A K-pop Fan's Guide to Exploring Seoul

Entry Submission for the 'Discovering Freedom' Travel Contest by Tran Ngoc Mai, a dedicated K-pop enthusiast who meticulously plans her trips to Seoul.

In Vietnam, young people who adore Korean music are often labeled as 'K-pop fanatics,' facing unwarranted criticism. Yet, this doesn't diminish their love for Korean idols, which serves as motivation for many to succeed in academics and life. Whether past, present, or future, K-pop fans all dream of setting foot in Korea to experience its unique culture, which sets it apart from other nations.

Personally, despite my love for K-pop since 2008, visiting Korea seemed like a distant dream, almost surreal, back then. However, in 2014, experiencing Korea and its vibrant K-pop scene firsthand made me realize that one visit wasn't enough. Hence, for three consecutive years, Korea has been my chosen travel destination.

With the current tourism policies and the growth of travel companies, there's a plethora of tours to Korea. However, these tours often cover typical tourist spots, leaving out the true essence of K-pop. For an authentic K-pop experience, independent travel is the way to go. Consider following my itinerary – a K-pop fangirl's guide to Seoul – the epicenter of the K-pop wave and Hallyu spreading across Asia.

I opt to kickstart the first day of my trip to Korea right in Myeongdong. After the flight, procedures, voucher collection, train ride back to Seoul, and hotel check-in, half a day has already passed. Thus, heading straight to Myeongdong is a relatively light and feasible choice.

Myeongdong can be touted as the most renowned shopping district in Seoul, teeming with numerous cosmetics shops, fashion outlets, cafes, and street food stalls that operate until late at night. One could easily spend an entire day indulging in shopping escapades in this area.

For K-pop enthusiasts, visiting Myeongdong isn't just about purchasing cosmetics or fashion items endorsed by their idols; it's also an opportunity to explore the following places:

❤ Lotte Young Plaza Shopping Center

✔Address: 81, Namdaemun-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul

Here, you can tour around, take photos, and shop at the SUM store by SM Entertainment on the B1 floor, offering an extensive range of music albums and official merchandise from all SM groups like TVXQ, Super Junior, SNSD, EXO, SHINee, Red Velvet, NCT, etc. Additionally, on the 2nd floor of Lotte Young Plaza, there's KHOS store catering to fans of YG Entertainment, featuring souvenirs from groups such as BigBang, WINNER, iKon, Blackpink, and more.

Moreover, Lotte Young Plaza caters to a younger clientele, hence the prices here are quite reasonable. If you're a Korea enthusiast, don't miss out on stores like LINE and 3CE, which are incredibly charming and also available here.

❤MusicKorea Store

✔Address: 3F Nature Republic Building, 52 Myeongdong 8-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul

This is the store of the renowned disc-selling website musickorea.com. It's one of the easiest-to-find K-pop disc stores in Seoul as it's located on the 3rd floor of the largest Nature Republic building in Myeongdong. Besides displaying and selling discs, this address also hosts many K-pop idol fansign events.

✔Address: B 72, Namdaemun-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul

Here, besides purchasing K-pop CDs at very affordable prices, there's a wide variety of posters, postcards, cards, and even T-money cards featuring K-pop idols. Surely, no K-pop fan can leave this area empty-handed.

✔Address: 281 Eulji-ro, Euljiro 7(chil)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul

DDP is a well-known fashion and creative complex, frequented by young people during each Seoul Fashion Week and featured in many K-pop idol fashion photoshoots. Striking idol-like poses for photos here is also very entertaining. Moreover, if you haven't done enough shopping on the first day, DDP houses an SM SUM store on the 1st floor. Additionally, there are easy-to-find stores like Kakao Talk, Pororo, allowing ample opportunities for virtual reality experiences.

❤K-live

✔Address: 9th Floor, Lotte Fitin Building, 264 Eulji-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul

K-live is located within the Lotte Fitin building. If you've visited DDP, just take a stroll, cross the intersection, and you're there. K-live is an entertainment complex exclusively for K-pop fans, featuring a 3D theater where hologram concerts vividly recreate performances by YG Entertainment artists like Big Bang, 2NE1, Psy, and more. Additionally, there are numerous photo zones with idol-themed settings and a K-pop merchandise area.

✔Address: 23 Eulji-ro, Jung-gu

The Grevin Wax Museum in Seoul, South Korea, showcases 88 wax figures of famous personalities, including politicians, world-renowned figures, and of course, Korean artists, Hallyu stars, and K-pop idols. Aside from photo opportunities, don't forget to indulge in the museum's fun games and explore the souvenir shop.

❤K-star Road

✔Address: Apgujeong Rodeo Station

If you take the subway, you'll immediately sense the K-pop vibe at Apgujeong Station, featuring a display area called G+Star Zone, with representatives like 2PM, KARA, Shinhwa, SS301, GOT7, rotating at different times.

Exiting the station, the main street between exit 2 and Cheongdam Intersection used to be a posh area in Seoul but is now renowned as K-star Road – the avenue for K-pop stars. Along this street are giant teddy bear dolls called GangnamDols (a fusion of 'Gangnam', 'idol', and 'doll'), each representing a famous K-pop group with their distinctive details printed on the dolls. Take a stroll and find out where your idol 'stands' on this street.

❤JYP Entertainment

✔Address: 78 gil 41, Apgujeong-ro, Gangnam-gu

Although known to many K-pop fans, this is a workplace, so fans can only stand outside for photo check-ins. However, lucky fans may encounter their JYP idols like 2PM, GOT7, TWICE, when they come to or leave the company for shopping.

❤SMT Seoul

✔Address: 125-24 Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul

This restaurant, affiliated with SM Ent., is a decent choice for lunch when visiting this area. Located just a few steps from the JYP Ent. headquarters, the restaurant offers reasonably priced lunch sets starting from 7,500 won (approximately 150,000 KRW), which are both visually appealing and delicious.

❤2PM: The Street Cafe Bistro

✔Address: 125-18, Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu

After lunch at SMT-Seoul, if you have time, take a stroll and visit The Street Cafe – funded by the members of 2PM. Outside the cafe, you'll find handprints of all 6 members. The drinks here are reasonably priced and of good quality.

❤SM CELEBRITY SUM CAFÉ

✔Address: 648 Samseong-ro, Gangnam-gu

Another cafe and shopping option for fans of SM Ent. is SM CELEBRITY SUM CAFÉ located in the new headquarters building called SM Entertainment Communication Center.

This venue features a cafe on the 1st floor and a supermarket in the basement. In the supermarket, you can find products that SM collaborated with E-mart on, branded with the company's music groups. So, here you'll find items like Super Junior black noodles, EXO snacks, TVXQ ginseng, SHINee sausages, SNSD tea, and more. On the 1st floor is a famous cafe within the K-pop fan community of SM because you can sit here all day, see company employees coming and going, and of course, you might bump into idols when they come down to buy coffee.

❤SM Coex Aritaum

✔Address: 513 Yeongdong-daero, Samseong 1(il)-dong, Gangnam-gu

SM Ent. can be considered the company that provides the most K-pop products in South Korea. They invested in building a 6-story building in one of Seoul's most expensive areas to provide a complete experience for fans. Even if you're not a fan of SM groups, this is a place you can't miss for K-pop fans. And if you are a fan, you might even spend the whole day here. Besides offering the largest shopping area or a cafe with the biggest supermarket, at Coex Aqurium, there's also a hall for mini concerts, fan meetings, birthdays, a movie theater with ScreenX technology screening famous concerts, a unique exhibition area displaying SM Ent.'s prestigious awards, idols' handprints. Here, they also provide products and services like nowhere else, such as posters over 2m in size or making a 3D figure of yourself.

❤ Watch your idol’s concert live

It would be a miss if your K-pop experience trip didn't include enjoying your idol's performance live on stage. Unlike in Japan, where it's quite difficult to attend (only selling tickets within the fan club, exclusive for Japanese people, ID checks at the venue, etc.), participating in concerts, award ceremonies in Korea is quite relaxed, just grab a ticket if you can. The venues chosen for large concerts and performances are usually Skydome, Seoul, etc. Smaller performances or fan meetings are also held there. All venues are easily accessible by public transportation such as buses or subways.

❤ Watch live recordings of music programs

Here are some Kpop-themed travel destinations I've personally experienced and summarized. When planning your itinerary, besides the mentioned places, you can still allocate time for exploring other popular tourist activities like visiting Gwanghwamun Palace Square, experiencing traditional villages, trying on hanbok, making kimchi, exploring cultural museums, etc. While my preferences lean towards SM Entertainment groups, I hope this still provides some help for Kpop fans planning a trip to South Korea soon.