The hippest hotel in town (as all W’s aim to be) occupies an angular, 14-story glass building overlooking the Han River, 30 minutes east of downtow

If hotel design were an Olympic sport, the Shilla would be the Michael Phelps of Seoul properties. Adjacent to the 23-acre, lushly landscaped Jangc

At the new hot spot called 50, that amount of dollars will buy you exactly half a bottle of unremarkable Kendall-Jackson wine.

At Budnamujip restaurant, in an area far south of the Han River and the city’s center, the specialty is galbi, short ribs traditionally seasoned wi

Enormous pitchers of Hite beer land on tables and are consumed instantly by the eclectic, raucous, smoky clientele. The bar food here would find fe

A café frequented by the wealthy plastic-surgery set.

The specialty here is gamjatang stew, a mash of pork and potato covered with sesame leaf. Korean cuisine is all about taste, not presentation. The

At this airy place, the emphasis is on royal cuisine, which stretches back to a time before Korea’s fateful encounter with the chili pepper some 25

The new Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, up on Mount Namsan and overlooking the seedy Itaewon district, has been spearheading Seoul’s reputation as an

This exquisite bar is truly a hole in a concrete wall, full of glamorous nerds munching on dried anchovies.

The Hurest Well Being Club sits between the 15th and 17th floors of a skyscraper, and offers great views of the surrounding office towers and the t

Head to the candy-colored basement Stereo Bar, where a slogan written on an ashtray could pretty much sum up the national mood: don’t work too hard

The War Memorial of Korea features dioramas of life in wartime; its hokey cardboard nature notwithstanding, the exhibit shows a civilization that c

Head to the Yongsan Electronics Market, also known as Electroland. Here a half-dozen buildings of substantial size house entire shops devoted to GP