South Korea

Seoul

Music 

Art Gallery

 is known for his vivid Pop Art-inspired paintings.

Baik celebrates ideas of togetherness and connection through images that have a touch of the absurd and unexpected. This is done through a bright colour palette that’s combined with religious motifs and cartoonish figures; the latter is based on friends, family and encounters with strangers in his own life. In Baik's parallel universes, reality is turned upside down; characters are painted blue and brown unicorns exist. Colours are typically subversive and mirror Baik’s use of humour and irony.

For the artist, one of the best experiences you can have in Seoul is to enjoy a cold beer by the Han River, surrounded by friends. During the pandemic, these trips and moments of connection were lost, but found themselves reimagined through Baik’s canvases. Restrictions have since been lifted, and Baik has been rediscovering this sense of paradise in Seoul.

 for Baik's travel journal, and scroll down for his list of must-visit spots in the South Korean capital.

Avant Arte

Get the mussel bibimbap for ₩1600 (about $16).

Architectural coffee house in Hannam, also open late for night owls.

Meet new people while drinking soju and barbecuing frozen pork belly.

Look up to see the traditional Korean roof tiles.

Editors note: In Hyangmok’s art, these are hand painted in vibrant blues, greens and yellows.

A food stall street in Jongno (known as ‘Pocha’) is not open for lunch, but opens from late afternoon until dawn the next day without an exact closing time. As anyone who knows Korean nightlife knows, I once sat and drank here from 7pm to 7am the next morning. It's hard to get a seat on weekend evenings, and reservations are not available, so if you want to enjoy a variety of traditional Korean food and drinks here, I recommend going a little earlier in the evening or a little later in the evening after you've finished your meal.

Free entry on Wednesday and Saturday evenings.

Leeum Gallery is one of the galleries in Korea that has the largest collection of works encompassing traditional art containing the unique beauty of Korea and contemporary history of the world. Here, what I want others to see is in the exhibition hall titled 'The Journey of White Light' located on the third floor of the exhibition hall. ‘Buncheong ware’ is a unique porcelain made only in Korea in the 15th and 16th centuries, and shows the original form of Korean beauty.

Architect designed coffee space with an underground music bar and non-profit gallery space.

Similar Guides

Hyangmok Baik’s City Guide to Seoul

Onground Gallery_지상소

Coffee Shop

Onground Gallery/Cafe

Abidjan

Abuja

Accra

Addis Ababa

Almere 

Amman

Amsterdam

Asunción

Athens

Atlanta

Auckland 

Bali

Bangkok

Barbados

Barcelona

Bath

Beijing

Beirut

Belfast

Bengaluru

Benin City

Berlin

Bilbao

Birmingham

Brighton

Brisbane

Bristol

Brussels

Buenos Aires

Byron Bay

Cairo

Cape Town

Cardiff

Casablanca

Cayman Islands

Chandigarh

Chicago

Copenhagen

Cornwall

Cotonou

Crete

Denver

Detroit

Devon

Dorset

Dubai

Dublin

Durban

Düsseldorf

Genoa

Glasgow

Gothenburg 

Haiti 

Hamburg

Havana

Hawai'i

Hong Kong

Houston

Ibadan

Ibiza

Jakarta

Jamaica

Johannesburg

Kerala

Lagos

Lisbon

Liverpool

London

Los Angeles 

Lyon

Manama

Manchester

Manila

Margate

Marrakech

Marseille

Martinique 

Medellin

Melbourne

Mexico City 

Milan

Minneapolis 

Montevideo

Montreal

Mumbai

Munich

Murcia

Nairobi

Nashville 

New Delhi

New York City 

Nottingham 

Oakland

Oaxaca

Ortigia

Oslo

Palestine

Paris

Pittsburgh 

Portland

Nearby

 Socio-cultural

Health

Wellness

Restaurant

Cafe

Onground Gallery/Cafe

Related Guides