Gangnam District

This area stretches south of the Han River and combines glass-and-steel office towers with shopping complexes, residential high-rises, and wide boulevards. The skyline is built from modern towers, while ground-level streets hold shops, restaurants, and subway entrances that shape daily movement.

Until the early 1970s the area was mostly rice paddies and low houses before a national modernization program urbanized the riverfront along the Han. Within two decades the first high-rises and corporate headquarters appeared, turning the district into an economic center.

The name literally means 'south of the river' and refers to its position on the southern bank of the Han. Streets are lined with fashion boutiques, beauty clinics, and café chains that shape modern South Korean lifestyle and attract thousands of visitors daily.

Multiple subway lines cross the area and link it to other parts of Seoul, while express buses offer through connections to Incheon airport. Walking is the easiest way to explore, as many streets have pedestrian paths and underpasses for convenient crossing.

Many office buildings connect through an underground network of shopping arcades that let pedestrians stay dry during bad weather. These underground passages also hold food stalls and small shops that run for kilometers beneath the streets.