The Seoulite

If you’re walking along Sinsa-dong behind the Ferrari dealership on your way to Dos Tacos… you may stumble upon this cafe that looks like it’s part of someone’s patio of a mid-century house in West Germany. It is indeed South Korea… but the cafe is part of a duplex if you take a close look. No matter… it’s the inside (and the cute outside) that counts. This place has ‘new favorite secret spot’ written all over it.

There are specials listed... but many don't change. If you go for lunch... get the green chicken curry. It's what the servers are always eating too. There are real bay leaves in the dish.

From certain angles, it looks like you tripped into a friend's apartment in the Czech Republic. The art here changes every monthly and it's for sale as well.

Sturdy furniture for lots of reading, writing and people watching.

In the afternoons, you may even be able to meet the artists and share a cup of tea while you see them work.

Hungry? Have a four-cheese pizza. The food here has the homey taste of a bed and breakfast.

Here is an assortment of sausages, carrots and broccoli.

Shin Seung Hun filmed music jams over at OPP. This is definitely a celebrity dive type of place. The espresso here is quite amazing.

To get there all you need to do is take along a seeing-eye dog because you will swear your sense of direction has become blind. Go to the Ferrari dealership. If you don’t know where that is… stand in front of Benihana and look across the street.

Once you find the Ferraris go into the alley and then make a left at the second alley. OPP will be on your right. Closest subway? Apgujong Station exit 3. But from there you will be coming from a completely different direction. Get a homing piegeon. Or consult this map if you can read Korean.

Food: 4/5
Ambiance: 5/5
Service: 5/5

Phone: (02)2238-3437

To the world he is known as ‘Tablo’, the leader of Korean hip-hop group Epik High. At Stanford he was known as Daniel Lee. Then Daniel ‘Armand’ Lee. And now this talented renaissance man has published his first novel - a collection of short stories written during his time at university.

‘Pieces of You’ is the title and though originally written in English, it has been translated in Korean for its release in Korea earlier this month. 50,000 copies have already sold out and the publisher ordered an additional 20,000 copies. The English edition is expected to launch in February 2009.

The stories focus on broken individuals searching for their identity - troubled, but tenacious characters who keep chasing their dreams.

'Every era puts importance on different social values. Once, it was arts and at times, religion or truth,' says Tablo. 'At present, people value comfort and money the most, which limits their passion for other things, like the arts.'

The Seoulite and Tablo were friends for a while in college. Here is a music video they made when they were dorm mates in Okada. Tablo stole his sweaters. But the Seoulite stole his jackets. They did it for art.

Daniel Armand Lee (born July 22, 1980), more commonly known by the stage name Tablo (Hangul: 타블로), is a Korean hip hop musician, rap artist, songwriter and lyricist. He is best known as the rapper and leader of the South Korean hip hop group Epik High. Tablo produces almost all the songs of Epik High with DJ Tukutz, and writes the lyrics with Mithra Jin. He has also produced and featured on many songs in South Korea. His work incorporates numerous musical styles, ranging from hip hop, to electronic music such as trance, trip hop, as well as rock.

Order the book in Korean here.

Note: The Seoulite also underwent a name change/modification for artistic purposes.

Hi, I’m Sean Lim, an American expat living in South Korea.  This is my blog about becoming a Seoulite.

What is a Seoulite?
A ‘Seoulite’ (서울깍쟁이) is a citizen of Seoul, just as a ‘New Yorker’ is a citizen of New York. Of course the label ‘Seoulite’ doesn’t simply denote a place of residence [...]