‘Gangnam Style’ puts Seoul on the travel map

As the shiny black party van glides down Teheranno Boulevard past Prada, Gucci and Louis Vuitton windows, the driver hits the remote, releasing a soft rain of colored LED lights. A familiar pulsing beat fills the air, unleashing images of a galloping dance move in the minds of everyone in earshot.

“Heeeyyyy, sexy laaaaady!”

Seoul resident Han-Ji Jeong sighs and leans back into the leather seat. “I am so sick of that song,” she says.

For better or worse, hundreds of millions of listeners still can’t get enough of Gangnam Style, an exuberant dance video that reached 826 million Internet hits this week, becoming YouTube’s most-watched video ever. (Take that, Justin Bieber.)

The Korean rap artist behind the sensation, Psy (short for Psycho), made the rounds of New York A-list TV shows earlier this fall. The video has inspired hundreds of parodies by entities as varied as the Oregon Ducks and the U.S. Naval Academy. And it has boosted the “cool” quotient of a nation many Americans associate only with electronic gadgets and its erratic neighbor to the north.

Seoul may be the gateway to Asia, but most international passengers touching down at Incheon airport simply proceed to the next outbound gate. Now, interest in Korea as a destination, which has never been an easy sell to American travelers, is on the rise. Still, of the 9.78 million foreign tourists who visited in 2011, a scant 660,000 were American, many of them business travelers.

“Korea is not well-known as a destination,” says Korea Tourism Organization executive Jaekyong Lee. “But the image is slowly changing.”

Not that he believes a music video — even a hugely popular one — can drive a sustained increase in visitation. Positive word of mouth about commercial and cultural venues, superior service, safety and other attributes will accomplish that, he says. But the current buzz doesn’t hurt.

The real Gangnam

Thanks to Psy’s catchy dance tune, the affluent Gangnam district is now on many Seoul travel itineraries, and several operators are offering Gangnam-centric tours.

The area sprang up in the 1960s and ’70s south of the Han River, which bisects this dizzyingly vertical metropolis of 10 million. The 15-square-mile district is HQ to Korea’s corporate giants, 5% of the city’s residents and 7% of the nation’s GDP.

A typical 1,000-square-foot apartment tops $700,000. Bottle service at a trendy Gangnam nightclub starts at $250. And 12 perfect gift-boxed apples at the Hyundai Department Store will set you back $100. Vanity showrooms for international luxury brands line the broad boulevard that cuts through its Cheongdam-dong neighborhood. There’s even a Rodeo Street, in homage to lavish, Beverly Hills-style consumerism.

But Gangnam is hardly the most compelling part of this dynamic city.

On a pleasant fall Saturday, the Insadong district’s long pedestrian-only main street is bustling. A vendor spins billowy cocoons of dragon’s beard candy. Another presides over a vat of fried silkworms. Costumed drummers perform in a side plaza.

A warren of alleys off the main street leads to small shops, galleries and restaurants. Inside one, Philadelphians Roberta and Scott Richard are digging into steaming bowls of bibimbap, Korea’s signature one-dish meal.

They’re here on a two-day stopover en route to Thailand on the recommendation of friends who are frequent business travelers to Seoul.

“I don’t know why it isn’t more visited,” says Roberta Richard. “There’s a lot to see and do. Who knew there are five palaces here?”

One of them, Gyeongbokgung Palace north of the river, is a sprawling, walled complex of Joseon Dynasty structures (some partly or wholly rebuilt after the ravages of war and foreign occupation). With its water features and tree-lined paths, it provides a respite from Seoul’s extreme urbanism. Nearby, in a plaza across from the Blue House (the presidential residence), an extravagant martial-arts display is underway, with dueling costumed military mascots, parading honor guards and rifle-twirling majorettes.

Itaewon, a district whose main drag ends at a U.S. Army base, presents a cultural mash-up of culinary offerings. (Try the kimchi fries at Vatos Urban Tacos.) There are “big-and-tall” shops catering to foreigners. Street vendors hawk designer knockoffs. And $35 will buy a custom-tailored shirt.

Farther north, the Dongdaemun night market bustles until 5 a.m., challenging New York’s status as the city that never sleeps.

‘Amazing place’ for food

New Yorkers Adam Wadler and his wife, Vivian Chen, have come to Seoul primarily to eat. Researching their dining-centric trip presented a bit of an “information hurdle,” he says. “But it’s an amazing place. I’m really glad I came.”

They’ve hooked up with Daniel Gray of O’ngo Food Tours for a whirlwind evening at a trio of Gangnam restaurants. It begins at Seoyeon, a six-table noodle shop famous for its handmade pork dumplings. Next stop is Bon Barbecue, where tables have grills and individual exhaust fans. Then it’s on to a Kkanbu Chicken for Korean fried chicken, though this KFC — extra crispy outside and super-moist inside — bears little resemblance to KFC franchise fare.

They wash down the food with Korean beer, soju (a distilled vodka-like rice drink) and makgeolli, or “farmer’s liquor.” Like many a night out in Seoul, it ends at a noraebang, a private karaoke room.

It’s late, but Gangnam stays up late. At Octagon, a concrete bunker of a nightspot, things don’t get going until midnight. The year-old club has a French-trained chef, a live-lobster tank and rooms with a private DJ from $5,000 a night. Young women in short, short skirts and high, high heels, along with casually dressed guys, line up at the door. An ID check weeds out anyone born before 1980.

Inside, the dance floor slowly fills. And not a soul is making like a Gangnam Style equestrian.

“Nobody plays Gangnam Style in the clubs,” Octagon’s executive director, Minhoo Lee, says a bit wearily. “Many foreigners want to hear it, but it’s too popular. Besides, (clubgoers) are into electronica. Hip-hop was over, like, five years ago. It’s for kids.”

Jae Soon Lee, 50, can relate to that. The Gangnam resident is a docent at Bongeunsa Temple, a tranquil Buddhist compound in Gangnam, where mothers like her make offerings in the hopes their children will pass their university entrance exams.

Lee considers the Gangnam Style phenomenon. “The video is fun. But why it’s so popular? I don’t get it. But then, maybe I’m too old.”

If you go: Finding Gangnam style

Tours: HanaTour USA has devised a five-day, three-night Gangnam Style Experience tour ($1,624 per person, double through Feb. 28), including round-trip airfare from Los Angeles, hotel, and Gangnam and Seoul center city tours.

New York-based wholesaler America Tour has a six-night, seven-day Gangnam Style Premium tour that takes in Seoul and beyond. It includes a facial at one of Gangnam’s ubiquitous skin-care clinics, such as ArumdaunNara – a don’t miss experience. All-inclusive price is $1,400, per person, double, plus airfare.

Where to stay: Gangnam has the usual selection of international brand lodgings, including two Intercontinental Hotels, one adjoining the COEX Mall (rates from about $250). For a wholly different experience in Gangnam, consider the overnight temple-stay program at the Bongeunsa Buddhist temple complex, which includes monastic meals and meditation (about $64). In the boutique category, stylish Hotel La Casa Seoul, also in Gangnam, has rooms from about $155.

Where to eat: The dining diversity in Seoul is staggering. But to acquaint yourself with local flavors, consider a food tour. Among them: O’ngo Food Tours Gangnam restaurant tour (about $110) and the popular night dining tour (about $81). O’ngo also offers Korean cooking classes.

For information: Korea Tourism Organization: 800-868-7567. <The Korea Times/USA Today>