Inside South Korea's world-class capital
For years, Seoul remained one of the lesser-visited metropolitan cities in East Asia, often overshadowed by the brash consumerism of Tokyo or the sheer grandeur of Beijing. Since South Korea recuperated from the economic crisis of the late 1990s, however, Seoul has not only reestablished itself as one of the major economic centers of the region, but has also been steadily catching up on the international luxury travel scene. Gone is the former stereotype that Seoul is “poor man’s Tokyo,” as the city now caters to discerning international travelers as well as to its own denizens pursuing an increasingly refined lifestyle. In fact, Seoul ranked as the third-most expensive city in the world (and the most expensive in Asia) according to Mercer Consulting’s Worldwide Cost of Living Survey in 2007.
But Seoul’s new economic vitality does not mean that the development of the city as a luxury destination is complete. Unlike Tokyo, where the constant influx of affluent visitors pushed luxury hospitality to near theatrics (think of the consumerist maze that is Aoyama district), the upscale dining, nightlife and shopping scenes in Seoul are only now forging their own identities.
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“The best place to eat, drink or shop in Seoul used to belong to the hotels, because only hotels then had the resources to develop such amenities to an internationally upscale level,” says Mikyung Jeon, the editor-in-chief of the Korean edition of Harper’s Bazaar magazine. “Although they were originally conceived for foreign visitors, it was the elite members of the Korean society that actually became their major patrons, and the hotels recalibrated themselves to suit the tastes and needs of their new target audience."
In fact, hotel restaurants became the power spots for influential politicians and businessmen, and luxury brands such as Hermès and Vacheron Constantin entered the Korean market by opening boutiques in hotels. It wasn't until the late '90s, says Jeon, that upscale establishments opened outside of the hotels.
Buoyed by their strong economy, more Koreans are now traveling abroad—and developing a taste for luxury culture. Naturally, they feel an urge to recreate and experience it again close to home. The result is a newly burgeoning international dining scene, wherein restaurants like the Gramercy Kitchen and Chiyo no yume strive to reflect the latest trends from abroad. Even traditional cuisine is going through a transformation, as more establishments serving hanjeongsik—the haute cuisine variety of traditional Korean food—are incorporating elements from upscale dining cultures of the West. Restaurants such as Gaon still offer the same classic dishes as old-fashioned restaurants, but their menus are carefully edited and updated with an increasingly rare variety of ingredients and highly stylized presentation.
The shopping scene in Korea is also going through a fundamental transformation with an increasing variety of upscale retail spaces sprouting around the fashionable Sinsa, Apgujeong and Cheongdam areas. Major designer labels have finally moved beyond hotel arcades and the so-called “luxury floors” of major department stores by opening free-standing stores that offer more than just an exclusive shopping opportunity. The Maison Hermès in the elegant Dosan park area, for example, houses two sprawling floors of retail space, a bona fide art gallery, a permanent exhibition of antique objects and the celebrated Café Madang. Cutting-edge specialty boutiques, too, are becoming popular. 10 Corso Como Seoul, a branch of Milan’s original 10 Corso Como, is Seoul's hottest destination for fashionistas.
And it's not just dining, nightlife and shopping. Seoul’s cultural attractions are taking their place on the global stage. New museums like Leeum boast world-class collections of art from Korea and abroad set in hyper-modern facilities designed by leading architects, while galleries like Seomi and Tuus showcase some of the hottest new talents emerging from the local art scene.