The South Korean capital has more to offer than kimchi and K-pop. A series of seismic events shook Korea in the 20th century: 35 years of Japanese occupation, division into north and south and, as recently as the 1950s, the Korean War. But Seoul picked itself up and modernisation advanced at a dizzying pace in the second half of the century. Today the glass façades of gleaming skyscrapers overlook the tiled roofs of traditional hanok houses; while world-class cocktail bars rub shoulders with rustic teahouses and shoes-off restaurants.

Whatever you want and whenever you want it, Seoul has you covered, be it late-night trips to the sauna or early-morning treks around the hills. Hike up your hanbok and come and meet the people putting their hearts into Seoul.

The definitive travel guides that make you feel like a local wherever you go. Monocle reports from around the globe. As its Edited bys and correspondents dart from city to city, they get to know the best places to rest their heads, stretch their limbs, and kick back with a contact in a hard-to-find cocktail bar.

That information is now available in The Monocle Travel Guide Series: a line-up of titles that speaks to readers in an informed but informal way about everything from architecture to art, late-night bars to early-morning markets.

Designed to be compact and collectable, these books go beyond the traditional tourist beats to make sure visitors get the best out of a city - no matter how short their stay. The guides are also discerning: they will not list a hundred places to eat, but they will focus on what is best for any occasion.