After spending my entire first weekend trip to Seoul exploring the areas north of the Han River, I knew I needed to take my second visit to the south, to the upscale district of Gangnam.
And I’m glad I did.
Gangnam is bigger and more varied than I expected from its reputation.
Yes, there’s the luxury shopping and K-pop landmarks. But what I didn’t expect to find in this Seoul neighborhood (that the world discovered through a famous pop song) was a 1,200-year-old Buddhist temple shadowed by glass skyscrapers, tree-lined streets in Sinsa-dong, or a free library stacked with 13-meter bookshelves in the middle of a luxury mall.
(As a book-obsessed traveler, that last one was worth the trip alone!)
Spending one day in Gangnam is enough to cover many of the highlights. But what I quickly learned was that the district spans a lot of ground. Without a rough plan, first-time visitors might end up spending half the day on the wrong end of the district.
Here’s the route I’d follow to squeeze in all the most popular things to do in Gangnam in your first 24 hours…
Morning: COEX Mall, Starfield Library, Bongeunsa Temple, and Royal Tombs
Start your morning by hopping on Line 2 of the Seoul metro to Samseong Station. Follow Exit 5 or 6 directly into our first destination: COEX Mall.
COEX Mall and Starfield Library
Our first stop in the COEX Mall is the Starfield Library. I’d get there as close to the 10 am opening as you can manage. By early afternoon, this place gets packed shoulder to shoulder with tourists and Instagram photographers.
At 10 am, the Starfield Library can feel almost peaceful. (Well, at least in comparison to other times of the day). This is exactly how you want to experience it for the first time.
And let’s not kid ourselves: the Starfield Library is definitely worth experiencing for any first-time visitor to Seoul.
When I first turned a corner inside COEX Mall, not entirely sure where I was going (which, I’ll admit, was almost always when I wandered around Seoul), I walked straight into it.
The bookshelves run 13 meters high on both sides of the atrium. People sit underneath them reading, which feels almost absurdly calm given that you’re inside a busy shopping mall.
One thing to know before you visit the Starfield Library is that the books are almost entirely in Korean. Don’t come expecting to browse the shelves and find your next Jeju Island beach read.
Instead, just come to sit in one of the most striking interiors in Seoul, and snap a few photos before the big crowds arrive.
Before continuing on your 1-day Gangnam itinerary, grab a coffee at % Arabica, located directly next to the library. The Coex Mall location of this Japanese specialty coffee chain is one of the better spots I found in the district for a proper morning Americano.
(And I’m a bit of a coffee snob, so I stand behind this rec.)
Also, before leaving the COEX Mall area, it’s worth making a quick stop at the Gangnam Style Sculpture on the east side of the mall near Bongeunsa Station.
If you’re a fan of Psy’s 2012 global hit, the Gangnam Style statue is a must. Even if not, I still think it’s worth a quick detour before heading to lunch.
The statue plays the song on a loop, and it’s a fun photo opportunity that only takes about five minutes. (No sweat.)
Bongeunsa Temple
From the COEX Mall, Bongeunsa Temple is a five-minute walk north across the main road. The contrast between the two is jarring in the best way. You go from Asia’s largest (partially) underground shopping mall to a temple complex founded in 794 AD in about the time it takes to cross a street.
The 23-meter Maitreya Buddha statue in the temple’s main courtyard caught me off guard when I first rounded the corner toward it. It’s one of Gangnam’s most distinctive landmarks, and the perfect spot for snapping a selfie.
The grounds of Bongeunsa Temple are larger than they look from the entrance, with wooden pavilions and stone lanterns spread across a peaceful complex.
Carve out at least 30 minutes to visit Bongeunsa Temple, more if you arrive during a ceremony.
(Entry to the temple is free.)
Seolleung and Jeongneung Royal Tombs
Before heading to lunch, the Seolleung and Jeongneung Royal Tombs are worth a quick detour. They’re a five-minute walk from Bongeunsa Temple, and in my opinion, one of the most underrated stops in all of Gangnam.
The Seolleung and Jeongneung Royal Tombs hold the burial mounds of three Joseon Dynasty royals: King Seongjong, his wife Queen Jeonghyeon, and their son King Jungjong.
Standing in front of 500-year-old burial mounds while glass towers rise up on every side is one of those only-in-Seoul moments that stopped me in my tracks the first time I visited Gangnam.
The Seolleung and Jeongneung Royal Tombs have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2009. What I find even more remarkable is how easy it is for most first-time visitors to walk straight past them!
I’d recommend spending about 30 to 45 minutes roaming around here. The walking paths through the Seolleung and Jeongneung Royal Tombs complex are peaceful in a way that’s hard to find anywhere else in this part of the city.
(Entry to the Royal Tombs is ₩1,000. The tombs are closed on Mondays.)
Lunch: Samseong Food and Culture Street
For lunch, I’d suggest skipping the COEX Mall food court. Instead, head to Samseong Food and Culture Street, located just behind the mall between Samseong Jungang Station and Bongeunsa Station.
This is where the local office workers eat every day. (In my experience, this is often a reliable indicator that the food is good and the prices aren’t jacked up to sucker tourists.)
Samseong Food and Culture Street has a solid mix of options, from Seoul street food classics like tteokbokki and budaejjigae to dim sum to bakeries.
If you want a specific BBQ recommendation on the street itself, Sam’s Korean BBQ Restaurant (28 Samseong-ro 104-gil) is a solid pick. The specialty here is galmaegi-sal, a pork skirt steak cut that’s less commonly found on tourist-area menus.
The staff grills the meat for you and throws in a free egg crust on the first round. Order the marinated pork skirt or the prime beef boneless short ribs.
If you want a specific recommendation, Oegojip Seolleongtang (555 Samseong-ro) is a short walk away and has been in the Michelin Guide long enough that the recognition barely needs mentioning.
Oegojip Seolleongtang does one thing: ox bone broth soup made from Grade 1 Korean beef, slow-simmered until the broth goes rich and milky.
Order the seolleongtang, add the suyuk (boiled beef slices) if you’re hungry, and don’t skip the radish kimchi on the side.
(Just note that Oegojip is closed on Sundays.)
Early afternoon: Garosu-gil
After you’re all fuelled up, continue your afternoon in Gangnam by taking Line 3 to Sinsa Station. Pop out at Exit 8, and walk straight ahead and turn left onto Dosan-daero 13-gil. Soon, you’ll land at our next itinerary stop: Garosu-gil.
I wasn’t expecting to like Garosu-gil as much as I did. After a morning in the COEX end of Gangnam, this area felt like a completely different neighborhood.
The ginkgo trees lining the street give it a slower, more European feel, and the side alleys branching off the main strip are where Garosu-gil gets even more interesting.
Most of the better independent shops and cafes I found in the area are tucked down those side streets rather than on the main drag. Don’t just walk the main strip and leave.
The Gentle Monster Sinsa Flagship Store (23 Apgujeong-ro 10-gil) is worth walking into even if you have no intention of buying sunglasses. Each floor has its own sculptural art installation alongside the eyewear, and the whole space feels more like a gallery than a shop.
For an afternoon pick-me-up, Tailor Coffee (31 Gangnam-daero 160-gil) is one of my favorite finds on Garosu-gil. They’re known for their Einspänner, a Viennese-style iced coffee topped with whipped cream that’s become a Seoul institution.
If you’re more of a specialty coffee person, Milestone Coffee Roasters (49 Nonhyeon-ro 159-gil) has been roasting its own beans in this neighborhood since 2014. Order the flat white or iced latte. The mascarpone tiramisu is worth getting alongside it.
Both cafes are open daily from 10 am.
Budget two to three hours to explore Garosu-gil. The street is compact, but the side alleys can swallow an afternoon whole if you let them.
Late afternoon: K-Star Road and Apgujeong
K-Star Road
From Garosu-gil, K-Star Road is a short walk or 1-stop subway ride east to Apgujeong Rodeo Station. Come out of Exit 2, and you’re at the start of it.
My honest take on K-Star Road is that it’s worth checking out. But it lands very differently depending on why you’re in Seoul. If K-pop is any part of the reason you made the trip, K-Star Road will be a fun stop.
The 1.08km stretch from Apgujeong Rodeo Station to the Cheongdam Crossroads is lined with 17 GangnamDol bear statues. Each one represents a different K-pop group, decorated in the visual style of groups like BTS, EXO, Super Junior, and Girls’ Generation.
There’s a 3-meter PSY GangnamDol near the Galleria Department Store at the start of the road that’s hard to miss. The whole walk takes about 20 to 30 minutes.
If K-pop isn’t your thing, K-Star Road is still a decent walk. You’ll be moving through Gangnam’s actual luxury corridor, and the combination of Dior and Gucci storefronts with giant bear statues dressed as pop idols is one of those things that’s worth seeing while spending a day in Seoul.
(If you want to take home a miniature GangnamDol, the GangnamDol Haus souvenir shop is at Apgujeong Rodeo Station Exit 7. It’s open 10 am to 5 pm with a lunch break from 1 pm to 2 pm.)
The Galleria Department Store at the Apgujeong end is worth a slow walk-through for the architecture alone. The building’s perforated disc facade is one of the better-looking structures in Gangnam, and the luxury shopping inside is about as high-end as Seoul gets.
From the Galleria, Cheongdam Fashion Street continues east toward the Cheongdam Crossroads. If luxury-brand shopping is your thing, this is where Prada, Louis Vuitton, and most major European fashion houses have their Seoul flagship stores.
Even if it’s not, the Cheongdam Crossroads makes a natural endpoint for your day in Gangnam before heading to dinner.
Evening: Dinner in Apgujeong
By the time you’ve finished exploring K-Star Road and the Cheongdam end of Gangnam, you’ll have covered a lot of ground. Dinner in Apgujeong is the right call.
After exploring Apgujeong on my second weekend trip to Seoul, I would say that this isn’t a part of the city where you stumble into something good by accident. It rewards first-time visitors who wander in with a plan.
My dinner recommendation is Samwon Garden (835 Eonju-ro), one of the most well-known galbi restaurants in the city. Samwon Garden has been grilling galbi in Apgujeong since 1976. (It’s been in the Michelin Guide long enough that I almost feel silly for recommending it.)
The setting is a garden complex walled off from the street. It feels very much removed from the Gangnam you’ve been walking through all day.
Order the yangnyeom galbi, the marinated short ribs. The staff grills the meat for you at the table, which is much less common than the self-service Korean BBQ most first-timers are used to.
The saenggalbi (unmarinated short ribs) is a great alternative if you want to taste the beef without the sauce. End with naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles), the traditional way to finish a galbi meal in Korea.
A fair word of warning: Samwon Garden is on the pricier end. Expect to pay ₩50,000 to ₩60,000 per person for the galbi, but for a final dinner in Gangnam, it’s hard to argue with this Michelin-nodded restaurant.
(I’d strongly recommend making a reservation to secure your table at Samwon Garden, especially on weekends.)
What to skip (or save for another day)
I see it mentioned on a lot of travel plans, but Lotte World belongs on a different day entirely. I’d love to tell you to squeeze it into this itinerary, but Lotte World is in Jamsil, southeast of the main Gangnam cluster. Trying to fold this in means rushing everything else.
If the aquarium or the Seoul Sky Observatory appeals to you, treat Lotte World as a standalone half-day rather than an afternoon add-on.
The Gangnam Station Underground Shopping Center gets mentioned in a lot of Gangnam guides. If I’m being perfectly honest, I don’t think it’s worth going out of the way for.
If you happen to exit at Gangnam Station and want to duck through, that’s cool. But the underground mall is a functional shopping center for locals, not a tourist attraction. That time is better spent in Garosu-gil, in my opinion.
Samsung d’light, the Samsung exhibition center near Gangnam Station, is free and worth a visit if you’re into technology. But it’s a 30- to 45-minute detour that doesn’t connect naturally to anything else in this itinerary. Instead, I’d save Samsung d’light for a day when you’re already in that part of Gangnam.
Getting around + practical info
Seoul’s metro system is excellent, and I’ve built this itinerary around it.
I’d recommend picking up a T-money Card. You can get one at any subway station or convenience store for ₩2,500 and top up with cash. The T-money Card covers all subway trips, buses, and even some convenience store purchases.
One thing I should point out for navigation is that Google Maps has significant limitations in South Korea due to local privacy laws. (It let me down a lot.)
One thing I wish I had known then was to download Naver Maps or Kakao Maps before going. Both work well for transit directions and walking routes. Kakao Maps, in particular, has a reliable English interface.
(You need the mobile apps, though. The websites don’t appear to have a working English option.)
The key stations for this adventure are Samseong Station (Line 2) for Starfield COEX Mall in the morning, Sinsa Station (Line 3) for Garosu-gil in the afternoon, and Apgujeong Rodeo Station (Line 3) for K-Star Road and dinner.
All the stations offer straightforward connections from most parts of central Seoul, including Myeongdong and Insadong.
(Taxis are widely available throughout Gangnam and reasonably priced. The Kakao T app works like Uber. It’s by far the easiest way to hail a cab without speaking Korean.)
