Seoul has been leading the pack for many industries for years now – fashion, entertainment, tech and more. The vibrant city is full of heritage and history, while innovating cultures and subcultures alike. If you're curious of the next wave in whatever you're passionate about, make a trip to Seoul and get inspired.
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Designer Eny Lee Parker teamed up with Perplexity to showcase her favorite travel destinations.
Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Parker relocated to California, then Georgia, to study Interior and Furniture Design at Savannah College of Art and Design, before developing her own line of furniture, home decor and sculptures under her eponymous label based in NYC. Emphasizing slow, intentional craftsmanship, her collections reimagine how lighting and functional objects can elevate ordinary spaces and encourage a deeper level of presence, in the home and beyond. Rekindling her Korean heritage, Parker shares her favorite places to visit in South Korea.
Find inspiration for your next trip by diving into her curated list.
Presented by Perplexity
Select shops are a bit of a "gateway drug" when it comes to discovering new brands. But in a good way.
Select shops – retailers who carry a curation of brands within their store – allow visitors to explore new labels who share a similar aesthetic or vibe with the brands they already know. Think of it as a "you might also like" store for whatever style you're into.
With Seoul's quickly emerging trends and hyper-popular influencer marketing techniques, select shops are literal gold for anyone hungry for the next big brand. Popular shops have also taken this opportunity to market their own brand within the select shop walls, thus creating a perfect ecosystem of familiarity, brand loyalty, and synchronicity with the fashion-centric.
Check out our favorite select shops all across Seoul.
Curated by Hypemaps Team
A lot goes into picking the right accommodations for your travel – size, proximity, amenities and even cleanliness. But what about authenticity?
For our latest guide, we wanted to give our readers a new perspective on hotels and places to stay in Seoul, focusing on tradition and heritage. Sure, some of these accommodations aren't historic in age, but all incorporate some sort of Korean tradition into its facilities, whether that be in its fixtures or furniture, location, or even ethos and ideology in its design. Regardless of tradition, each hotel or lodging is curated for maximum comfort, design, atmosphere and service.
Check out our picks for best traditional places to stay in Seoul for your next visit.
Curated by Hypemaps Team
Café culture in Korea is unparalleled.
For a city that's as fast paced and upcoming as Seoul is, there is a plethora of choices when it comes to cafes, coffee shops, tea houses and more. But in South Korea, it takes more than just a strong latte to wake people up – the café's environment, atmosphere, tone and even staff create a culture of community that's just as important as the bean's origins, if not even more.
Check out our guide on the cafés and coffee shops to best experience Korean café culture, and don't forget to bookmark the list.
Curated by Hypemaps Team
Let's face it, the universe loves Korean fried chicken. There's something truly special about how the chicken is prepped and fried – double, even triple fried to perfection with a crunch that you can hear from out in the parking lot. There's nothing like it.
For our list of Seoul's best Korean fried chicken spots, we focused on three criteria: quality of the chicken, selection of flavors, and atmosphere. You likely won't find these marketed everywhere, and are mostly known via local recommendations.
Check out our favorite Korean fried chicken joints, and don't forget the soju.
Curated by Hypemaps Team