Daniel Dae Kim Reveals His City Guide to Seoul, South Korea

Daniel Dae Kim was 1 when he left South Korea. It took him five decades to find his way back.

Born in Busan, South Korea, Kim moved to the U.S. with his family and grew up in New York and Pennsylvania. But in recent years, the prolific actor (Lost, Hawaii Five-O) and producer (The Good Doctor) has spent more and more time in the country of his birth.

In 2024, he fulfilled a long-held dream of filming in South Korea, shooting the Amazon Prime spy thriller Butterfly for seven months across more than 20 cities, including Busan. The same year, the city of Seoul made him an honorary citizen.

Now Kim is joining the ever-growing ranks of celebrity travel show hosts, serving as a guide to Korea in the upcoming CNN travel series K-Everything. Premiering on May 9, the four-part show (which Kim also executive produced) explores how South Korea influences the globe, driving trends in music, food, beauty, TV and such films as Kpop Demon Hunters, for which Kim voiced the role of Healer Han.

For Kim, the travel series became as much a personal journey as a professional one. “I had an image of Korea that was shaped primarily by my parents. What was nice about this show was that I got to rediscover Korea on my own terms as a grown-up. Korea has come such a long way from the Korea that [my parents] remember — it’s been fun to kind of teach them about modern Korea as well because they were with me as part of the show.”

Kim talks with THR about some of his favorite places to eat and stay in Seoul; his wife’s preferred K-beauty clinic; the five “stages” of nightlife in the capital city; and what it meant to him to be named an honorary citizen two years ago.

Daniel Dae Kim at K-Pop museum HiKR Ground in Seoul.

Jun Michael Park

“It’s one of the most 24-hour cities in the world. There’s always something to do no matter what hour it is,” says Kim, adding of the sprawling capital city: “You could drive one hour and still not leave Seoul.”

On South Korea as a set-jet destination: “There is a lot of tourism that’s driven now by K-drama and K-pop. Seoul is very hilly and on one of the mountains there is this tower, Namsan Tower. Think of it like the Space Needle in Seattle. There are a lot of romantic stories set there, and so people will walk there. You know, I’ve seen a lot of videos recently of women looking for their K-pop man or their K-drama man. If you’d have told me while I was growing up that you’d have Western women going to Korea to find a man, I never would have believed you. The image of Korea and the image of Asian people has really been affected by K-pop and K-drama.”

The landmark Namsan Tower in Seoul, illuminated at night.

Jung Yeon-Je/AFP via Getty Images

The five acts of a Seoul night out: “Nightlife culture is so vibrant that if you’re not careful, you can get yourself into some trouble. Nightlife in Seoul goes in what’s called stages. When you go to Il-Cha, which means first stage, you’re doing a happy hour with your colleagues or friends, and then you’re going to dinner, which is second stage, and then you’re going to drinks, which is third stage, and then you’re going to karaoke, which is fourth stage, and then you’re probably going to a meal after that, which is fifth stage. Drinks are generally a part of every stage. So there are a lot of nights that end with some big hangovers the next day, and these nights can go until the sun comes up. You know, you’ll see salary men asleep on the street in their suits, and no one’s bothering them.”

Ramen, Convenience-Store Style: So there’s this place called the Ramyun Library that I absolutely love. And it is actually a converted convenience store. Think of a 7-Eleven. But half of the convenience store is just walls full of different instant ramen. You can pick your ramen, you can actually cook it right there, and they also sell condiments for the ramen like seaweed, vegetables and shrimp and other things to enhance it. They have tables that are actually in the shape of ramen cups. It’s great to pop in there during the middle of the day and just grab yourself a quick lunch as you’re sightseeing.”

Visitors mix a bowl of Buldak Samyang instant noodles at the CU Ramyun Library convenience store on June 17, 2024, in Seoul.

Jintak Han/The Washington Post via Getty Images

His spot for knife-cut noodles: “One of my favorite things is knife-cut noodles [kal-guksu]. And most people know about Myeongdong Kalguksu, which is very popular because it was rated by Michelin. But it’s not my favorite kal-guksu. There’s a lot of knife-cut noodles all throughout Seoul. And there was one in an area called Jamsil, very close to where we were staying when we were shooting Butterfly, that I absolutely loved. It was a knife-cut noodles mixed with seafood and specifically clams. And I love seafood. This place was called Park Seung-gwang. It’s very mom-and-pop.”

Seoul’s most comforting chicken soup: “It’s literally, if you translate it, ‘one chicken chicken soup,’ where they take a small chicken and they slow cook it in broth. And so it becomes this very healthy, fall-off-the-bone chicken soup. It’s a fantastic meal in the wintertime, and it’s not expensive. This particular place [I like] is called Jin Ok-Hwa Original Chicken Restaurant. It’s a small place that generally has lines.”

Where to check in: “You know, Korea is a sprawling city. Like many great cities in the world, it’s along a river and the city straddles it. The north side of the river is known for business and government buildings. If you want to be on the north side, I just stayed at a hotel that I absolutely loved, the Westin Josun Seoul. What differentiates a hotel to me is the service — they were wonderful. I’m a big fan of the Four Seasons, too; that’s a great hotel. If you’re on the south side of the river, a lot of people will go to hotels there because they’re getting plastic surgery and that’s where all the plastic surgery centers are. There are some hotels where I swear I feel like I’m in an episode of The Walking Dead because there are so many women and men walking with bandages. On the south side of the river, I like the Andaz Seoul Gangnam and the Park Hyatt Seoul.

Charles H bar at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul.

Four Seasons

The insiders’ dermatologist: “My wife swears by a dermatologist in the neighborhood of Hannam, which is just north of the river, which is not the plastic surgery area. This particular doctor at this clinic called Mend Clinic is notable because she’s got a lot of local regulars as well as an international clientele. Her name is Dr. Wonyoung Yoon, and I actually featured her on the CNN show. She’s amazing. She actually tries to identify what [clients’] goals are and is very realistic about what she can and cannot do. She’s an example of aesthetic enhancement done responsibly.”

The ultimate welcome back: “[Becoming an honorary citizen of Seoul] really means a lot to me because Korea has always held a special place in my heart, even though I grew up in the States. It was a feeling of acceptance there that I never thought I would get as an American. So it meant a lot. You know, I thought for a second, ‘Well, maybe this will help me get through immigration quicker.’ It’s really just a piece of paper and a handshake with a pat on the back, but I’ll take it. I went to the mayor’s office at the equivalent of City Hall, and the mayor bestowed upon me this honor, personally.”