Gangnam Style in Gangnam: Go or Skip?

If Gangnam is on your list because of the song, go to COEX, not Gangnam Station. The Gangnam Style statue is outside COEX, and the station everyone pictures is mostly crowds and chain stores.

Why I skip Gangnam Station

Gangnam is a whole district. Gangnam Station is one very busy corner of it. It was Seoul's busiest subway station for 26 years straight and is still in the top three. Come up from the main exits in the evening and you'll spend your energy on shoulders and crosswalks. What you get for it is phone shops, cosmetics chains and franchise cafés you can find anywhere in Seoul.

The transfers don't help either. Line 2 and the Sinbundang Line meet deep underground, and a tired friend with a day's worth of steps in their legs doesn't need more stairs.

Times Square at 6 p.m., minus the shows.

The Gangnam I'd actually show you

Start at COEX, around 10:30 a.m. Come out of Samseong Station Exit 6 and walk three minutes to the east plaza: two giant fists crossed at the wrists, the horse-dance move from the video. Take the photo. Do the dance. Nobody minds.

Then walk inside to Starfield Library. The bookshelves go up 13 meters, and it's free. You're not here to read. Ten minutes, one good photo from the escalator, done.

Cross the street to Bongeunsa. It's a working Buddhist temple, centuries older than everything around it, sitting across the road from a glass mall. Ten steps from the traffic, it goes quiet. That contrast is the whole point.

Eat lunch in the COEX mall. It's all indoors, so if it rains or it's 95°F out, your plan doesn't change.

Your afternoon, by how your legs feel

• Still have energy: go to Seoul Forest and Seongsu. Take Line 9 two stops to Seonjeongneung (one on the express), switch to the Suin-Bundang Line toward Wangsimni, and ride three stops to Seoul Forest. Get a coffee, sit under the trees for half an hour, then walk the small shops and pop-ups next to the park.
• Feet are done: go to Ttukseom Hangang Park. From Samseong Station, take Line 2 seven stops to Konkuk University, switch to Line 7, and ride one stop toward Cheongdam to Jayang (Ttukseom Hangang Park) Station, which used to be called Ttukseom Resort. The river is right outside the exit. Or skip the transfer and take a taxi. Get a convenience-store ramen, sit by the water, and watch the sunset.

If you came for K-pop

K-Star Road runs about a kilometer from Apgujeong Rodeo Station toward Cheongdam. Along it are the GangnamDols, big art-toy statues made with K-pop groups. Gangnam District moves them around now and then, so check before you hunt for one.

Comfortable shoes, one transfer at most, and you're done before dinner.

Useful official pages before you go:

• Visit Gangnam: the COEX area and the Gangnam Style sculpture (opens in a new tab)
• Visit Gangnam: K-pop spots and K-Star Road (opens in a new tab)