← All articles · South Korea · 18 May 2026

Seoul, South Korea: The city we keep coming back to

Five years of Seoul in one camera roll: Starfield Library, Namsan at sunset, Jamsil baseball, hanok rooftops, a waterfall in the city and an aquarium cafe.

We keep coming back to Seoul, in different years and different seasons, and it never quite repeats itself. Bookshelves the height of a building, a baseball crowd in June, hanok roofs under January light, and a waterfall running through the middle of the city.

Photos from Seoul

The camera roll proves it. Here’s what stayed from each visit between October 2021 and May 2026, oldest first.

Starfield Library and a Namsan sunset

Inga looking out over the towering curved bookshelves of Starfield Library inside COEX Mall — First encounter with Starfield Library at COEX, October 2021. Yes, the shelves really are that tall.

Selfie of Inga and Dileep on a terrace on Namsan's slopes, sunset glowing over the Seoul skyline behind them — Sunset over the rooftops from the slopes of Namsan, the kind of view that makes you miss your dinner reservation.

Baseball at Jamsil

Selfie of Inga and Dileep in the stands at Jamsil Baseball Stadium, holding a blue Cass beer cup — June 2022 at Jamsil Baseball Stadium. One Cass, two spectators, nine innings.

A hanok cafe and a bench full of Samoyeds

Inga and Dileep standing outside the Onion cafe in Anguk, Seoul, under a traditional wooden hanok gate with the Onion sign above it — Onion in Anguk, May 2023. The queue is part of the experience, and it’s worth it.

Inga and Dileep sitting on a leather bench in a Seoul dog cafe with two Samoyeds beside them and a third lying on the floor — A dog cafe, three Samoyeds, and no intention of leaving. They pick you, not the other way round.

Myeongdong at closing time

A busy Myeongdong street in Seoul late at night, lit shop signs in Korean stacked up the buildings and street food stalls still trading — Myeongdong just before eleven, December 2023, and still nowhere near finished.

Hanok rooftops at Eunpyeong

Inga and Dileep above the tiled rooftops of Eunpyeong Hanok Village, the granite peaks of Bukhansan behind — Eunpyeong Hanok Village in January 2024, with Bukhansan's granite peaks doing the heavy lifting in the background.

Inga with a coffee and a sticker-covered laptop at a cafe window overlooking hanok rooftops and pine trees — The remote-work dream: coffee, laptop, and a window full of hanok roofs.

Hongjecheon, Starfield again, and the aquarium cafe

Selfie of Inga and Dileep holding iced drinks in front of the Hongjecheon artificial waterfall — May 2026: iced drinks at the Hongjecheon waterfall, Seoul's favourite trick of hiding nature inside the city.

Inga working on a laptop with an iced green drink at a desk in Starfield Library, bookshelves rising behind — Back at Starfield Library five years on, this time with a laptop. Some places become habits.

Inga working at a long wooden counter in Starfield Library, the towering wall of books and the mall escalators behind her — The counter seats face the escalators and the book wall at once, which is either the best or the worst place to try to work.

Inga and Dileep sitting with two iced drinks at a counter built against a large planted aquarium full of angelfish — The aquarium cafe under Lotte Tower: your table is the tank. Two iced drinks and a lot of angelfish, May 2026.

Inga leaning close to the aquarium glass, face to face with a pale long-nosed fish resting on a spotted stingray — Face to face through the glass with a long-nosed something sitting on a spotted ray. Neither party blinked.

The next day had enough in it to need its own page: the Louis Vuitton cafe in Cheongdam.

The films from Seoul

Seoul gave us more footage than one page can hold, so each film now has its own story.

A 225,000 won K-beauty haul at the biggest Olive Young, the full walk through Olive Young N Seongsu, plus what went out to subscribers.
The Priority Pass lounge hiding at Incheon Terminal 1, the seating, the Korean buffet and the ramen corner at the Sky Hub Lounge.
Making a luggage tag instead of buying a souvenir, Inga builds her Korean souvenir by hand, and the beaded pen kits at a craft fair.
The small shopping finds we didn’t plan to buy, Korean sock designs and Shin-chan merch turning up in corner after corner.
The cafe that is really an immersive art space, bold installations downstairs and unusual desserts at the top.
The Louis Vuitton cafe in Cheongdam, a bronze column, a woven ceiling and cakes with the monogram pressed into them.
What Korean convenience stores actually stock, a sugar free speciality shop and the golden smoked eggs you can order for delivery.

There’s more from this trip on our YouTube channel, we film the real sights and sounds, no fluff. You’ll also find us on TikTok and Instagram.

Two beds in Seoul over the years: Jamsil Noblestay Hotel out by the stadium, and Hotel Skypark Myeongdong 2 when we wanted to be in the middle of everything.