But as might be obvious by now, Koreans can also play hard, and I go to Gangnam to meet a friend at a bar. Seoul is large. The subway ride is long and crowded, but somehow tranquil. No one talks loudly, or plays music on speakers. The first bar, Alice Cheongdam, is a Lewis Carroll-themed speakeasy lounge, where I have an exquisite spring-green drink of elderflower, vodka and aloe vera before moving on to the acclaimed Zest, a sustainable bar serving a slew of unforgettable cocktails. My friend and I are taking part in the over-the-top yet common tradition of “cars”: we go through “il-cha, i-cha, sam-cha”, or “first car, second car, third car” and so on, each car being a different stop during the evening. As Koreans frequently do, I end the night at one of the city’s many jjimjilbangs, or bathhouses, in this case the nearby Prima Spa. Since I grew up in a predominantly Korean part of Los Angeles, jjimjilbangs aren’t new to me – this one, though, is especially Edenic. I’m thinking of something Lee said: “Korean art, culture: it’s not overnight, it’s not just hot.” While that might be the impression abroad, he added, the reality is that a lot more people are being exposed to what’s been thriving and growing here for a long time.
The next morning, I go to a stunning hanok on a hill in Insa-dong to meet Lucia Cho, who leads Hwayo, a company that produces premium soju, a Korean spirit. Cho, whose work spans Korean ceramics, restaurants and more, has thought deeply about the current demand for Korean culture. “We need to think about how long it’s going to last, why it’s popular and what we are trying to be popular for,” she says. The night before, it snowed for the first time all winter, and I have a dazzling view of snow-striped hanok roofs, low-slung swoops of tile giving way to shining high-rises – the most magnificent of cityscapes. The sun is out, the light reflecting, splintering. Remember this, I tell myself, trying to hold onto the intensity. For all the ways I can find pieces of Korea outside of Seoul, there’s nothing like being here.
