(Neither I nor Chickadee has any relationship with the places covered in this article)
I have ordered food delivery more often than ever over the year as I spent more time at home due to the pandemic. Is any other city more convenient than Seoul? I can enjoy almost any food at any time and place I’d like. It doesn’t matter where I live. I can even enjoy dishes from high-end restaurants at home. I can’t help but shout a cheer–Mooyaho! Mooyaho is a joyful exclamation you have to know if you plan to visit Seoul anytime soon.
It’s become harder to make a choice despite many apps and resources that are supposed to make my life easier. The first step is to choose a food delivery app. There are more than five food delivery apps installed on my phone. One of them has a lot of reviews but doesn’t have enough restaurants I like. Another app has many trending restaurants but charges high delivery fees. Let’s open just one more. You can’t go wrong with any restaurant listed on this app, but the app is not user friendly.
I finally choose one of them and open it. Hundreds, thousands of alternatives are curated for me, from casual foods like gukbap, bunsik, fried chicken and jajangmyeon to pasta, sushi, pho and something more serious from fine restaurants. Time flies as I shortlist restaurants, compare menus and prices and check the reviews—it’s already been thirty minutes. I’m tired before even placing an order. What a life in Seoul!
(I don’t use food delivery apps as often as my friends. But I still have this many delivery apps. That’s Seoul life!)
There is actually something other than the app I need for such a moment. Reliable friends. Someone who can recommend hot places, trending restaurants or interesting things to do for me–yes, Seoul hipsters!
Food delivery apps offer convenience. But finding something authentic in Seoul through these apps is a different matter. Reliable friends with unique, solid tastes are crucial. It’s good to have hipster friends. Hipster friends can help you way more than narrow down food delivery options:
- “Hey bro, I’m going on a date with my girlfriend this weekend. Could you suggest a couple of plans for me? It’s supposed to rain over the weekend by the way.”
- “I’m going to grab some drinks tonight, probably Somaek with Korean BBQ. What BBQ places are hot recently? Preferably near the Han River as we plan to go to the river afterward.”
- “I have a few hours of downtime today. Any exhibitions or movies you would recommend? I feel like paintings or independent movies.”
- “What should I pair with these black wide jeans for a date tonight? I’m deciding between this white T-shirt and a blue striped shirt.”
(The hottest exhibition last Spring in Seoul was a show by Jean Jullien at Allbus Gallery at Hannam. The gallery extended it by a week to the first week of June, but tickets were still sold out. The plan is to enjoy the exhibition and stop by at a nearby coffee shop famous for fresh, delicious bread.)
Hipster friends know everything—the hottest neighborhoods nowadays; must-visit restaurants in the neighborhoods; shows, activities or anything to see. Not only do they know where to go and what to do, but also what to wear: the hippest fashions in Seoul, which is considered one of the most fashionable cities in the world. Jokes and memes on their social media are great conversation starters with anyone. They are like a textbook for how to be hip in Seoul.
I was wondering, “How do they know all of these things? They must have not tried everything. Who on earth are Seoul hipsters?”
The Green window defines hipsters as a group of people who pursue their own fashion, music and other cultural interests without following mass trends. The definition makes sense but misses an interesting aspect about Seoul hipsters.
Yes, Seoul hipsters pursue their own tastes, not following mass trends. But what they like become mass trends very quickly in Seoul. Hipster cultures and various content created by hipsters are fascinating. That’s why the pattern has been repeating. Seoul hipsters find hidden gems that suit their tastes, and the hidden gems quickly become popular. Seoul hipsters go out to find something hip again. This cycle repeats quite often. That’s one of the remarkable characteristics of Seoul.
From this perspective, I think Seoul hipsters are those who like to dig deep into their own cultural interests: a musical band and dance crews which drew attention to Korea with traditional Korean music and dance performances; a successful bakery owner who opened her store deep inside a quiet street which had few visitors before she started the bakery; young actors and actresses recognized for their acting skills and unique fashions; a startup founder who is an evangelist of organic coffees. If there is anyone like them around you, don’t hesitate to try out their tastes in fashion, food, music and other domains.
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I want to introduce you to one of the most popular Korean poems: “The flower”, by Chunsoo Kim.
---
Before I called out her name
she was
nothing more than a twitch.
When I called out her name
she came to me
and became a flower.
---
Why did I suddenly introduce this poem while talking about Seoul hipsters? Well, there’s a reason.
Seoul is a sea of information. I would rather call it a sky or even a universe of information. You can search for whatever you want, whenever and wherever thanks to the insane Internet connection in the city. Information you can find online is no different from scattered dots. Someone has to connect the dots to make it into a shape. Folks who can connect the dots to make it into a “flower”—I think they are the Seoul hipsters.
In other words, Seoul hipsters are those who can create unique playlists for themselves filled with hidden gems they find from the universe of information. This universe can be easily transmitted by social media.
Choose any keyword for foods, neighborhoods, music or movies and search for it with a hashtag on Instagram. You will find an overwhelming number of posts, which are the cumulated records of me and 10 million + other people living in Seoul.
The information is not immediately useful though. It’s too much. It’s literally too much. I just typed #성수동카페 (coffee shops in Seongsu in Korean) on Instagram and got ~779,000 results. How can you possibly use that much information to easily find coffee shops that will fit your tastes? It would be great if you had reliable friends who could connect the dots to transform them into a meaningful “flower” for you.
(For the last few days polishing this article, three thousand posts have been added, totaling 782,000. It will be well above 800,000 when you’re reading this article.)
Some folks are obsessed with Nopos in Seoul. They love foods seasoned with the history of Nopos, cooked in pots and on pans that have been used for decades since the beginning of Nopos. They find Nopos in the universe of information and call them a “Flower”. They constantly look for uncovered Nopos, visit and introduce them on social media.
Other folks only visit trending hot places, like a dessert place famous for its lemon custard doughnuts or a delicious coffee shop with a cute camel drawing. These are the sorts of places which always have a long line throughout the day. Hipsters know this kind of place exceptionally well.
When it comes to fashion, I know experts in hidden vintage clothing stores in Seoul, like an old, military themed vintage store in the underground walkway that connects Myeong-dong subway station Exit 5 to Shinsegae department store; or a pastor-owned, interestingly, vintage clothing store with a range of rare collections from a $10 unique button to a watch for thousands of dollars. 1990s American casual is the main theme for this pastor-run vintage store.
There are also experts in coffee shops, who know all the artistic coffee shops with inspiringly beautiful interior design in Hannam, Seongsu, Yongsan and Cheongdam areas.
On second thoughts, these people have always been there. They just recently got labeled as “Seoul hipsters”.
Seoul hipsters are not on the front end of the latest trends. They just have their own tastes, are able to find things tailored to their tastes and enjoy them before anybody else. These things are just spreading at a lightning speed in Seoul where more than 10 million people are always eager to pick up new trends.
Well, maybe anyone living/working in Seoul and trying to enjoy everything this great city offers could be labeled Seoul hipsters. They are information creators and consumers simultaneously. They find nice places in Seoul and post pictures on social media. Many people quickly find these posts and visit the places. The relatively unknown restaurants or brands suddenly become popular. Seoul hipsters leave the places behind and go find something new again. This virtuous cycle repeats.
I went to Seongsu last week to grab a Nashville style chicken sandwich known to be even better than what you can get in the States. The restaurant opens at 11:30 am. At 11:40 am, it was packed with people. The restaurant refused to even seat incomplete parties. The sandwich was awesome. I took a bite. The soft and delicious juice of the chicken filled my mouth even before I enjoyed its crunchy texture. Whole chat potatoes grilled with truffle oil were paired perfectly with the crunchy texture of sliced fennel on top of the potatoes. I’ve never had a chicken sandwich in Nashville but didn’t wonder at all. I was fascinated by the taste of the chicken sandwich. It was just so good.
One of my Seoul hipster friends recommended this place. I pulled my smartphone out of a pocket and habitually took some photos as soon as I got my sandwich and potatoes. These photos, along with a few sentences, were posted to my social media real-time while enjoying the sandwich. There are countless people like me in Seoul.
Maybe I will scout around for nice chicken sandwich places and visit them one by one. I feel like I’m going to be a Seoul hipster soon if I share hip chicken sandwich places on my social. I don’t have to be someone special to be a Seoul hipster. You and I who live life to the fullest in Seoul are Seoul hipsters.
