Seoul

With a mindful, practical embrace of the majesty and tragedy of their history, Seoul is nevertheless a city with a strong and confident grasp on an enigmatic future.

Ever-present in the ubiquitous and sprawling geography of royal palaces, temples and historic landmarks, there is a culture that is universally tech-savvy, innovative, trendsetting and optimistic about it’s place in a new world of global infrastructure and accessibility.

And with the geopolitical reality – not to mention historical trauma – of the aggressive territorial division to the north, South Koreans strike a delicate balance between pragmatic participants in an out-dated Cold War-era ideology, and tongue-in-cheek observers about their unfortunate “situation” to the north.