ONGOING
🖼️ CULTURAL EVENTS & ART EXHIBITIONS

KAWS: FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS (Magok) 
Through Dec 27 | Space K Seoul | ₩8,000
KAWS never needed an introduction here. COMPANION already took over Seokchon Lake, the Squid Game collab followed, and K-pop stars were collecting him well before that. This is his first solo museum show in Korea, and it's 20 new paintings and sculptures putting CHUM, COMPANION and ACCOMPLICE in a light you haven't seen.

TENDER EXPRESSIONS (Yeongdeungpo) 
Aug 15–17, 12 PM – 6 PM | Urban Pluto Gallery | Free
Where imagination meets vibrant expression, and the work backs up the tagline: bold, graphic, colour-drenched faces built from cut paper. Three artists show together, Bethany Starr Stultz, Elhayany Soukaina and 이지성, in a gallery near Sunyudo Station.
Catch the opening party on Saturday from 4 to 7 PM if you want to meet the artists.

KIM TSCHANG-YEUL ATELIER: TRACES OF WATER DROPS (Pyeongchang-dong) 
Through Aug 23 | Kim Tschang-Yeul Atelier | Free
The artist who spent fifty years painting water drops just had his home opened to the public. Kim Tschang-Yeul lived and worked in this Pyeongchang-dong house for over thirty years, with daily life above ground and his studio below, lit only by a circular skylight because he believed he painted by an inner light. His easels, brushes and library are exactly where he left them. The inaugural show runs paintings and rare hanji works from the 70s to the 2010s.

WE ARE MARTIN PARR (Nowon) 
Through Oct 18 | Seoul Museum of Photography | Free
The first large-scale Asian retrospective of the late Magnum great, over 500 photographs spanning fifty years of Martin Parr's wry, saturated take on modern life. It is a trip north to Chang-dong, but it is free, and it is a proper museum show rather than a photo-op pop-up.

⏳ YANGJAECHEON MOONLIGHT NIGHT RUN ⏳(Yangjae) 
Fri Aug 28, evening | Yangjaecheon & Yeouicheon | Free (Register now)
Not this weekend, but registration just opened and it's first come, first served for 300 spots, so move. Seoul City and the 7979 Running Crew launch a 5.8km night run along the Yangjaecheon and Yeouicheon waterfront, with a sauna themethat is very funny and very committed: everyone gets a sauna locker key souvenir and a mini sheep-head towel headband. Finishers get a local business coupon for the shops along Yangjaecheon-gil.

THURSDAY - EARLY START, LONG WEEKEND 🍹

• UNLIMITED TEQUILA WITH ALTOS (Hannam) 
  8 PM – 3 AM | Stoked & Stoned | Free

  Exactly what it says on the tin. Altos takes over the Hannam bar for a night of house and unlimited tequila, with Kimoji back on Seoul soil alongside Jesse You and Nolove. Seven hours, one agave, zero complications. A genuinely easy way to ease into a four-day weekend.

• MIHAK ALL-NIGHT-LONG (Itaewon) 10 PM – 6 AM | Nyapi | ₩10,000

  One DJ, eight hours, open to close. Mihak takes the whole of Nyapi to himself and stretches his sound across the entire night, which is the format where you actually find out what a selector can do. No handovers, no filler, no peak-time scramble. Ten thousand won for the purest version of a night out in this issue.

• ROCK MEETS POP (Hongdae) 
  10 PM – Late | Club FF | Free

  Half rock, half chart hits, no deep cuts. DJ Eddie runs all night on a simple premise: the biggest pop, EDM, hip-hop and R&B cut with proper rock energy, and for this Thursday only the rock share doubles to fifty percent. If you've ever wanted guitars and chart bangers in the same room without apologising for either, here you go.

• BEEFJUNG 1ST ANNIVERSARY (Itaewon) 
  10 PM – Late | POSE Lounge | Free

  A Korean BBQ joint throwing its first birthday inside an Itaewon club, which is exactly the kind of thing that only happens here lol. Beefjung brings special hanwoo mungtigi to POSE and pairs it with a proper DJ lineup. Beef and beats, no notes. Come hungry.

FRIDAY - TEQUILA, TAPES & TOURS 🎸

• YEMINHAM HAUS: CANADA DAY (Yeonnam) 
  7 PM – 11 PM | Yeminham Haus | Sign-up (Google Form)

  Built out of one person's working-holiday memories, this is a warm, open evening for Canadians in Korea, anyone who's lived or travelled there, and honestly anyone who just wants to meet people over good food. Drop in whenever suits across the four hours. No agenda beyond stories, snacks and a cosy summer night in Yeonnam.

• POSER GUNDAN SUMMER TOUR: OVARY (Hongdae) 
  8 PM | Rolling Hall | ₩66,000 (₩55,000 adv)

  The last stop of Poser Gundan's 2026 summer tour, with OVARY as special guest. That's Lil Cherry and new face GINJA fusing alternative hip-hop with punk, trap and hyperpop into something genuinely hard to file, fresh off Sabukaru Night in Taipei with Goldbuuda joining on production. Unreleased material gets its first airing here. Two hours, all standing.

• COURTE x SOLIS CATE: TEQUILA NIGHT (Apgujeong) 
  10 PM - 3 AM | Courte Cafe | Free

  The Apgujeong cafe where our own GAESORI got going turns Friday over to tequila, with cocktail specials and a seriously deep DJ bench: Soulscape and DJ Roots among the seven names on sound. Small room, good drinks, better records. The low-key sophisticated option when a full club night feels like too much work.

• ODEE x HOLYDAY: SUNBURN RELEASE PARTY (Seongsu) 
  9 PM – Late | Kompakt Record Bar | Free

  ODEE and HOLYDAY launch their SUNBURN mixtape with a live set at Kompakt, backed by Nafiy, Phillip and Bigter on the decks. A mixtape release in a record bar is exactly the right scale for this: close enough to catch every detail, loose enough to move. One of Seongsu's most reliable rooms doing what it does best.
  

• SEOUL BOOGIE: ORIGINAL VINYL NIGHT (Seochon) 
  9 PM – 2 AM | Svaha Bar | Free

  There's exactly one boogie-centric night in Seoul and this is it. No playlists, just vinyl DJs with original pressings of the synth-heavy, bass-driven groove that bridged disco and funk in the late 70s and early 80s. HOOKUO returns on the decks alongside resident ZINWON, a dancer-turned-DJ who plays for dancers rather than listeners, hosted by a digger with thirty-plus years in the crates. Deep, rare, and made for movement.

• HOT GIRLS HARD TECHNO RAVE (Sinsa) 
  11 PM – 7 AM | Luka | ₩12,000 (Free for ladies)

  Two French hard techno DJs bring the European underground to Luka for eight hours of dark, relentless kick drums, with PONGPONG and Rivako anchoring an all-women lineup. Free entry for women. The instruction from the promoter is blunt and we love it: put your camera down and experience the night.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
What GSTV has been up to

• Mark you Calendar: Aug. 27th, GSTV is bringing YVES to Lion Club 🚨

• What’s your weirdest dream? We asked singer Seori, Lil Cherry, Rtee, Naras and more. The first reply is already crazy haha 💭

• We are giving away 2 tickets for Aimfest, the festival dedicated to the music industry in Korea, tap in! 🎟️

SATURDAY - LIBERATION DAY 🇰🇷

• KIND RAVE: INDOOR FOREST MORNING RAVE (Gwanghwamun) 9:30 AM – 12 PM | Kind Square B1 | Free (RSVP)

  A morning rave in an underground indoor forest, which shouldn't work and completely does. Project120130 fills the Kind Square basement with media art, greenery and an Oriental Hinoki scent built with Bella Nuit, then runs house and disco from half nine, with Coral the Animal opening and Cityboy from Seoul closing on live guitar. Free coffee, an eco bag and a wellness kit for everyone. Runs again Sunday with a fresh lineup.

• CIMER SUMMER FESTA: TOO HOT (Incheon) 
  3 PM – 9 PM (after-party to 4 AM) | CIMER Outdoor Pool | Ticketed

  Series 06 of Paradise City's pool party run, and the name fits the forecast. House into tech house into techno from mid-afternoon until nine at the outdoor pool, with DJ co.kr, Minji and Better across the lineup, then Chroma picks it up for an after-party until 4 AM. It's out in Incheon, but there's a shuttle bus, and a proper resort pool beats a rooftop paddling pool on the hottest day of the year.

• POCA SPOT: HONGDAE K-POP DJ PARTY (Hongdae) 
  6 PM - Late | Poca Spot Hongdae | DM to RSVP

  K-pop only, all night. A live K-pop DJ set with the hottest hits, plenty of singing along, and a room full of people who want to talk about their favourite artists as much as dance to them. Proper fan-vibes energy rather than a club night. Capped at the first 20 guests and it's DM-only to get in, so message them now if this is your thing.

• LIT x HAB'N: NEON YOGA (Itaewon) 
  7 PM – 9 PM | Lit Lounge | ₩30,000 (+1 drink)

  A lounge that becomes a yoga studio before it becomes a lounge again. Lit Lounge runs a beginner-to-intermediate Vinyasa class in English from 7PM, then something genuinely lovely: half an hour to write a promise to yourself, which the Hab'n team keeps and hands back to you at the next event. An afterparty follows so everyone actually talks. Come for yoga, stay for the night.

• LIBERATION DAY BIKE RIDE (Hyochang) 
  7 PM – 10 PM | Hyochang Park | ₩10,000 (+1 drink)

  The most meaningful thing on this week's list. Bike Art Music Club marks Liberation Day with a walk through Hyochang Park, where Kim Gu and other independence activists are buried, then a group ride through the dark toward Namsan and a drink to finish. Last year thirty bike lights made one moving picture of the city. Capped at forty riders, and couples, families or solo riders are all welcome.

• HANGANG UNDER BRIDGE CINEMA (Yeouido / Ttukseom / Gwangnaru) 
  8 PM - 11 PM | Three Hangang Parks | Free

  Possibly the most romantic free thing in the city right now: big screens set up under the Han River bridges, films rolling with the night skyline behind them. Week two lands on Saturday, with Harbin at Yeouido (English subtitles), the much-talked-about The King's Warden at Ttukseom, and Wonder at Gwangnaru. Bring a mat, grab chicken and beer on the way. This is peak Seoul summer.

• LIVING STEREO: 90s UNDERGROUND HIP-HOP (Sangsu) 
  9 PM – 11 PM | Living Stereo | Free

  DJ Avantgarde Vak brings a vinyl-only night of nineties underground hip-hop to the little Sangsu bar. No laptop, no chart cuts, just crates and two hours of the era that built everything after it. Small room, big selections, and the kind of set where the person next to you knows every b-side.

• VANA WAVE VOL.1 (Apgujeong) 
  9 PM – Late | Misfit | Reservation via DM

  More than a party, and that's the whole point. VANA WAVE is the first project from VANA WORLD, the brand and crew built by B-boy Nauty One (also the musician Dabl3ss) and DJ mi.K.A, launched to start a cultural movement connecting people through different art forms rather than just filling a dancefloor. Live sets from KOALA and GOLDBUUDA, dance performances from Vertical, and a six-deep DJ bench. Community first, party second, and both work.

• UNDERCITY PRESENTS: SIMONE ZINO (Seongsu) 
  9 PM – 4 AM | Undercity | ₩25,000 (₩35,000 door)

  Milan's Simone Zino brings groove-driven, hypnotic techno to the Seongsu basement, and his background is the tell: a trained pianist who builds deep harmonics and real emotional tension rather than just stacking kicks. Releases on Transition and BCCO, support from Richie Hawtin and Joseph Capriati, twenty years of European floors behind him. Advance already sold out, so move.

• ISIGQI SASE AFRIKA: AUGUST EDITION (Itaewon) 
  10 PM – 4 AM | Union | See bio

  The monthly celebration of African sound returns to Union for its August edition, six hours deep. Amapiano, afro house and everything adjacent, played to a floor that actually knows the records. It's one of the warmest, most genuinely communal rooms in the city, and the invitation is simple: heat us to dance.

• MINA AT SOAP (Itaewon) 
  10 PM – 5 AM | SOAP Seoul | ₩20,000 (+1 drink)

  LA's DJ MINA lands in the SOAP basement, and she's one of the most talked-about selectors going right now. Her sets move effortlessly through R&B, hip-hop, afrobeats, amapiano, baile funk and Miami bass, and her PLAYGRND SERIES and Noise Complaints appearances have pulled millions of views, taking her way past the dancefloor.

• UNBORN SOUNDS: AROUND THE WORLD (Itaewon) 
  10 PM – Late | Bolero | See bio

  Jerk X Jollof had to postpone their Seoul debut, so Unborn Sounds flipped it into something new instead: a party fully dedicated to sounds from across Africa and the Caribbeans. Ten DJs take you everywhere from reggaeton and soca to baile funk, afrobeats, amapiano, gqom and 3-step, hosted by Afro Korea. They've asked the community to show up for this one. Come ready to sweat.

SUNDAY - THE NIGHT BEFORE A DAY OFF 🏊

• DIRTY BLEU: BEER FESTIVAL x N SEOUL TOWER (Namsan) 
  4 PM – 10 PM | N Seoul Tower | Ticketed

  House music, unlimited draft beer, and the entire city laid out below you. Abyss Live curates the summer stage of the N Seoul Tower VIEWMAC Festival, running from late afternoon through sunset into the lit-up skyline, with GUMGO and ShinyLight on the decks. Twenty-plus beers on unlimited pour, from Paulaner to Seoul Brewery, plus food throughout. Runs Sunday too.

• ODEE COFFEE HOUSE: FIRST FLEA MARKET (Jayang) 
  12 PM – 5 PM | Odee Coffee House | Free

  A tiny cafe in a quiet Jayang-dong alley throws its first ever flea market, and the brand list is better than the venue size suggests: kitsch ceramics from Hyuru Hyuru, handmade silver from Yoizy Record, leather goods from Faze, plants from Mori, and braids and special hair from Dandadoory. One day only, indoors so the weather doesn't matter. Ten minutes from Guui Station, and exactly the kind of small local thing worth showing up for.

• KONGLISH PLEASE: ALL-ENGLISH STAND-UP (Seongsu) 
  5 PM | Glass Garden Seongsu | ₩15,000

  Seongsu's first all-English stand-up show, and the framing is perfect: Korean and international comics on one stage, perfect English or total Konglish, bring whatever you've got. Seven comics on the bill including Hojip Jeon and Lee Jegyu. Sunday laughs before dinner, and as they put it themselves, it's all in English so understanding it is on you.

• SILENT READING NIGHT (Yeonnam) 
  6 PM – 10 PM | Yeminham Haus | Sign-up (Google Form)

  No social, no pressure, only reading. Bring your own book or pull one off the Yeminham shelves and spend four hours sinking into the pages alongside other people doing exactly the same. Reading alone is good; reading together somehow goes deeper. A night for the beautifully sensitive.

• JAMAICA 64: INDEPENDENCE DAY PARTY (Itaewon) 
  7 PM – 2 AM | VISLA & Quest | Free

  64 years independent, globally influential. Madting takes over both VISLA and Quest for a full celebration of Jamaican and Caribbean culture, running bashment, soca, reggae, dub and jungle across two floors from island classics into heavy dancefloor pressure. There's a Caribbean pop-up kitchen from SAUCE and a vintage market alongside, with KING SHE and Mindspray among the selectors. Free entry, and a proper Sunday link-up. Come hungry.

• NOT FOUND SHOWCASE (Sinchon) 
  6 PM – Late | Honeyclover | ₩15,000 (+1 drink)

  Honeyclover hands its Sunday evening to underground hip-hop, with the NOT FOUND crew hosting and guests Curry The Freeman and Pasannabe on the bill. An indie showcase in a Sinchon basement with Jägermeister ice shots included. The kind of small, sweaty room where you catch someone six months before everyone else does.

• PP: POOL PARTY (PUBLIC x PING) (Itaewon) 
  6:30 PM – 10:30 PM | Hamilton Hotel Pool | See bio

  One day only: Public and Ping take over the Hamilton's outdoor pool for a late-summer night swim with live DJs, go-go performances, and limited edition goods you can only get here. Show off if you want, or throw a tee over your swimsuit and join anyway, because they've gone out of their way to say everyone's welcome. Sleep tomorrow. You literally can.

• KISS & RIDE 4TH ANNIVERSARY (Itaewon) 
  10 PM - Lat| Bolero | ₩20,000

  Four years of R&B parties, celebrated properly. Manila's Sky Dominique and Miami-native PNG guest alongside the full Kiss & Ride bench, with singer INJAE performing live. Kiss your partner in front of the bar manager and the tequila's free, order four shots at once for the anniversary discount. Chaotic, affectionate, exactly on brand.

• NAFLA: INSTINCT PRE-LISTENING PARTY (Itaewon) 
  10 PM – Late | Grain Haus | Ticketed

  Nafla previews his new album INSTINCT before anyone else gets to hear it, in the Grain basement with PULS running the night. A pre-listening party is a rare thing to get into, and landing it on the Sunday of a long weekend means the room will be full and nobody has an excuse to leave early.

MONDAY - BONUS HOLIDAY 🥳

• POOL. GRILL. GROOVE. (Itaewon) 
  2 PM – Late | Hamilton Pool → Casa Corona | ₩25,000 pool / Free BBQ

  The perfect use of a day off. Start poolside at the Hamilton from two, with DJs running every hour through the afternoon, then walk over to Casa Corona at six for a rooftop BBQ after party that goes late. One summer day, two venues, and no work tomorrow morning to worry about. The BBQ itself is free to enter.

THAT’S THE WRAP ⏰

Four days, one Liberation Day, and a Monday you don't have to set an alarm for.

Ride through Hyochang Park on Saturday, watch a film under a Han River bridge, swim at midnight on Sunday, and grill on a rooftop on Monday. That's a properly used long weekend.

Go somewhere you've never been before!

PS: Questions, tips, or an event we missed? Reach us at [email protected]