Visiting Exciting Seoul
Following Tokyo, Seoul was a second Asian metropolis where I had a chance to spend some time with a friend, who knows the city very well and can introduce me to local food or show me a variety of places that are not very obvious to a first-time visitor. As much as I love exploring on my own getting that insider perspective about the places is invaluable to me.
Hwa Jin and I share similar interests so it was extremely interesting for me to find out more about cultural scene in Seoul from someone, who is close to that creative energy on a regular basis through her playwriting and journalistic work.
Our Sunday morning started with a walk around Hwa Jin’s local area, a visit to a small gallery and quick stop at the bakery to pick up few snacks to take with us on a hike up the Inwangsan mountain. The views were great! I was really lucky with the weather.
Seoul for Arty Types
Afternoon was about art! My friend had two invites to Fabricate, Henrik Vibskov’s solo exhibition, and we also stopped by few galleries where I managed to spot a sculpture by Yayoi Kusama (still a huge fan of her Infinity Mirrored Room) before reaching Dealim Museum.
Vibskov is a Danish fashion designer and as soon as I saw some of his works it reminded me of Alexander McQueen’s style. There was something very familiar about it and I enjoyed how the lines blurred between art and fashion. I later found out that he is the Central Saint Martins graduate and I could finally put my finger on that sense of familiarity.
The DDP
The Dongdaemun Design Plaza, also known as the DDP, was one of my favourite buildings in Seoul. It is a multi-purpose exhibition hall with a variety of galleries designed to host a wide range of events. When Hwa Jin and I made our way inside the DDP’s maze we discovered a fashion and design flea market packed with young Koreans. Selfie game was very strong, especially when snapping pics with male models!
The Dongdaemun Design Plaza was designed by starchitect Zaha Hadid and Samoo Architects from Seoul and similarly to the work of Calatrava in Valencia it caused a bit of controversy when it was opened back in 2014. It seems that neofuturistic architecture can shake things up in different cities across the globe. Luckily this major urban development became a bit of a landmark and is now extremely popular with the young crowd. How can you not love that amazing curving?