With numerous hit Kpop songs, BTS (Bangtan Boys) is the most famous boy group in the world right now—not to mention EXO, TRCNG, and many others. However, Kpop groups aren’t the only ones making waves in the music industry, as groups like Why Don’t We and Brockhampton could also be considered some of the most famous boy bands right now.

BTS has certainly contributed to making Seoul known around the world with the release of “BTS’s Seoul Life,” a video that promotes Seoul’s tourism, and “With Seoul,” a song that captures Seoul’s warmth and beauty. Would you like to take a walk, visit parks, enjoy your youth, and see beautiful landscapes just like BTS did? Let’s visit the most attractive spots in Seoul, places where BTS, representatives of the city, are fond of.

☞ Suggested itinerary for One Day Plan
K-Star Road → The Min’s Cafe → Yoojung Sikdang → BigHit Entertainment → Laundry Pizza → BT21 Store

K-Star ROAD: Where Stars are Made

The main road connecting the Apgujeong Rodeo Station exit 2 and Cheongdam crossroads is often called the ‘luxury road of Cheongdam,’ with many luxury goods stores along with the road. However, it seems it is time to call it the K-Star Road.

As you take the exit 2 from the Apgujeong Rodeo Station, you can find GangnamDol, indicating that you have arrived at the K-Star Road. GangnamDol is a compound word of ‘Gangnam’, ‘idol, and ‘doll’. It is a symbolic sculpture of the K-Star Road, with the symbolic images of the famous K-pop groups printed on the human-scale bear doll.

It took about two years to establish the K-Star Road. There is a 3-meter-tall PSY GangnamDol in front of the Galleria Department Store, and seventeen more GangnamDols of Super Junior, EXO, Girl’s Generation, and Bangtan Boys are located. The GangnamDols are placed along with about 1 km section of the road connecting the Apgujeong Rodeo Station and Cheongdam crossroads, so if you walk along the GangnamDol places, you can enter the area packed with entertainment companies, including JYP Entertainment and Cube Entertainment. It is another enjoyable content to find your favorite singer’s GangnamDol and take a picture to be posted in your SNS.

Let’s find your favorite idol singer’s GangnamDol!

BTS, 4Minute, Super Junior, 2PM, FT Island, SHINee, Miss A, CNBLUE, TVXQ!, Girls’ Generation, EXO, AOA, B1A4, VIXX, INFINITE, KARA, Block B

BTS’s Go-To Café, The Min’s

Run by Lee Chang-min, a member of the K-pop group 2AM and Homme, The Min’s located in Apgujeong-dong is known for frequent visits by the members of Bangtan Boys. Inside the café, visitors will be able to see a wide array of pictures and autographs of BTS, as well as hand-written letters written by the members. Some of the pictures depict Bangtan Boys drinking fresh-squeezed lemonade and cherryade, the most popular drink items on the menu. The cute and homey café is a perfect place to escape the blistering summer sun and to get refreshed by some cold, fizzy fruit ade.

The Source of BTS’s Energy, Yoojung Sikdang

Yoojung Sikdang is the restaurant that cared for the members of BTS during their days as a K-pop rookie. The restaurant is located near the dance studio at which they had their practice sessions. The BTS members usually order the grilled black pork belly with gojuchang (chili paste) sauce and dolsot (hot stone pot) bibimbap. Also on the menu are various Korean traditional dishes including cheonggukjang (fermented soybean paste soup), budae-jjigae (kimchi and sausage stew), cold bean-soup noodles and cold buckwheat noodles made with young summer radish kimchi.

Yoojung Sikdang is perfect for those looking for an affordable meal, as all its menu items cost no more than 8,000 won. Visitors that come alone are recommended to get the dolsot (hot stone pot) bibimbap made with pan-seared black pork, while those who come in pairs should get the ssambap (rice wrap) course which comes with leafy vegetables, jeyuk bokkeum (sweet and spicy pork stir-fry), rice and doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste soup).

Big Hit Entertainment, where the BTS created

Big Hit Entertainment was founded on February 1, 2005, and signed the vocal trio 8Eight, consisting of Lee Hyun, Baek Chan, and Joo Hee, in 2007.

In 2010, Big Hit Entertainment and JYP Entertainment signed a joint management contract over the boy group 2AM. That year, Bang Si-hyuk launched nationwide auditions and signed RM (formerly known as Rap Monster), the first member of BTS, followed by the other members of the group. BTS made their debut under Big Hit in 2013.

LAUNDRY PIZZA – a Staple KPOP filming location

Laundry Pizza, which is located in Seoul’s Gangnam district, is a place selling homemade pizza, with its exterior and interior designs somewhat made pub inspired to garner more attention from local and international travelers looking for a good place to eat pizza and cure their hangovers with it.

The restaurant has a notable design similar to that of a laundromat, featuring walls decorated with washing machine doors of retro colors giving a very cozy and vintage vibe that visitors can soak they eyes at while enjoying crunchy pizza slices with a variety of toppings, including pepperoni, honey glazed potatoes and pulled pork.

Besides its unique design and good food that is popular to patrons especially on weekends, Laundry Pizza is now also a famous filming location for K-Pop music videos and magazine shoots.

So, K-pop fans around the world suit yourself in adding this location to your bucket list for your next visit to Seoul!

BT21 – LINE Friends Store & Cafe

LINE Friends Store & Cafe in Seoul is a LINE theme cafe + LINE merchandise store that adds charms and cuteness to the famous Garosugil street at Sinsadong.

BT21 is the first project of LINE FRIENDS CREATORS. It’s new IP created with the collaboration of LINE FRIENDS and BTS Rather than simply creating avatars of the physical appearance of artists, BT21 consists of 8 different charming characters created by BTS members, where all of them actively participated in the whole process from drawing sketches to elaboration.”

BTS, the first artist to join the ‘FRIENDS CREATORS’ Project, is a creator that shows connection in terms of the global character brand LINE FRIENDS’ keywords: Global, Millennials and Trending. BTS has high popularity and strong influence in the world, and are great story tellers of our time who can share the story of ‘development in IP’.