Shopping in Seoul: Asia’s most stylish city

Website: printbakery.com; leeumstore.org

Clothes at Juun JChris Schalkx

Fashion Fix

The showroom of cult South Korean eyewear label Gentle Monster is worth checking out, and not just for a new pair of sunnies. Located in the heart of trendy Dosan, the space doubles as an envelope-pushing art gallery, where installations by mixed-media artists from around the world share space with surrealist robotic pieces that seem to have been lifted straight out of Blade Runner. The range of glasses on the shelves is equally out there, featuring oversized frames in eye-popping colours and futuristic-looking collaborations with global brands such as Maison Margiela, Marine Serre and Fendi. Across the street, the charcoal-black flagship store of Seoul-born fashion designer Juun J’s eponymous brand stocks his latest collections of sporty and stylish clothing in bold silhouettes and monochrome colour schemes.

Website: gentlemonster.com; juunj.com

Habre homestayChris Schalkx

Where to stay

Hanok meets hygge at Habre, a Scandi-tinged homestay in the traditional Korean style at the end of a serpentine alley in the Seochon district. Designed by local architecture firm Z_Lab and managed by its hospitality arm, Stayfolio, the L-shaped rental home offers a snug hideaway with Scandinavian light fixtures and kaleidoscopic wallpaper within the building’s original wooden frame and swirling seokkarae roof. Nearby, Stayfolio’s Makefolio concept store stocks many of the items and amenities that go into furnishing its stays. Visitors can pick up its signature room sprays and cloud-soft bed linen, plus loose-leaf tea blends from Seoul-based brand Magpie & Tiger.

Insider Intel: Teo Yang of design firm Teoyang Studio‘s Seoul tips

“At the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, I can explore the traditional and modern art that has shaped Seoul’s creative scene. Then, I visit Baekmidang ice cream shop next door.”

“I always recommend Onjium, a restaurant and research centre for historical Korean cooking techniques and ingredients.”

“I love spending weekends in Seochon Village, where small galleries and cafés take over centuries-old hanok homes. It’s especially pretty in autumn, when the ginkgo trees that line the palace wall turn golden.”