The Hyundai Seoul

The Hyundai Seoul opened in Yeouido in 2021 as Hyundai Department Store's flagship, and it was built to feel more like a covered park than a mall. The centerpiece is Sounds Forest on the fifth floor, an indoor garden of real trees and lawn under a glass roof about 20 meters high, so daylight pours down through the whole atrium. On the first floor, a 12-meter artificial waterfall drops from the third level into the Waterfall Garden. Below ground, B2 Creative Ground gathers young Korean fashion labels such as Matin Kim, Marithé François Girbaud and Stand Oil, plus a rotating pop-up zone that changes almost weekly, while B1 Tasty Seoul is a large food hall packed with bakeries and dessert counters. Floors 1 to 6 cover luxury, beauty, living and restaurants. The store also served as a filming location for the drama Queen of Tears. For photos, go to the fifth-floor railing above the atrium or the bench seating under the trees in Sounds Forest. Plan two to three hours, more if you are hunting for K-fashion.