Seoul

The South Korean capital has more to offer than kimchi and K-pop. A series of seismic events shook Korea in the 20th century: 35 years of Japanese occupation, division into north and south and, as recently as the 1950s, the Korean War. But Seoul picked itself up and modernisation advanced at a dizzying pace in the second half of the century. Today the glass façades of gleaming skyscrapers overlook the tiled roofs of traditional hanok houses; while world-class cocktail bars rub shoulders with rustic teahouses and shoes-off restaurants.