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Gangnam Station
Seoul
Korea education craze and youth culture, corporate Korea and digital trends all melt together in Gangnam. If you want to see what the future looks like be sure to experience the Gangnam Station Area. This is Seoul's busiest area. If you want to experience the modern and futuristic side of Seoul, this is the best place to get a real look inside.
The entire area around Gangnam subway station is densely packed with restaurants, cafés, bars, clubs, boutiques, fast fashion stores and movie theaters. Gangnam Station Area is an important commercial and entertainment district. It also belongs to one of the most affluent areas of Seoul and it is located in the southeast of the city. Gangnam Main Street is on the top 10 list over the world's most expensive shopping streets.
The subway station itself is a crucial transfer point between two subway lines and buses to all over Seoul. Samsung Global Headquarters is here along with several other impressive buildings. There are also many shops in the subway station below ground.
If you wonder why there are so many young people flooding the streets. It is not only because they are there to shop and socialize, the area also has some of the highest concentration of cram schools and private education institutes in Korea. Everywhere you'll see students walking in and out of buildings carrying textbooks or sitting in one of the many cafes studying for their next toefl, gmat or sat exam.
The main street, Gangnam Boulevard, Ubiquitous Street or Digital Media Street (it has many names) has also been designated as a digital testing lab for Seoul Government. On both sides of the street you will see tall media poles, 12.4 meters to be exact and they are the most advanced digital signage systems in the world. They act as wifi hot spots and they allow people to take pictures, play games, search for traffic information and look at maps etc. You can also read news here. Gangnam is a testbed for everything cutting edge digital.
Local Tip!
One of the best seafood barbecue restaurants is located in Gangnam, near exit 11 and Kyobo Bookstore. The best way to find it is to take a taxi to: Nonhyeon-dong, Hansin Pocha, a famous soju tent bar serving chicken feet. Go down the left alley and the restaurant is on the corner, first street to the right. It has a big blue sign in Korean writing and a small terrace outside. Call: +82-2-544-8892, if you have trouble finding it.
