when she returned. She began opening cafés with a design focus in 2014, and her locations helped to remodel the economic streets by attracting like-minded outlets.
Korean design collective Adererror’s Seongsu House boutique is filled with drama and surprising particulars
(Picture credit score: Images by Dongkyun Vak)
(Picture credit score: Images by Dongkyun Vak)
(Picture credit score: Images by Dongkyun Vak)
Kim’s childhood dream was to personal a stationery store. Believing instruments are vital for inventive minds, she needed to share her ardour for stationery, hoping that her future clients would assume, ‘If I write my journal utilizing this pencil, I’ll really feel higher.’ She began Level of View in a small nook of her café in 2016, and shortly realised individuals have been visiting the café solely to be able to go to the store. Success was such that she expanded it to the complete three flooring of the constructing final 12 months.
Jaewon Kim in her Level of View stationery store in Seongsu
(Picture credit score: Images by Dongkyun Vak)
Requested why Seongsu grew to become so common, Kim says: ‘The distinction between the economic background and model new outlets is an enormous draw. Essentially, Seongsu allows pleasant impartial outlets and massive manufacturers to coexist. For a neighbourhood to develop an fascinating character, you want many fabulous small companies. However individuals additionally get pleasure from massive areas by large manufacturers the place you possibly can breathe.’
South Korea is at a degree of social transition. The dynamic, explosive power of its inventive scenes is a counterpoint to a really repressive society with a slim definition of success. There’s a vigorous solidarity amongst younger creators to experience an enormous wave of Korean tradition. Some fear that competitors and velocity, which skilled Koreans to churn out inventive content material, may additionally break us.
Eggdrop’s posh tackle the favored avenue meals breakfast of Korean-style egg toast
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Over a properly brewed Korean tea in his studio overlooking hills, architect Choi Wook explains what’s occurring in Seoul. ‘Together with financial development, individuals’s extra power is on full show within the metropolis, and the disharmony has created a free-spirited tradition. Seoul is a secure haven from the chaotic power of {the marketplace} that’s widespread in Asia.’ What’s going to occur to Seoul? ‘There was a latest surge in density that’s typical of a rustic with a rising financial system, however I feel the cultural maturation that may happen within the coming years of low development will make Seoul much more stunning.
Designed by architect Choi Wook, of One O One, magnificence model Sulwhasoo’s flagship retailer in Bukchon combines a Nineteen Thirties hanok home with a Western-style Nineteen Sixties constructing
(Picture credit score: Images by Dongkyun Vak)
At occasions, Seoul can really feel overwhelming, and to recuperate, I like to go to Welcome to Paradise, a tiny makgeolli (milky Korean rice wine) bar in Hongdae, an space identified for its indie music and skate scenes. Its proprietor Changhee Park has a real sparkle in his eyes. He used to design units for movies and his bar is a set of the whole lot borrowed from the work of his favorite director, Wong Kar-wai. The final time I noticed him, I used to be abruptly interested in what evokes him. ‘I was influenced by philosophers and monks, however now the lives round me transfer me. The humorous lives of my pals, the intense and sunny hearts of my regulars, the daylight pouring out of my window, and my 4 cats.
(Picture credit score: Images by Dongkyun Vak)
Welcome to Paradise bar’s proprietor Changhee Park
(Picture credit score: Images by Dongkyun Vak)
A dish of potato pancake served with makgeolli
(Picture credit score: Images by Dongkyun Vak)
Supply: Wallpaper
