The Ultimate Gangnam Glow-Up Guide

Gangnam has long been one of Seoul’s biggest trendsetters. Across neighbourhoods like Apgujeong, Cheongdam and Sinsa, you’ll find some of the city’s most talked-about beauty salons, fashion stores and K-pop hotspots, making it the perfect place to have a little fun with your personal style. And a Gangnam glow-up can be whatever you want it to be. Find the colours that suit you best, try a Korean beauty treatment, explore the latest fashion or step into a dance studio and learn a K-pop routine for yourself. Whether you’re ready for the full transformation or just want to try something new, here are some of the experiences worth adding to your Gangnam visit.
 

Find Your Personal Colours

If you’re still guessing whether you look better in gold or silver, it might be time to finally get an answer. Personal colour analysis has become one of Korea’s biggest beauty trends, and if your social media feed has already introduced you to the endless fabric drapes, you probably know the drill. At Warm N Cool, different shades are compared against your complexion to narrow down your seasonal colour palette and work out which tones complement you best. And it goes much further than finding out whether you’re a spring, summer, autumn or winter. Your results can help guide the colours you choose for your clothes, makeup, accessories and even your next hair colour. It takes the guesswork out of shopping and makes finding what actually suits you so much easier. You can book your personal colour analysis at Warm N Cool through WAUG, and I’d recommend doing this one before you go shopping around Gangnam. That way, you can actually put everything you’ve learned to use instead of finding out after you’ve bought half your new wardrobe.

My tip: Bring the makeup you already use regularly. If your consultation includes a review of your current products, you can see how your everyday shades fit into your palette, and you'll have a much better idea of what to look for the next time you're makeup shopping.
 

Explore Apgujeong & K-Star Road

If you want a taste of the polished, trend-setting Seoul lifestyle, Apgujeong is where you want to be. Fashion, beauty, K-pop and some of the city’s coolest concept spaces all come together here, making it a pretty natural stop on a Gangnam glow-up. 

And for the K-pop fans, there’s K-Star Road. The street is lined with colourful GangnamDols, oversized character sculptures designed around different K-pop artists and groups. Snap your pictures, find the ones representing your favourites and then keep exploring, because K-Star Road is really only the beginning. 

Head towards Apgujeong Rodeo and you’ll find streets filled with fashion boutiques, flagship stores, beauty spots and concept cafés that are almost as much about their interiors as whatever they’re serving. This is one of those places where wandering without much of a plan actually works: grab a drink, follow whatever storefront catches your eye and take in the street style while you’re at it.

My tip: Don’t just stick to the main road. Give yourself time to explore the smaller streets around Apgujeong Rodeo — you never know what you’ll stumble across, and the street style inspiration you will get here is unmatched.
 

Get the Cheongdam Treatment

If there’s anywhere to be a little extra with your glow-up, Cheongdam is the place to do it. The area is packed with high-end hair and makeup salons, skincare clinics and spas, including studios connected to the polished looks you see across Korean fashion and entertainment. This is your chance to actually try the look rather than just save it to Pinterest. Book a Korean-style cut and blowout, have your makeup professionally done, try one of the area’s skincare treatments or go for the full hair-and-makeup experience. And with so many options around Cheongdam, your glow-up can be as subtle or as dramatic as you want it to be.

My tip: Bring reference photos. “Natural,” “soft glam” and “a little volume” can mean very different things to different people, but a picture gets straight to the point.
 

Give Your Wardrobe a Gangnam Glow-Up

You’ve found your colours, you know what actually suits you and now comes the dangerous part: shopping with that information. Suddenly, half the things you would normally walk straight past deserve a second look, and Gangnam gives you plenty of places to test your new palette. 

For trendier boutiques, fashion stores and stylish storefronts, wander through Sinsa and Garosu-gil and see what catches your eye. If you’re more interested in finding a bargain, head underground at Gangnam Station, where rows of shops are packed with clothing, shoes, accessories and cosmetics at much friendlier prices. You don’t need to commit to a whole new wardrobe either — sometimes the glow-up is just finally finding that colour on you and realising, okay... they had a point.

My tip: Keep a photo of your personal colour palette on your phone while you shop. And maybe set yourself a budget before you start.
 

Explore Gangnam’s Concept Spaces

If you love good design, Sinsa and Dosan could easily steal a few hours from you. This part of Gangnam is full of concept stores where fashion, art and architecture come together, with brands using everything from large-scale installations to immersive displays to completely transform the usual shopping experience.

Gentle Monster is one of the names that does this particularly well. Its spaces are known for bold interiors and elaborate art installations, while the brand’s HAUS NOWHERE concept brings fashion, eyewear, art and design together on a much larger scale. And somehow, even dessert gets the design treatment. NUDAKE takes the same creative approach to food, with pastries and cakes that sometimes look almost too good to disturb. Almost.

My tip: Keep your camera ready. The displays and installations change over time, so what you find might look completely different from what you’ve already seen online.
 

Learn to Move Like a K-Pop Star

You’ve worked out your colours, explored Gangnam’s fashion and beauty scene and maybe picked up a few new additions along the way. Now it’s time to put the K-pop into your Gangnam glow-up. With the Gangnam K-POP Dance Class & Video Shoot, you can step into the studio and learn K-pop choreography with a professional dance instructor before putting everything together for your own filmed performance. If you’ve spent enough time watching dance practices, performances and choreography videos to know the moves from your screen, this is your chance to actually learn them for yourself. You can book the experience through WAUG, and the video shoot means you’ll have your own performance to keep afterwards. Learn the choreography, get in front of the camera and have fun with it — if there was ever a place to live out your K-pop moment, Gangnam seems pretty fitting.

My tip: Wear something you feel good and comfortable moving in. You’re going to be on camera, after all.

Featured image credit: Visit Korea