PSY HAS A lot to answer for. The chubby, unrestrained, permanently-suited-and-sunglassed Korean singer wrenched Gangnam, Seoul, out of relative obscurity and onto the tourist map with ‘Gangnam Style’ (the most watched YouTube video ever, clocking up 2.5bn hits, doomed to be used on company ads forever). Hell, it kickstarted the K-pop movement. So yes, Psy has a lot to answer for.

In particular, the Gangnam Style stage, complete with neon-bright purple lights and horse head, that’s installed at a busy cross-section of the district. Press a giant button and the chorus of the one-hit wonder plays for about a minute. It’s no surprise the terraces of the nearby bars and restaurants are empty. Gangnam – and the rest of Seoul, probably – must hate Psy.

I’ve been in Seoul three hours, drunk on soju. I – hate is a little strong – actively dislike Psy’s “whomp whomp”.

It’s a shame, really. The upscale business-district-turned-entertainment hub of Gangnam is an exhausting, sprawling, fun place to kick off a weekend in this most

hedonistic of cities. Seoul isn’t an easy city to love, nor is it an easy place to explore and get your head around. That’s why we’ve made it easy and curated five places and things to see in this trendsetting metropolis.

SLEEPStart in Gangnam, just south of the Han River. Specifically the Park Hyatt Seoul (seoul.park.hyatt.com), as elegant a base as you’ll find anywhere in the city, with particularly vertiginous views down Gangnam’s wide roads if you book one of the suites on the upper floors. If you don’t, no matter – have a drink in The Lounge, instead, or go for a swim. The hotel’s infinity pool is positioned in such a way to allow vast views over Gangnam’s neighbouring tower blocks.

Upscale business-district-turned-entertainment-hub Gangnam is an exhausting, sprawling, fun place to kick off a weekend in this most hedonistic of cities

It’s Good for the SeoulSouth Korea’s capital is a buzzing metropolis where historical sites and high-tech developments meet, and it’s great for a lively weekend break. Just don’t mention Gangnam Style, says CATHY ADAMS

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DRINKFrom Gangnam, schlep over to Hongdae for a nightcap, a district full of sugary-sweet boutiques and cafés dedicated to pets and cartoon characters, late-night karaoke bars, low-rent indie dive bars and Korean barbecues with endless racks of soju. Stay late screaming a K-pop track into a microphone and dancing about on a stage in a basement dive bar.

DRIVEGetting a late-night taxi home isn’t just recommended – it’s part of the Seoul experience. Speeding along its wide boulevards, zipping in and out of lanes, beneath its tall, flashing buildings is probably the only time in your life you’ll feel like the star of your own video game.

SEEGyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul’s blockbuster sight, is the Korean answer

to Beijing’s Forbidden City. The former powerhouse has been destroyed and rebuilt more times than David Hasselhoff’s career. It’s impressively colossal, but for those with fewer hours to spend, it can be lapped in about an hour – making sure to see the changing of the guard and the photogenic walled gardens. Need a feed? A short walk into nearby boutique street Insadong is Koong, a tiny traditional dumpling joint. Take a seat on the floor and remember to get up before your legs go dead.

WALKWalk off a hangover by clambering up the trail to the Seoul Tower (there’s a cable car for the less inclined) for disorientating views over the city. Then come back down to Namsan Park, underneath the tower. There’ll only be a few people around. Even in this city where more than ten million people are buzzing about, there are still places that Psy has yet to gurn over. H

▲ HEART AND SEOUL: (clockwise) The imposing Gyeongbokgung Palace – hard to spell, easy to spot; what better way to size-up the city than from the Park Hyatt’s infinity pool? Sip soju at the Hyatt’s bar.

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RUN DMZ

You’ll probably have heard of a little country to the north of Seoul called North Korea, and you’ll probably want to peer over the border into the bleak hills and utilitarian white tower blocks of the city of Kaesong if you’re in the area. Visiting the 4km wide, 240km-long Demilitarized Zone (DMZ for short) is an easy hour’s drive out of Seoul, and can usually be booked through a hotel concierge. In this heavily armed buffer zone between the two countries, you can walk through tunnels dug by North Korea to launch attacks; visit the eerily shiny Dorasan Train Station – which, if the two countries ever reunite, would allow passengers to travel from London to Korea by rail; and straddle the border between the two countries in the Joint Security Area. Oh, and there’s also dodgy North Korean booze available to buy in the gift shop.

TRAVELSEOUL

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