In Seoul, the seasons possess a particular vividness. Spring drifts by in fleeting moments as cherry blossoms scatter on the wind, summer is torn between heavy humidity and sudden downpours, autumn blazes with crisp skies and brilliant foliage, and winter turns each breath into a small cloud of white. This ever-changing rhythm reshapes wardrobes, unsettles the pace of daily life, and leaves its imprint on the city’s creativity. Amid this complex climate, Seoul's creative scene unfolds.
Seoul spans approximately 605 square kilometers, with over 30 percent consisting of mountainous terrain. Among the world's major capitals, few are so densely surrounded by peaks. Bukhansan, Gwanaksan, Dobongsan, and Cheonggyesan rise around the city like a natural amphitheater. This is Seoul's paradox: a city where buying even a modest home requires a fortune, yet every neighborhood comes with its own mountain, open to everyone. Residents commute beneath the gaze of peaks on weekdays, and ascend them on weekends. Here, nature and metropolis meet in uncanny harmony.
In such a setting, functional gear like GORE-TEX Products has become inseparable from daily life. It is lightweight yet resilient, ready for both subway commutes and sudden hikes up a neighborhood trail.
Artists in Seoul embrace this weather and topography as integral parts of life. They respond first to seasonal shifts, their work changing with the texture of the day. Hosik Yoo, designer of SIKHO, says he finds joy in dressing with the seasons, adding layers as the air cools and shedding them as it warms. Meanwhile, model and stylist J KEE finds Seoul’s summers challenging. “The humid heat strips away the very pleasure of getting dressed,” he says, a reminder that each season is both the spark and the limit of style.
The creative process mirrors these rhythms. Designer Joongho Choi's studio falls into silence on rainy days. Collaborative rhythms falter, and the studio air grows thick with stillness. Photographer and bookstore owner Simjae, by contrast, draws inspiration from the monsoon. Neon shimmering on soaked signboards, pedestrians weaving between umbrellas, all of it sparking new stories. In the same season, in the same city, the gaze can diverge so dramatically.
What’s remarkable is how weatherproof outdoor gear has become; a defining look for a generation in Seoul. The hiking clothes worn by people in their fifties and sixties have moved far beyond the mountains. At convenience stores, in subway cars, at neighborhood beer halls, their functional clothing has become the language of daily life. Teenagers, meanwhile, embrace high-end outdoor brands like Arc’teryx and Salomon as markers of their identity. Seongsu favors techwear, Euljiro tends workwear, Hongdae leans vintage. Each district weaves its own mood into a hybrid landscape shaped by cutting-edge fabrics and the city’s four restless seasons.
Seoul remains perpetually unpredictable. Between seasons come days when you’re sweating in the afternoon, then pulling on multiple layers by evening. At times, the capricious weather defies the very definition of the season. Style must be endlessly flexible. Over time, that adaptability becomes second nature in daily life, like Studio Tuh director Davin Jung keeping Gore-Tex Sneakers within reach, whatever the forecast.
Just as every person has a favorite kind of weather, Seoul's creative scene finds its own rhythm within each climate. The weather may be demanding, even unforgiving at times, but it is precisely that difficulty that sharpens agility and sparks invention. This is why the city endures constant change and continues to reinvent itself even now.
Written by Seoul-based writer Minji Kang, currently Digital Editor at ELLE Korea.
