Chuljunsung Chuljunsung

Summer may be coming to a close, but it's still humid and hot out. So now is the perfect time to spend your afternoon or weekends at these art exhibitions, where you are guaranteed air conditioning. Some are lavish while some are meaningful, but all are free of charge!  

Todd Selby has collaborated with various mega fashion houses while Louis Vuitton has opened a grand scale exhibition showing off their heritage. While the two exhibitions may not be directly related to fashion, you might find some interesting inspiration.

Life underneath an air conditioner isn't all that amusing. Going out in Seoul while it's harshly humid isn't fun either, and that's where these water events come in handy. You'll be able to let out your summer stress while getting soaked—you might even feel a little younger after these festivities as they'll surely bring back some childhood memories.

One pair of goggles, it’s the main ingredient that will transport you into a whole new world, one that you may not have imagined before. You might be fighting evil spirits inside of an alien spaceship or swinging like Spider Man through a grand canyon-like environment or even making burgers and fries to feed hungry zombies slowly making their way to your food truck. Whatever the situation may be, the best part is, it just feels so real. The scare that you feel when aliens attack, the butterflies in your stomach when you’re swinging, and even the panic that you feel when the zombies get closer and closer, all of those feelings are part of what makes the experience so delightful. The editors at Time Out Seoul can confidently say that VR gaming is an extremely convincing experience.

All different types of water sports and activities can be enjoyed on the Han River- you just need to know where to go! From jet skiing to sailing, yachting to wakeboarding, you name it and the Han will have it. So whether you’re a local or just visiting Seoul, don’t think that getting wet while enjoying some water sports is something that’s so far away from your reach.

T'is the season to stay indoors to keep yourself nice a dry. Yes, Seoul's monsoon season has started and that means most of us will likely be staying in during the weekends. But, it doesn't always have to be that way, as there are a few places around town that are in fact better to visit when massive dark clouds let loose.

Don’t let Seoul’s humid summers drag you down and set out on some wild adventures at Seoul’s biggest summer festival at the Han River! The proof is that from July to August of last year, the festival attracted more than 110,00,000 visitors during the 31 days of pure fun. This year, yet again, the festival will be featuring tons of activities taking place in the waters of the Han, on the banks of the Han, on the open skies of the Han, and the grassy lawns of the Han and even on boats yachting on the Han River. And since it’ll be impossible for you to enjoy all of the activities of the Hangang Summer Festival (even though we know you really want to), we’ve chosen out a few that we recommend.

When it comes to partying, you can go all out in Seoul. From the bustling Gangnam Station area to ritzy Cheongdam, still artsy Hongdae to raging Itaewon, Seoul has something to offer throughout the day for the ultimate partier. Sounds overwhelming? Perhaps, you haven't had enough soju yet.

Tucked away in a miniature hanok down the hill from Bukchon’s celebrated Gahoe-dong Alley is GRANDHAND’s flagship store. With the combination of a bold brass sign and sweet and colorful fragrances welcoming its visitors, ‘charming’ is probably the best word to describe its vibe.  Upon entering the venue, you may feel as if you're at a small Korean antique store located in the middle of the fashionable Marais district of Paris. But as the fragrances subtly hint its identity, GRANHAND carries artisan candles, home diffusers, sachets, oil burners and perfume.  Jung Nana, the co-owner (the other being her younger brother), is a skillful parfumier who studied at the Grasse Institute of Perfumery (GIP) in France, which is known to be one of the top schools in the world to study the art form. The two of the most popular scents are Marine Vatch which has a bold combination of musk, toffee and patchouli and Ester Dean which refreshing notes of cedar, musk and amber. The scented soy candles which come in a Korean traditional pot, hangari, is a perfect item for adding a Korean touch to an interior. The perfumery also offers stamping options (of initials, names, etc.) for personalizing its products. Back when Chanel was in Seoul for their Cruise collection, it chose this local haute brand to gift their VIP guests. It's certainly a lot of trust that came from one of the top luxury brands, and you'll understand why upon visiting this petite shop—where quality and elegance is bottled with c

Udons make for a perfect dish during the freezing winters, warming you up with each spoonful of broth. During summers, however, it becomes a different story. A bowl of hot udon noodles may mean a session of non-stop sweating until the bowl is emptied. Fortunately, cold udon dishes are available, with some even served with floating pieces of frozen broth. Daengu Udon located in Hongdae, Donggyo-dong to be exact, is one place you’ll be able to find this icy bowl of udon. Unfortunately, one forceful slurp of the udon noodle and you’ll soon realize that ice cold broth and thick udon noodles are not the best when paired up, as what’s meant to be chewy and soft turns into something dense and stiff. As a result of the stiffening, the thick white noodles don’t seem to emit that glutinous texture and flavor. The broth was also a bit too salty, making it difficult to finish the bowl. Perhaps it is a better idea to stick to warm udon dishes at this place. The upside, though, is that you won’t be waiting in line as there are plenty of seats available inside the large venue. The average price of a bowl of udon is around 6,000 won, while the service and staff offer you comfort and sympathy at all times.

Gami Udon is a simple Japanese eatery located in the heart of Hongdae. Upon entering the restaurant you will notice a small window exposing the udon making process – highlighting the fact that their noodles are homemade. What’s amazing is that not only are the noodles homemade, but the dishes here are of extremely good quality yet so amicably priced, perfectly suited for a poor and tiresome college student pulling all-nighters at Hongik University. You can even get extra udon noodles to add into your left over broth! As for their menu, udon noodle dishes along with a variety of tempura side dishes is all there is, but that’s all you’ll need to fill your empty stomachs on a 10,000 won budget while being overly satisfied here. They have the usual list of warm udon for the freezing winter as well as some refreshing cold udon for the blazing summers. The ‘Naeng Udon’, which is described as a ‘cold Korean-style udon’, seems to be the choice for many of their summertime visitors. The mildly cold broth is both sweet and savory, with just enough taste to make you want to repeatedly dip your spoon and have that moment of tasteful euphoria again and again. The broth is at a perfect temperature that the noodles won’t go stiff and dull, so that you can still slurp (as you are meant to) up the noodles. Gami Udon has kept its place and rank for years in Hongdae as one great udon eatery, and rightfully so.

Hidden in the hanok clusters of Bukchon is a small and quaint little café specialized in purple sweetness. Just look for the alley with a light flow of extremely satisfied people walking out of, with some even holding an unfamiliar purple item in hand. Stroll into the pathway and continue down until you find a small white sign with a cute purple blob. There you will find Café Bora (Bora from the Korean word for purple), It’s a dessert café serving deliciously unique purple delights. From ice cream to bingsu, your summers won’t be complete without some purple. Their iconic purple is made from special purple sweet potatoes produced in the seaside city of Boryeong. They serve purple ice cream, purple bingsu, purple porridge, purple jjinbang (steamed bread), purple rice cake macaroons, purple latte, and last but not least, dried purple sweet potato chips. They also have flavors but purple is what they are known for. Their bingsu deserves a try as almost everyone gets a little surprise by the realness of the scent/flavor of sweet potatoes. Decorated with a small flower, the bingsu also come with a side of extra purple porridge to add onto your bingsu as well as the purple potato chips to add some extra crunch. Bora Café is the only place in Seoul and perhaps the world where you will be able to get purple bingsu, so if you ever have the chance, the café will be well worth your time.

As soon as you step off the pavement and onto the confines of Bonjour Hawaii, you’ll be transported to a makeshift wooden café in the tropics of the Hawaiian Islands. Makeshift seems to be the right word when describing the shabby concept of the restaurant as it is filled with mixed-and-matched furniture and bare concrete walls lightly painted with tropic colors and patterns. This place doesn’t feel like it's been decorated to be Hawaiian, and unfortunately, there's an unpleasant smell leaking out of the bathroom—it’s not the best welcome. Some of the dishes, however, were quite comforting, especially for the Korean palate. The Locomoco Plate tasted similar to the Japanese-style Hamburg steaks you'd find in Hongdae, topped with a sauce similar to the Korean-style demi-glace and a sunny-side-up. The plate came filled with fries, corn salad, veggies, a small piece of corn on the cob and rice on the side. The Hawaiian Pasta, however, was extremely soupy with floating bits of bacon, cherry tomatoes and mushrooms. It wasn't in any way an exciting dish but had just enough flavor to be called "edible." Perhaps sticking with recommended menu items (the ones with a crown on top) might be the safest way around Bonjour Hawaii.

At the very edge of Haebangchon’s main street sits McCoy’s, a rather fashionable restaurant decorated in bright blue and pink that will catch anyone’s attention. When you enter, you’ll be transported from the urban and hipster-esque Haebangchon to the quaint alleys of the Marais in Paris. You might wonder why France, but once you hear the history behind the owner-chef, it will make more sense. After a few years of working in the culinary scene in Korea, Denis Ryu left to study at Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney. Upon graduation, he interned at the Hilton Sydney hotel and soon after found himself in Albertville, France working at a restaurant called Phillipe Million. This was where he says he learned the true life of a chef—through the extensive experiences he endured during his one and a half year stay. Returning back to Korea, Ryu established McCoy’s to continue his culinary path. One specialty about McCoy’s is their menu is constantly evolving. There is no particular schedule to when they change their menu items, but usually, it’s according to the seasonal ingredients that are available. The menu however, will usually be composed of a grilled chicken, pork, and beef dishes along with pastas. Currently one of the chicken dishes that are available is the Spicy Spatchcock Chicken, a grill and oven baked whole chicken with 15 different spices and grilled veggies. The white meat is extremely juicy while the slightly crusty skin overwhelms your taste buds with a powerful mix of aromas.

Perched on the hill that connects Itaewon with Gyeongridan sits a café named C Through.  With its gray façade exposing its sleek, modern, and the minimally colorful interior, it's almost lonely-looking from outside yet welcoming at the same time. For those of you who are an avid fan of the TV program My Little Television, yes this is the café that was aired. You’ll notice the small My Little Television logos attached to the Polaroid-sized picture/description menu cards displayed on the cashier.  Lee Kang-bin, the owner and barista of the café has also made it on quite a few internationally-known online media Korea’s famed coffee artist. He is noted for his ‘Creamart’ which is essentially Dutch coffee with thick sweet cream. It comes with an elaborate painting on top like Van Gough's The Starry Night. Lee provides this service to only one person a day creating an artwork of their choice. If you are looking for a special drink with a special message for that special someone, you might want to make a reservation through Instagram. Of the few other items that are available, ‘Scotchino’ is a popular choice and also one that was shown on the television show. The description of the drink translates into: “A Scotch candy tasting drink, overflowing with sensibility.” It’ll make more sense when you take your first sip—you also won’t regret trying it. Served in a mini tea cup, the thick creamy like foam comes overflowing, sprinkled with cacao and coffee powder. Whether is it made with r

Colorful is probably one of the best adjectives to describe this place. The 3-story building is pink with a huge vibrantly colored signage that reads “DORE” while each floor has its own colored theme. As soon as you walk into café, you are welcomed into an open space with large, color coated cakes on display. Enchanted by the sheer visual beauty of the edible works of art, you’ll find yourself in ecstasy over which cake to choose. It’s perhaps the reason behind the mundane coffee choices that are available; they just aren’t up to par with the glamorous cakes. Collecting your order of cake and drink, you will probably want to head upstairs for a good view of the streets below while you munch on your afternoon delight. But if you are someone who doesn’t like the feeling of a stuffy old room, you might want to remain on the first or basement floor of the café. That’s because the upstairs floors are carpeted. Not only does it feel stuffy, but you’ll begin to notice the splurges left behind by dirty shoes and maybe even fallen drink. It becomes an uncomfortable setting to enjoy a delicious cake. On the bright side, the ‘Choco Furge Cake’ was extremely moist, with a subtle but enjoyable chocolate flavor and not overwhelmingly sweet. The light texture of the chocolate mousse along with the thick but moist chocolate bread made it incredibly easy to chew and swallow. The slice of cake (which was big enough for 3 people) definitely overpowered the ‘Strawberry Latte’, making the drink f

You might be thinking, “Why is there a museum for figures and figurines?” Well, many of us ‘normal’ people might be tempted to dismiss it as a place for the obsessed, but you might want to think again. Figure Museum W, located in Cheongdam-dong, is a place to either renew your love of or learn about a new potential hobby of collecting, building, and trading figure models. With a serious collection of models that range in price from the thousands to couple 100 million wons, it’s undoubtedly Seoul’s special mecca for dukhoos (people focused on a specific hobby or subject) of this sort. For those of us who consider ourselves ‘normal’, it will be an eye-opening experience in learning both the delicacies and grandiose of this art form. The 1000 or so models that are on display are all part of a private collection. The two co-owners of the museum are elementary school friends and have been avid collectors of figures and art toys for a while. They, along with two more friends, came together to create this special space within Seoul to display their belongings. Most well known animation characters from Korea, Japan and the US can be spotted here, all of which range in size. If you’ve ever wondered what it would feel like to stand next to Ironman and take a selfie, you’ll be able to do just that. Life-size figures include the Terminator (with the actual leather jacket Arnold Schwarzenegger wore), Ironman, Batman, Spiderman, the Hulk, and even the Joker. The most prized item, on the ot

Bijouca—don't let your head spin with this name. It’s the owner's own portmanteau of two French words, bijou (jewelry) and cadeau (gift). Snugly placed inside one of the old hanok of Bukchon with an all-white exterior, Bijouca's extremely large windows exposing all the small intricacies inside will surely have you stop for a moment and feed your eyes with all the colorful hues the shop has to offer. What's inside all the colors? Bijouca carries a great selection of gifts for children along with playfully animated jewelry perfectly suited for adults seeking an inner child within them. Aside from the handful of Korean products, most of the items are from European, hand-picked by the owner herself. Inside the snow-white space, it's quite obvious that the section on the left filled with mellow dolls and toys caters to babies and children while the right side is more for adults as perfumes, handbags and jewelry are lined up on the shelves and display tables.  If you’ve ever wanted a cute ballerina twirling at the edge of your earlobes or a necklace with a Bambi pendant, Bijouca will have it. That’s because most of the jewelry is from Parisian jewelry brand Les Néréides and N2, which are known for their intricate, fantastically nature themed, slightly cartoonish but of high quality designs. This is one shop where "kidults" with a raging desire for all things cutesy should be careful not to spend too much too soon.

The day has finally come, Seoul’s edition of High Line will open to the public this weekend. Formerly a 938m-overpass starting from Manli-dong, stretching past Namdaemun Market, the deteriorated elevated road near Seoul Station has been transformed into Bridge of Communication for pedestrians . As a new symbol of urban regeneration, the project was designed by young creative group Very Joon Oh. The overall designing was handled by world-renowned architect group MVRD, lead by Dutch architect Winy Maas. The new overpass will overflow with around 200 different types of greenery including all-year-round roses, apple trees and pine trees. Scattered throughout the bridge will also be book cafés, libraries, flower shops, puppet theatres, and convenience outlets. Visit http://seoullo7017.seoul.go.kr/ for more information of Seoul's newest landmark.

Located on the third floor of one of Cheongdam’s back alleys, Aori is an easy miss for those who haven’t heard of it yet: chances are, the likeliest group to have heard of this Japanese ramen joint would be the K-pop enthusiasts, as it is better known by the fact that it's owned by Big Bang’s very own Seungri.  Perhaps quite fitting for the area that it's located in, but the deep-red wall covering the entrance of the restaurant may seem rather intimidating. Inside, though, a fairly modest layout of the interior feels warm and welcoming. With the exception of only a few tables, each catering to a group of 4 to 6, the seating is conveniently divided up for the lone diners. These compact dining spaces are set up with a menu, some ground pepper, an overhead compartment for visitors to store their belongings and a small wireless table bell to call the wait staff. The menu is quite simple, consisting of just two items: Aori Ramen and Aori Ramen Lite. They are essentially the same, while the ‘Lite’ version has less basic toppings. You can customize your ramen simply by checking off the toppings you want on it, on the little piece of paper they provide for you. The most important part: the broth they make at Aori is rather clean, with almost no remnants of pork—meaning it also lacks the tangy, unappetizing smell of bone-broth. The chashu slices were soft and very easy to chew on (making you wish there were a few more slices), while the sliced scallions on top added a refreshing kick