Oppan Gangnam Style!

Gangnam Style - probably the most famous K-Pop song of all time. The song is now ten years old and yet you remember the wild scenes as if it only came out yesterday. Psy was the first Korean artist to have a Korean pop song #1 on the global charts. His wild "horse dance" has stuck in people's minds to this day, so that a statue was even dedicated to him in the Gangnam district in South Korea. But what is behind the song and what is so special about Gangnam? I recently visited the well-known district in Seoul and I'll take you with me.

If you take a closer look at Psy's lyrics, he sings about a woman who is classy and reserved during the day and wild as soon as the night falls. That's the type of woman Psy is made for as he hails from lively Gangnam - that's how it's done here! Unassuming and posh by day, wild and lively by night. Unfortunately, I can't confirm the wild party side of Gangnam, since I haven't been out at night or partyed here, but during the day the district lures quite a lot of money out of your pockets. It's not for nothing that eyes widen when you mention that you live in Gangnam, because it's pretty expensive here.

Designer labels and luxury shops stretch for miles along the streets from Louis Vuitton to Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, Cartier, Gucci and much more. There is no H&M or other shops that you are familiar with. Very different cards are played here. Where Samsung is lurking on one corner, the Apple store is right across the street, with Sony right next to it. Only the big players come here. No wonder Gangnam is also the neighborhood that has the top three tutoring schools, for which some parents spend a lot of money on their children so that they can eventually go to one of the top universities, including Seoul National University.

So for me that means: just look and be amazed since I still don't have the money to be able to afford anything here. Instead, here I just relaxedly walked down K-Star Road, which, like Hollywood's Walk of Fame, is dedicated to Korean K-Pop artists in the form of teddy bears instead of stars. What irritated me was that there were only about 14 bears and most of them were from very old K-pop groups. Unfortunately, you won't find the desired newest artists from the scene on the street. Here are some bears I photographed:

In keeping with the colder temperatures, there's nothing better than an ice-cold date, right? At least I can eat ice cream at any time of the year and since Gangnam owns one of the rare Baskin Robbins Brown, I really wanted to try a chocolate fondue there. Who is now wondering what Baskin Robbins is? Well – I assume every one of you knows Häagen Dazs? I personally loved the ice cream cafe in Frankfurt and ate the chocolate fondue from time to time before it unfortunately closed. Baskin Robbins is as good as, if not better than, Häagen Dazs with up to 100 unique strains. The difference to the normal Baskin Robbins and the Brown is, as the name suggests, the design. The playful, colorful Baskin Robbins gets a brand-new chic flair with its designer brown colors that fit perfectly into the Gangnam neighborhood and the Brown exists only twice in the world. Raised to the third floor, you even get a great view over the streets of Gangnam.

If you visit the big cafe during the week, you will see an empty cafe where you can enjoy the ice cream a lot more. Bananas, kiwi and small waffles are added to the fondue. If you fancy something different, you can also order ice pops, small round balls of ice cream decorated with delicious sweets. Also special is the wall of "Celebrity Pink Spoons". Similar to Pink's Hotdogs in Hollywood, pink spoons hang on the wall from famous stars who have also visited the cafe. Who can blame them, because the ice cream is simply delicious! Signed spoons from Blackpink and other K-Pop artists can therefore be found here.

In the middle of the Gangnam district is also the CoEx Mall and inside the Starfield Library. Two things that are definitely worth seeing. Now what can I say about the CoEx Mall? Admittedly, it's like any other mall in the world: big, beautifully designed, but often overcrowded and overpriced. But here you will find many international and local shops from Lush to Kakaofriends to H&M to Crogs - the list goes on and on. I didn't really find anything in this mall, despite the fact that it's so incredibly huge. Maybe that's why it's a bit confusing. It extends over several floors. Trade fairs often take place above, and so a trade fair supervisor once approached me and invited me to lunch. Crazy things happen here. I looked at him with total irritation when he picked me up in front of a Crogs store and asked me which shoes I liked the most. As naive as I am, I was wondering which salesperson would be so pushy when selling and addressing customers in front of the shop, until he asked me for lunch and completely took me by surprise. For anyone who's interested, I said yes for the simple reason that I was desperate for food myself. Of course, I always have to reckon with the fact that men hope for more and so I had to put a spanner in the works again. It was funny when he still asked me if I wanted to "have fun" despite the fact that I have a boyfriend. No, definitely not, but nice try!

What is special about the CoEx Mall is the Starfield Library, which can be found in the middle of the mall. Around 50,000 books are made available for reading here and reading events or small performances for children take place regularly on weekends. The massive library extends over two floors and offers plenty of seating for those who want to take a break—cough—from shopping. Or people like me who just come here to read a book in "atmosphere". And the atmosphere here is definitely given. Huge shelves make up the library, sometimes with artwork or other installations on display. At night it all becomes a relaxing mix of shining stars, moons and lights that surround the entire library. Definitely worth a visit!

Well and otherwise Gangnam is a neighborhood like any other. Admittedly, it loses a lot of its flair due to all the construction sites and the many people who go to their offices and work here every day. However, the city owes its reputation precisely to dear Psy who, as mentioned earlier, has a statue dedicated here and attracts quite a few tourists to the country and neighborhood, giving it so much more life. If you want, you can watch the music video of Gangnam Style next to the copper statue of the well-known dance move, which then resounds loudly through the streets. But that's how it's done here in Gangnam. Oppan Gangnam Style!