[Well-curated] Create custom cases, attend an art salon and play 'the floor is lava'

Customize smartphone cases at Casetify

Buying new accessories for and decorating your smartphone might be some of the easiest ways to refresh your look nowadays.

Though there are many unmanned stores and pop-up shops featuring smartphone-themed merchandise, pay a visit to Casetify to customize your phone covers with the inspiration-filled designs.

Located at the second basement floor of The Hyundai Seoul -- the biggest department store in Yeongdeungpo-gu, western Seoul, Casetify displays a wide range of smartphone cases on its white-colored wall.

It is also the first store that visitors will encounter when walking from Yeouido Station’s Exit No. 3.

Should you have a specific look in mind, Casetify will help customize and apply the designs to a case matched to your smartphone model.

As customization often takes 30 to 50 minutes, those who prefer not to wait can head over to the separate section displaying phone cases that are available right away.

In addition to the wide variety of cases, visitors can also explore a range of colorful wrist straps, phone grips and other smartphone accessories as well.

The store has collaborated with popular Instagram artists, K-pop stars, hit anime characters and series, quenching fans’ thirst to purchase something that is both unique and shows off their personal tastes or what they love.

Casetify also has an ongoing event called Korea Selection, which showcases their interpretation of Korean cities and food.

For those who buy their items from the Korea Selection, Casetify offers free acrylic keychains featuring some iconic Korean cuisines, such as gimbap, bibimbap, bungeoppang -- a popular street food and fish-shaped waffle filled with sweet red bean paste -- and more.

Art salon at Hannam-dong

Enjoy both art and food at "Salon Hannam 2024: Platform for Discourse & Discovery," a salon for art lovers opened in Hannam-dong to coincide with Frieze Seoul.

The salon offers a variety of art in its five sections. Global auction house Sotheby's presents the "Imaginary Worlds: Female Surrealism" exhibition, featuring seven female surrealists from Frida Kahlo to Leonora Carrington.

At the "Artist's Room" section is the first solo exhibition of Brooklyn-based speaker sculptor and sound artist Devon Turnbull in South Korea. Turnbull invites the audience to immerse themselves in music in what he calls a "shrine to music."

Paying homage to the Europen salon culture from the 15th to 19th centuries, the salon will operate through Sept. 14. Visitors can enjoy some Mexican cuisine while spending time with art.

The salon opens at 11 a.m and closes at 8 p.m. on weekdays and 9 p.m. on weekends. Admission is free of charge. The space is arranged by Lifeplus, a joint brand of Hanwha's financial affiliates.

Arcade where you can play 'the floor is lava’

If you are looking for a fun indoor activity to enjoy with friends and family, try visiting TechRun, an indoor arcade franchise with seven stores in the country.

TechRun is a 15- to 30-minute game that two to six people can take part in.

The game begins in a dark room with colored LED tiles on the floor that turn either green, blue or red.

The player’s goal is to score as much as possible by stepping on the blue tiles.

Stepping on the red tiles will have a player's points and life deducted.

Each player gets a total of five lives.

Green tiles are safe to step on.

Because the tiles change rapidly, you will quickly find yourself running out of breath as you jump around trying to score points while avoiding the red tiles.

The game is reminiscent of the classic childhood game called “the floor is lava.”

The easy mode of the game, which is 15 minutes long, costs 5,000 won ($3.78) per person and hard mode, which is 30 minutes long, is 10,000 won per person.