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Dad loves travel. Teen loves Blackpink. Put them together and what do you get? A musical journey through South Korea’s capital city.

Our top picks for the best new hotels in the world.

No, it’s not your imagination. Everyone—men, women, children, even dogs—dresses up in Seoul. Sure, you’re bound to see the odd denim-clad dud, but on the whole you’re more likely to spot bow ties and blazers or blouses and heels walking the streets on a daily basis. If you like a little glitz and glamour in your people watching, head over to Gangnam (yes, the one immortalized by Psy in the song of the same name). Sip a cappuccino at any of the myriad cafes as you watch dolled-up ladies and dandified gents strut their stuff.

Walking in one of Seoul‘s newer neighborhoods south of the Han River, this unlikely art caught my eye: a sculpture of backpack-toting gorilla climbing up an apartment building. The Gangnam district of Seoul has splashes of whimsy among the new glass-and-steel high-rises. Rice paddies just a couple of decades ago, this area has become one of the trendiest areas of South Korea’s capital.

Overview

In Seoul’s swank Gangnam district, books are the new black. Upscale book publisher Assouline has various concept stores around the globe, with the Gangnam location being the brand’s first foray into Asia. The lounge provides highbrow customers with luxurious art, lifestyle and fashion books, and the elegant space is also a café and gallery. The sumptuously decorated boutique begs you to linger, and it’s hard to say no when cakes, tarts and French wines sing seductively. Jumgyung Building, Sinsadong 631-36, Gangnam-gu, Seoul

The COEX Complex in Gangnam is more than just a mall, convention center, and exhibition hall. It’s a few city blocks filled with cool buildings that will thrill those who have a penchant for unique architectural design. Perhaps the most iconic of the buildings in the COEX complex is the 54-story Seoul World Trade Tower. Used as a backdrop in the Gangnam Style music video, the tower is unique for its unusual ridged edge. It’s up to you whether to do a reenactment of the galloping dance while standing in front of the building. To get there, take subway line 2, and exit at Samseong (COEX) station.

Notebooks and markers and pencils, oh my! Art Box offers a kaleidoscopic array of school supply fun, a favorite among Korean students of all ages. Found in various locations around Seoul, this colorful stationery shop sells everything from greeting cards and clocks to stickers and socks. Stock up on notebooks with quirky Korean sayings or mechanical pencils adorned with your favorite cartoon characters. Just don’t try to shop here on a Saturday—you may be run down by hoards of schoolgirls looking for the latest in Hello Kitty paraphernalia. F-17, COEX Mall, 58, Teheran-ro 87-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul

On a jetty jutting out into the Sea of Japan, toward a pine-covered lighthouse isle, this metal tree of hearts is a rendezvous spot on the NE coast of South Korea. Visitors from all over Asia come to Sokcho to eat seafood and to see where scenes in “Autumn in my Heart,” one of the first internationally famous Korean melodramas, were filmed. (The open-mouthed fish-"bench” makes for a curious pairing, no?) To get here from Seoul: catch an ‘express bus’ from Dong Seoul Bus Terminal or Gangnam Express Bus Terminal. Buses from Gangnam let you off, after a few hours, at the Sokcho Express Bus Terminal, which is just a five minute walk from this jetty. Adjacent is a 1-km-long stretch of white sand popular on weekends. This unpretentious town is still a bit off the beaten path for most foreign visitors, although Seoraksan National Park is just west of Sokcho. The jumble of new construction (and lax zoning laws) gives this port-town kind of a frontier feel, but the people are friendly and the seafood is fresher than fresh. (Note: within Korea, “The Sea of Japan” is officially referred to as “Donghae--The East Sea.”)

The Hotel Cappuccino may look like another Gangnam skyscraper hotel, but guests here will find a refreshing emphasis on value—and not just the monetary kind. Among the thoughtful surprises are the Angel Elevator, which makes a clean-water charity donation with each key card swipe, and an in-room Earn & Giveaway box that provides an amenity-traded option for a free drink voucher at the hotel’s café (or the opportunity to pay it forward). The design is vintage-industrial chic, from the metal bunk beds (each with its own TV) in quad rooms to the work stool in the gin-centric rooftop bar. A 24-hour gym, business center, and lifestyle boutique suit pretty much any fancy, and custom-made doggie beds and snacks are available for pets.

Situated along the bustling, tree-lined avenues of Gangnam, Hotel La Casa is a concept hotel created by one of Korea’s most popular lifestyle and furniture stores, Casa Mia. Known for clean lines and modern touches, the brand is the South Korean equivalent of Ikea. The welcoming lobby is decorated like a cozy study with book-lined walls, plush couches, and picture windows. The 61 rooms of Casa Mia’s flagship design hotel, which opened in 2011, look like pages of a catalog come to life. Rich wood, ample white space with pops of color, and kitschy decor items are meant to make guests feel right at home. Love your pillowcase, the bath towels, or the cute alarm clock next to your bed? The first three levels of the hotel are a massive Casa Mia retail store where guests can purchase items found in their rooms.

This glitzy district, considered an Asian Beverly Hills, has its very own Rodeo Drive. Apgujeongdong is an area within the Gangnam district that emits more luxury and ostentation than Oscar Day on the red carpet. Affluent Seoulites flock to Hyundai Department Store and nearby Galleria Department Store to get their designer fix at stores such as Louis Vuitton and Jimmy Choo. Not everything is priced in the triple and quadruple digits. On sunny days, Rodeo Drive has plenty of small boutiques and street vendors selling handmade jewelry and hair accessories, a Korean favorite. Exit at the Apgujeong subway station.

During my last stay in Seoul, I spent most of my time in the historic heart of the city north of the Han river. I did take a Sunday afternoon, though, to walk around the Gangnam district—the chic high rise–dominated neighborhood south of the river. (As recently as a few decades ago, this area was still rice-paddies.) Just around the corner from Bong-eun-sa temple (which dates from the 8th century), this striking building caught my eye: the headquarters for the Hyundai Development Company. Designed by renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, it’s known as “The Tangent.” In the architect’s words, “the Tangent is a project that is about the relationship between the ever-changing circle of nature and the straight line of technology.” (Those words could also succinctly describe the recent history of postwar Korea.) In my mind, though, because this structure reminds me of one of my favorite artists, this is the Kandinsky building in Seoul. And across the street, beneath the Korea World Trade Center tower, is the COEX mall, Asia’s largest underground shopping center. Grab a bite in the food court and get a feel for the youth pop-culture vibe; a K-pop dance competition just might be taking place on a nearby stage. To get here: Take Subway Line 2, exit Samseong (COEX) station.

The most popular destination (and one of the only) for running in Lima is along the Malecón bike path. Be warned that the name changes from Malecón de la Reserva to Malecón Cisneros and finally to Malecón de la Marina. But the more than two miles of scenic coastline stretches from San Isidro through Miraflores past Larcomar shopping centre and the Parque del Amor, all the way to Barranco. You can stick to the path or find the stairs near the Parque del Amor that descend to sandy beach. If along the way toward Barranco you happen upon an outdoor exercise class dancing to a remix of “Gangnam Style,” as there was when I passed, join them.

Passport DC is a month-long event in May with more than 100 international events and activities that educate visitors and residents of the Washington, D.C., area about our global community. Every first Saturday of the month is the signature event known as the Around the World Embassy Tour. With D.C. home to more embassies than any other city in the world, usually over 40 embassies (in 2013 it was 44), representing six continents, invite the public with a rare behind-the-scenes look into their stately mansions and exclusive compounds to experience their country’s food, art, dance, and music. Out of the 44, I crossed over the border into 10 countries in one day: Indonesia, Haiti, Belize, Barbados, Brazil, Côte d’Ivoire, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka, and Turkey. (Yes, when you are in an embassy, you are officially on that country’s soil). So I chowed down on the Kyrgyz Republic’s national dish known as plov (lamb and rice), drank Haitian coffee and Barbancourt rum, sampled rendang and sambal spices from Indonesia, sipped Turkish coffee, savored barbecue chicken with beans and rice and panty-ripper cocktails from Belize... and heard the sounds of “Gangnam Style” blaring outside the South Korean Embassy, saw samba and capoeira performances at the Brazilian Ambassador’s residence. And there was hand-shaking and mingling with ambassadors and diplomats.... Talk about a full day of cultural immersion!