Seoul may genuinely feel like something out of a TV show for a rising proportion of pop culture-obsessed tourists.

On my first night in Seoul, I arrived in Gwanghwamun Plaza confused and bewildered, hoping my dinner friends hadn't completed the banchan without me. I was dreadfully late for BBQ. That's when I noticed it: a stone warrior's stern face peering down at me from his pedestal. I stared back at him, temporarily forgetting that I was craving galbi. Even though I had never been to this plaza before, my mind argued otherwise. During my confusion, while wandering this strange location, I spotted something I recognized from its appearance in the 2018 Korean drama Memories of the Alhambra.

Even when Psy waltzed to YouTube fame and BTS created Army, its global fan club, I was completely clueless about the Korean Wave, or Hallyu—South Korea's rising cultural strength, to use the Chinese phrase. Yet during the epidemic, when I yearned for exotic travels, I found a company in Korean dramas. My first television show was Crash Landing on You, a charming but improbable romance between a South Korean heiress and a North Korean soldier. I binge-watched 16 episodes in 5 days while experiencing heart palpitations and maudlin lumps. It was my world: the clothes, the cuisine, the tableau, the people. I currently resided here. I entered Korean terminology into Google Translate, Korean won into my XE currency app, Korean cosmetic items into my Sephora shopping cart, and Korean food into my grocery list. These viewing sessions filled the emptiness in my life that was shaped like a passport and was my closest representation of travel. Seoul had moved from "someday" to "ASAP" on my trip wish list by the time South Korea's borders reopened, and I suppose I wasn't the only one. Grant Ekelund of InsideAsia Tours, which organizes individualized journeys to Korea, stated that the company has observed a significant demand for travel to the nation. Although it has been rising for some time, the epidemic hastened it.

A First-Time Visit to Seoul With K-Dramas as My Guide https://t.co/Gy2kzmHOMj

— Stix & Strategy LLC. (@StixLlc) February 28, 2023

I arrived and immediately noticed recognizable features all around me. Soon after landing, when searching for a meal and groggy, I found solace in the menu at Angel-in-Us, the restaurant where Yoon Se-Ri and Ri Jeong-Hyeok reunited in Crash Landing on You. Who cares if it's Starbucks in Seoul? I impulsively purchased a purple tube of Collagen Core Glow Mask from the upmarket skincare retailer Tirtir, whose promotion claimed credit for Hyun Bin's outrageous good looks as the star of Memories of the Alhambra and Crash Landing on You. I walked by street vendors selling the fish-shaped bungeoppang pastries and the ppopgi candies I recognized from Squid Game. I booked into Hagindang, a century-old hanok house that was extensively featured in the historical drama Mr. Sunshine, in Jeonju, which is two hours outside Seoul. South Korea felt reassuringly familiar as a place I had never been.

Many of the dramas in my K-drama curriculum fell into two categories: sleek, ultra-modern dramas, and historical period pieces. The country's rich past stood out among its kinetic future at every turn, in the historic palaces dwarfed by gleaming towers, in the traditional hanji paper-making ateliers steps from bizarre Instagram-trap museums, in the chic boutiques and cafés nestled amid the atmospheric hanok houses of Ikseondong and Bukchon. Sure enough, I was met with a glittering tapestry of lightning-fast Internet, robot waiters, and cutting-edge toilets.

Meggie Yu, an American ex-pat who initially came to Seoul to study Korean history a decade ago, said that having these areas spread out around the city helps to keep Koreans grounded in their traditions and grounded in who they are. "Preserving these obvious traces of culture is almost like buying insurance for itself,"

K-culture is already being transmitted to other parts of the world, going well beyond simple preservation. I went to a pub on a quiet street outside the Bank of Korea to talk with K-pop writer Haley HyunJoo Yang from the Korea JoongAng Daily about the phenomenon. Twenty years ago, Haley's father was sent to the United Kingdom by the government to promote Korean culture and tourism. Despite his best efforts, K-pop didn't take off at the time. She recalled, "There was momentum, but it didn't work. "My dad has no idea what's going on right now."

Domination of the planet is what is happening. When BTS was barely more than a glint in a record executive's eye in 2014, Euny Hong wrote in The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation Is Conquering the World Through Pop Culture, "It would not be an exaggeration to say that Hallyu is the world's biggest, fastest cultural paradigm shift in modern history. Travelers are asking for tours that include K-drama filming places or K-pop performances since fans are flocking to follow in the footsteps of their favorite celebrities. As a result, InsideAsia now provides Hallyu itineraries.

Inside The mother-of-pearl manicure I received at Unistella, the nail art temple frequented by K-pop royalty BlackPink was organized by Asia's Seoul team. Following that, I ate lunch at Yujeong Sikdang, a modest canteen where members of BTS used to congregate when they were only trainees. Now, it serves as an Army pilgrimage destination and is covered in pop star cutouts resembling the interior of a teenage girl's locker. In front of Jimin and J-smoldering Hope's eyes, I had vegetarian bibimbap.

Loyal BTS fans may also pay their respects at Bit & Boot, the salon where the group's members get their glossy locks styled. Cofounder Choi Soo Chan informed me, "Many foreign enthusiasts come here merely to take a photo of the building. My tour guide mentioned that Monsta X's Joohoney was passing as I was leaving. My momentary view of the K-pop singer might have been enough for some people to consider the trip worthwhile, even if those words and letters meant nothing to me at the time.

Seoul defies many K-drama clichés, but culture is so much more than what is shown on screen. Yet when I spotted the lovely visage of Song Joong-ki on a poster or indulged in a plate of yukjeon beef pancakes a la Won-deuk in 100 Days My Prince, I felt appreciative for my year of nonstop bingeing. Pop culture aided me in recognizing familiarity in the unfamiliar, and Seoul's unrelenting AI-powered march forward makes a significant difference.

12-night Hallyu trips of South Korea are available from InsideAsia Tours starting at $5,025 per person, or around £4,190.

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