From catchy, trendy K-Pop tunes to magnificent classical orchestral performances, just about every major music genre has its place in global Seoul. Here’s where to catch them.

For classical performances, recitals, opera and other fine music, the Seoul Arts Center and the Sejong Center are the two main performance arts center featuring a range of diverse performances year-round. Joining these venues is the Lotte Concert Hall, which just recently opened on top of the Lotte World Mall and features over 2,000 seats in a vineyard-style seating arrangement. Many smaller performing arts center are found in Seoul featuring small to mid-sized productions including venues like the LG Art Center, Kumho Art Hall, Doosan Art Hall, and more. Most will have multiple language homepages to easily check what’s currently ongoing and to purchase tickets.

For traditional Korean music performances, one can visit the National Theater of Korea, Namsangol Hanok Village, the National Gugak Center or theaters like Jeongdong Theater where Korean traditional music productions are held regularly throughout the year. Some of the productions are a hybrid of modern and traditional elements and some of these venues even offers classes for foreign visitors!

Seoul also has a number of musical productions that are put on year-round. Venues like the Charlotte Theater, Blue Square, the D Cube Arts Center, and the LG Arts Center regularly put on international musical productions. Check their respective homepages to see what’s going on and make sure you check to see if it’s an original production with subtitles or in Korean.

For K-Pop fans, you can pay a visit to Cheongdamdong where many K-Pop and entertainment agencies are home to. Some of the major labels have cafes, restaurants, and stores that all revolve around K-Pop in this area to get your K-Pop fix. You also cannot miss K-Live in Dongdaemun and the SM Coex Artium to catch 4D K-Pop concerts and shows. At SM Coex Artium you can even receive vocal lessons, get a makeover, and shoot a music video!

To catch local, indie, amateur, and even professional music acts, the neighborhoods of Hongdae and Itaewon are your best bets. Both areas are not only famous for their clubs- playing a wide genre of music from house and hip hop to electronic- but also feature many lounges and bars that entertain with live music in rock, jazz, hip hop and more. Hongdae regularly features amateur performers and buskers in the Hongdae Playground while venues like the KT&G Sangsangmadang hosts performances in a wide variety of genres. A popular option in Hongdae is Club Day, the last Friday of every month, when a number of clubs and live music venues provides admission under one ticket. Of course, if you get inspired enough, you can belt out your favorite songs to your heart’s content at the many noraebang, also known as karaoke rooms, that are around here with song selections in quite a few variety of languages.

In Itaewon, there are a number of LP record bars that have been growing in popularity. One major site is the recently opened Hyundai Vinyl & Plastic – a massive two-story LP record shop that features some 4,000 LP records and 8,000 CDs on sale. Just next door to it is the eye-catching Hyundai Card Music Library + Understage which houses an additional 10,000 records, including rare ones, and also an intimate performance space with regular concerts. Many of the records are available to listen and there are also thousands of music-related books to browse through. Just nearby is also another recently opened venue called Stradeum where music lovers can enjoy listening to music through state-of-the-art audio equipment, enjoy concerts, lectures, and more.
Lastly, for music performers, the Nakwon Music Arcade near Tapgol Park in Jongno houses Korea’s largest collection of music stores with musical instruments, audio equipment, speakers, amps, sheet music and just about anything music-related in this massive complex.