​Saturday

4. Sound Stage, 10 a.m.

In addition to embassies in the diplomatic enclave, Hannam-dong, there’s plenty of art and music. A short walk from the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art is a new space devoted entirely to music, Stradeum (admission, 10,000 won). Designed in collaboration with the Japanese acoustic designer Sam Toyoshima and fitted out with Astell&Kern equipment, the space, which opened last year, has music lounges set up like theaters for listening to curated playlists, as well as a studio for performances and a rooftop cafe. Also in late 2015, Seoul’s Daelim Museum opened a new branch called the D Museum (8,000 won), whose first show featured spectacular light art by nine foreign artists. Nearby is a sister gallery, the D Project Space (free), exhibiting emerging Korean artists in a former pool hall.

5. Design District, 11:30 a.m.

Hannam-dong is also a pleasant place to stroll and shop, particularly for Korean designers in achingly curated spaces. Head to Mo Jain Song for Jain Song’s casual women’s fashions, Joseph Bentley gardening tools and a plant-filled rooftop cafe; and the Series; Corner multibrand shop for men’s button-downs and skinny ties, eclectic upcycled fashions (imagine denim vests paired with pleated skirts) and wooden homewares. Maybell Bakery offers turmeric bread and straight-out-of-Monocle minimalist décor. Takeout Drawing, an art-filled cafe with floppy-haired folk singers, has been at the center of a legal battle with the Korean pop singer PSY over its lease. The cafe will close in August, but the owners have a second branch in nearby Itaewon-dong.

6. Street Food Feast, 2 p.m.

There’s so much binge-worthy street food in Seoul, the only problem is finding enough time — and stomach space — to try it all. Century-old Gwangjang Market, one of the oldest markets in the city, solves the first problem by providing space for scores of vendors, each preparing a different delicacy and cajoling passers-by in a mélange of Korean, English and Chinese. Among the dishes on offer are duk mandu guk, a heavenly soup of rice cakes and kimchi-tofu or beef dumplings; kimbap, rice rolled in seaweed with pickled radish and carrots; bindaetteok, a mung bean pancake fried in oil until golden brown; and for the nonsqueamish, live octopus eaten straight from the tank, still squirming. Pace yourself — or pause for a nip of soju — to make it through the roving feast.

7. River Runs Through It, 4 p.m.

Across from the market’s south gate is one of Seoul’s most surprising green spaces, the Cheonggyecheon Stream. The ribbon of water, which flows for miles through central Seoul, dates to the start of the Joseon dynasty more than 600 years ago, but became a polluted afterthought as the city grew around it and was covered by an elevated highway. In the mid-2000s, the city revitalized the stream and turned it into an urban park, which now teems with locals — office workers on lunch breaks, strolling couples and retirees taking pictures of tiny fish with zoom lenses. Set below street level, the stream is so quiet you can hear birds chirping in the trees.

8. Zen Dinner, 7 p.m.

Stay in serenity mode with a dinner at Baru Gongyang, a temple food restaurant across from Jogyesa Temple and run by the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. After a recommended pre-meal chant (the English words are printed on the wall), the dishes in the set menu (from 30,000 won) arrive one by one to the door of your private room, each showcasing local, seasonal vegetables, such as mushrooms fried in a tangy gochujang sauce and sweet potato jelly topped with black-sesame cabbage and watermelon radish. It’s as artfully presented as it is nourishing for the soul.

9. Rice Wine Rebirth, 9 p.m.

A few years ago, fashionistas wouldn’t have touched makgeolli, an unfiltered rice wine that has a long history but until recently had been derided as cheap hooch. Now, thanks to specialty breweries and trendsetting bars, the cloudy, slightly fizzy drink is experiencing a rebirth and showing up on menus alongside cocktails and craft beers. At Wolhyang, one of the pioneers in the makgeolli movement, boisterous office workers in suits and designer scarves down bottles of white- and brown-rice makgeolli (8,000-10,000 won) while nibbling on spicy octopus and pancakes made from wild greens. The food menu is in Korean, but the friendly English-speaking staff at the new Gwanghwamun branch is quick with recommendations.



