Care and Craft: Inside the Making of Seoul’s Cocktail Culture
Laid-back nights of beer spiked with shots of soju, Korea’s beloved liquor distilled from rice or other starches, are the norm in Seoul. But increasingly, it’s the city’s cocktail scene, distinguished by amiable hospitality, atmospheric interiors and an abundance of local ingredients, that is garnering attention.
Take Soko Bar, going strong in the Hannam-dong neighborhood since 2017. Dimly lit, it transports guests to another time—specifically, the 1920s, when the city, then known as Gyeongseong, was under Japanese rule.
“It was a period when classic culture was at its peak,” says owner Soko Son, who was eager to capture that heady era through mixology.
At Soko Bar, the menu features complex cocktails like Behind Wood, a nod to the first wooden radios on the market, which combines whisky, matcha and green tea cordial, and chamomile cold brew. The sprawling bar, accompanied by the sounds of John Coltrane and the pristine grapes served in glass bowls, all reinforce the sophisticated yet nostalgic ambiance.
For Son, Seoul’s bars stand out because of how close-knit the community of bartenders is. “We take care of one another, offer help whenever needed, and continue to grow together,” he adds. Odd Strandbakken, head bartender of Charles H. on the lower level of the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, agrees that inviting solidarity is an asset. “The Seoul bar community is incredibly diverse with super niche expressions of hospitality, but everyone supports one another—that’s true community, in my opinion,” he says.
This collective confidence manifests in attentive service to patrons. Fried chicken and a gin-vermouth-sherry Velvet Martini brightened with liquid hallabong zest at Charles H. became even more alluring, for example, when chatting with the friendly barkeeps. Charles H., which debuted in 2015, is a glamorous space adorned with mahogany and metalwork, but when the occasion calls for it, there’s the newly opened H. Bar, a futuristic laboratory-style boîte tucked in the back. Here, just eight guests sit against a sleek backdrop of quartz and green lacquer as Strandbakken presents multiple courses of experimental cocktails. On the omakase-style menu, complete with bites, there are drinks like the Dual Daiquiri, mixing a blend of rums with nectarine and a pop of bokbunja (Korean black raspberry wine). Such concoctions, adds Strandbakken, invigorate the familiar by “showcasing incredible Korean produce and flavors through an international lens.”
Others make an impression, too. Cham translates to oak in Korean, and the wood aptly swaths the soulful cocktail lair of the same name in Seoul’s Seocheon neighborhood. On weekends, there is a no-reservations policy at Bar Cham, so the revamped hanok (traditional Korean dwelling) elicits long queues of imbibers waiting for a seat to sip drinks starring Korean spirits, such as apple brandy and mint-infused gin.
Nearby, close to the Anguk subway station, Gong-Gan puts the spotlight on Korean flavors—leftover cocktail ingredients are beautifully upcycled into accompanying bar snacks—and culture. Take the Wind Bell, a sweet-sour tipple that brings together Calvados, pomegranate, black sesame and egg white, paying homage to a sound prevalent since ancient times, or the Connected Circle, featuring soju, sherry and pineapple tepache. “To me, Korean ingredients are not just components; they are a language that carries our daily life, memories and seasons,” shares co-founder Willy Park. “Gong-Gan was created to bring deeper Korean flavors and new narratives to Seoul’s cocktail scene.” Like Cham, Gong-Gan is housed in a former hanok, but painted a creamy white; it has a decidedly Scandinavian vibe, complete with an eye-catching courtyard.
In the posh Gangnam district, on the south side of the Han River, enterprising bartender Terry Kim opened subterranean Alice Cheongdam in 2015 as an ode to Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. He had worked in hotel bars previously, and this time around, he craved a different point of view. “I wanted to build a bar where people could take off their daytime masks and return to who they really are,” he explains. “The world of Alice in Wonderland helped me shape that vision—a place where imagination becomes strength, where bartenders can be creative, and where guests can relax, open up and enjoy cocktails in their own way. That spirit of freedom was what I hoped to bring to Seoul.”
A decade later, Alice still impresses with its fusion of madcap and elegance. Ensconced in lounge chairs at the bar, guests choose between such whimsical libations off the playing card-themed menu as the earthy, nutty Foggy Fongo, melding bourbon, shiitake mushroom, PX sherry, macadamia and frankincense, and the silky dessert-like Okie DOK, with soju, strawberry gochujang (red chile paste) and rice ice cream.
Alice is located on Dosan-daero Street, conveniently across from Le Chamber, a speakeasy from mixologists Dohwan Eom and Jaejin Lim, which has substantially informed the Seoul drinking landscape since its 2014 debut. Hiding behind a bookcase, the luminous lounge setting is bolstered by live piano music and cocktails like the herbal Ginseng Martini and quenching Scarlet Fizz highball, marrying tequila with tomato
Further down Dosan-daero is Zest, which beckons sustainably-minded patrons with its bold zero-waste approach to drink-making. Founded in 2020 by Demie Kim, Noah Kwon, Jisu Park and Sean Woo, the minimalist space is crafted from soothing clay, stone and wood, its glowing backbar lined with house-made spirits. At Zest, bottled tonics are shunned in favor of from-scratch versions to alleviate excessive packaging. Staff don aprons made from recycled fabric, and farm-sourced produce shines in cocktails. One to try off the newest menu: the C’orn Star Martini with roasted sweet potato soju, corn and tomato brine, passionfruit and chervil.
This ingenuity is also on full display at Kiez, a relatively new arrival that debuted in 2024. Neighboring Alice, it’s a moody, Bauhaus-style dream with punches of red, a vinyl collection, and inventive yet unfussy cocktails that nod to co-founder Dongyeol Shin’s roots in Hamburg, Germany. The Rice and Shine, blending mezcal, scorched rice, coconut