Gangnam Style

Wether you liked the song and videoclip or not, it is sheer impossible that ‘Gangnam Style’ does not ring a bell. Unless you lived under a rock. Or are 80+ years old.

Psy’s music video went viral all around the globe. The song sure has put Seoul’s neighborhood Gangnam on the map. It is an upperclass neighborhood, where Psy himself comes from.

I read that there are many cool shops, cafes and eateries and some great modern architecture, so one day I took the subway to Gangnam.

From the subway you arrive in an underground shopping mall, that is clearly a young girl’s shopping paradise. There was a lot of cute, cheap stuff for sale.

Out of curiosity I walked around, had a cappuccino, and after a while I decided to go above ground.
At street level I was surrounded by high, glossy office towers. Hm, in which direction was all the cool stuff? Difficult to say and my orientation skills are quite poor.

The first couple of people that I wanted to ask for directions, shied away as if I was a leper. Number five, a pretty young woman, stopped. Bless her. But she started doing stuff on her phone. Was she texting or what?! No, she was not. Turned out she activated a translation app! Cool!

In general I don’t have a local simcard when I’m traveling so unfortunately I am never connected, unless I am in a place with wifi. Otherwise I could use apps like that too. That would be so handy! Also for directions!

I typed: “Where are the nice streets and shops?”. After reading the translation she looked at me, pointed to the street we were standing in and said:”No.” Yeah, I already got that, that this was not the right street. But where was???
So I asked again. Now she pointed underground. Yeah, I know that too, I just came from that underground shopping mall. To cut a long story short she could not help me out. Too bad, but at least she tried. Most people are very friendly, I find.

So I strolled in different directions, until I felt I was in the right spot.

I walked along a big street, lined with all sorts of shops and interesting architecture and art here and there.

How cute are these small dog outfits?!

Shop with pretty mosaic art in front.

Parallel to the main street, behind it, runs another street with nothing but eateries, so if you are looking for food in Gangnam, then you have a lot of choices there.

I looked for Anne DeMeulemeester’s Green Fortress (not found) and for specific shops and building that I had written down on a list, which I did not find.

You just saw some shops and shop windows that I came across, now here is an impression of what else I saw:

Emmenthal, anyone?;-)

Impressive, don’t you think?!

Now that’s one curvy building!

Great architecture, right?

As everywhere in Seoul, also in Gangnam there is art to be found on the streets:

Big installation. The blue LEDlights light up and go out in different constellations.

Spot the difference?

Very nice mosaic art.

Verdict:
I really enjoyed my walk through Gangnam. There are some spectacular buildings to be seen. But it is by far not my favorite neighborhood in Seoul. Then again I have to admit, that I have no clue wether I have seen the best parts of Gangnam. Might be that I did not stumble upon those.

Often I come across Tourist Information staff, roaming the streets, looking for tourists that might need their help. I find that a fantastic service in Seoul! They have helped me out in different neighborhoods already. Usually they carry specific neighborhood-focussed maps with them. So when I run into these people, I end up shifting from my general Seoul map to the more detailed and neighborhood-focussed one that they hand out. In Gangnam, unfortunately, I did not see any Tourist Information people.

So what do you think? Do you like Gangnam (Style)?;-).