A night out in Seoul need not sentence you to listening to factory-engineered K-pop. Mark James Russell, founder of the Korea Gig Guide and author of Pop Goes Korea: Behind the Revolution in Movies, Music and Internet Culture, recommends heading to the Sangsu neighborhood, located between the craziness of Hongdae and the Han River. “It’s a mellower area full of cafés, restaurants, and live venues like Jebi Dabang (24, Wausan-ro), a funky space run by artists and architects that hosts indie-rock concerts on weekends. Then there’s Mudaeruk (12, Tojeong-ro 5-gil), a converted grain warehouse, which has great food, a gallery space, and a downstairs room where a DJ might play ’70s Korean pop songs.” The best vinyl bar in Seoul, he says, is Gopchang Jeongol (8, Wausan-ro 29-gil). And, he…
