Seoul Life Jun 06, 2026 3 views

Seoul Foodie Starter Trail: 4 Easy First Campaigns for New Creators

서울 푸드 스타터 트레일: 신규 크리에이터를 위한 첫 캠페인 4곳

Why Food Is the Easiest First Campaign

If you have never run a creator campaign before, start with food. The brief is the simplest in the business: you show up, you eat, you film a reel or a story, you post. There is no unboxing logistics, no scheduling a service appointment, no product you have to learn before you can talk about it. You taste it and you have a reaction — and that reaction is the content.

That clarity matters when you are building your first portfolio. F&B campaigns give you a defined deliverable, an immediate shoot, and a finished post the same day. The pressure is low, the turnaround is fast, and the failure mode is basically nonexistent: everyone understands a good plate of food.

This guide is a starter trail — four real restaurants currently running campaigns on X30, spread across four very different Seoul neighborhoods. Each stop pairs a meal with two to four nearby spots, so you can build a half-day of content around a single visit instead of just one clip. Hongdae, Konkuk University, Samseong, and Songpa: four meals, four neighborhoods, four chances to practice the whole cycle from apply to post.

Browse every live restaurant campaign on the X30 campaign feed before you plan your route — new partners are added regularly.

Stop 1: Hongdae — Pho Ong Nam (포옹남)

Your first stop is the easiest neighborhood in Seoul to film in: Hongdae, the student-and-art district in Mapo-gu where the streets are already content. The anchor here is Pho Ong Nam (포옹남), a Vietnamese pho house built on a family recipe — the kind of place that trades on warmth rather than trend. The hook writes itself: authentic Hanoi warmth, served in Seoul.

Detail	Info
What it is	Family-recipe Vietnamese pho
Address	11 Hongik-ro 3-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Campaign benefit	2 main dishes + 1 side + 2 drinks
Campaign	Apply: Pho Ong Nam

Why it films well: steaming broth is one of the most reliable shots in food content — the rising steam, the noodle pull, the herbs going in. With 2 main dishes in the campaign benefit you can frame two bowls side by side for variety, and the side plus two drinks round out a full table-styling shot. A family recipe gives you an easy narrative spine for the caption: who makes it, why, and what "authentic" means to them.

CTA: Apply to the Pho Ong Nam campaign on X30 →

Nearby in Hongdae

Gyeongui Line Forest Park (Yeontral Park). A linear park built over a former railway line, running through Yeonnam-dong just north of Hongik University. It is one of the most relaxed walk-and-shoot spots in the area — long green sightlines, cafés lining both sides, locals picnicking on the grass on a warm day (Visit Korea).

Address: 133 Donggyo-ro 51-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Subway: Hongik Univ. Station (Line 2 / AREX / Gyeongui-Jungang), Exit 3 (Seoul Metropolitan Government)

KT&G Sangsang Madang. A seven-story cultural complex in the heart of Hongdae that opened in September 2007 — gallery, design store, cinema, and performance spaces stacked in one building. It is a strong indoor option when the weather turns, and the design shop is full of close-up product shots (Visit Seoul).

Address: 65 Eoulmadang-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Subway: Hapjeong Station (Lines 2/6), Exit 3 (approx. 760m)

Hongdae walking street (Eoulmadang-ro / 걷고싶은거리). The main pedestrian artery between Hongik University Station and the clubs, busking, and street-fashion shops. On weekend afternoons and evenings, indie buskers perform along the strip — free, constantly rotating B-roll for a Hongdae day vlog. Pairs naturally with the KT&G visit since both sit on Eoulmadang-ro.

Half-day shape: pho lunch → walk the Yeontral Park stretch in Yeonnam-dong → loop back through the Hongdae walking street toward KT&G for indoor browsing. One meal, three distinct visual settings.

Stop 2: Konkuk University — Crazy Lamb (미친양꼬치)

Next, head across the river to the Konkuk University (건대) area in Gwangjin-gu — a dense, young, late-night part of the city. The anchor is Crazy Lamb (미친양꼬치), an all-you-can-eat lamb skewer spot with auto-rotating skewer grills and an unlimited tteokbokki and ramyeon bar. (Note: the campaign's area field reads "Seongsu," but the restaurant is actually in the Konkuk University area at Hwayang-dong.)

Detail	Info
What it is	All-you-can-eat lamb skewers + unlimited tteokbokki/ramyeon bar
Address	7-38 Hwayang-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul (2nd floor)
Campaign benefit	All-you-can-eat for 2 people
Campaign	Apply: Crazy Lamb

Why it films well: the auto-rotating grills are the whole show — skewers turning themselves over a flame is motion content you do not have to manufacture, and it loops perfectly for a reel. The no-limit zone with unlimited tteokbokki and ramyeon gives you an abundance shot (the loaded table) and an interactive segment (building your own bowl). All-you-can-eat for 2 people means you can bring a co-creator and shoot reaction-and-react banter, which performs well for this kind of social, high-energy food.

CTA: Apply to the Crazy Lamb campaign on X30 →

Nearby in Konkuk University area

Common Ground. Korea's first container shopping mall — dozens of stacked cobalt-blue shipping containers forming two connected blocks of fashion, cafés, and dessert shops. The blue-container facade is one of the most recognizable backdrops on this side of the river and reads instantly as Seoul to a global feed (Creatrip).

Address: 200 Achasan-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul
Subway: Konkuk Univ. Station (Lines 2/7), Exit 6 (approx. 3-min walk)
Hours: 11:00 – 22:00 daily (Common Ground official)

Children's Grand Park. A large, free public park with a zoo, botanical garden, rides, and open green space — surprisingly photogenic and almost never crowded on a weekday. Good for a slow B-roll segment between the mall and the meal (Visit Seoul).

Address: 216 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul
Subway: Children's Grand Park Station (Line 7), Exit 1 (approx. 106m)
Hours: Daily 5:00 – 22:00; Zoo 10:00 – 17:00 (Seoul Metropolitan Government)
Admission: Free

Konkuk Univ. rodeo / meokja-golmok (먹자골목). The student eating-and-drinking alleys radiating from the station — a magnet for Seoul's twenty-somethings, all neon, late-night energy, and a constant churn of street snacks. This is your evening-atmosphere footage to bookend an all-you-can-eat dinner.

Half-day shape: Common Ground for daylight backdrops → Children's Grand Park for green B-roll → lamb dinner at Crazy Lamb → rodeo-street neon on the walk home.

Stop 3: Samseong — Gourmettree (맛나무)

Now go upmarket. Samseong, on Teheran-ro in Gangnam-gu, is Seoul's corporate spine — glass towers, COEX, and an office-worker lunch culture all its own. The anchor here is Gourmettree (맛나무), a Korean home-style buffet (백반 뷔페) with that healthy, generous "office-worker lunch" feel. It is the most everyday of the four meals, and that is exactly its content angle: real Korean home cooking, served the way locals actually eat on a workday.

Detail	Info
What it is	Korean home-style buffet (백반 뷔페) — healthy office-lunch vibe
Address	11 Teheran-ro 107-gil, B1, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Campaign benefit	Free meal + drinks for up to 4 people
Campaign	Apply: Gourmettree

Why it films well: a buffet line is a built-in variety shot — a dozen banchan in a single pan across the frame, then the plate you build from it. The up-to-4-people benefit is the largest group size on this trail, so it is the right campaign for a creator team or a "lunch with friends" format. Home-style Korean food also opens an explainer angle for an international audience: naming each banchan as you plate it is simple, useful content that travels well.

CTA: Apply to the Gourmettree campaign on X30 →

Nearby in Samseong

Starfield Library (COEX Mall). The 13-meter floor-to-ceiling bookshelves inside COEX Mall are one of the single most-photographed interiors in Seoul — and entry is free. The two-story atrium of books is a guaranteed establishing shot, and it is climate-controlled, so it works in any weather (Visit Seoul).

Address: 513 Yeongdong-daero, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Subway: Samseong Station (Line 2), Exit 5 (approx. 319m) / Bongeunsa Station (Line 9), Exit 7
Hours: Daily 10:30 – 22:00
Admission: Free

Bongeunsa Temple. A working Buddhist temple founded in 794, sitting directly across from COEX in the middle of Gangnam — the contrast of a 1,200-year-old temple against glass skyscrapers is one of the most striking visual juxtapositions in the city. Free to enter, and a calm counterweight to the buffet-and-mall segment (Visit Seoul).

Address: 531 Bongeunsa-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Subway: Bongeunsa Station (Line 9), Exit 1 (approx. 135m)
Founded: 794 (Silla period)
Admission: Free

Seonjeongneung Royal Tombs (선정릉). A UNESCO-listed Joseon royal tomb park tucked between office towers a few stops away — wide forest paths and burial mounds that feel a world away from Teheran-ro. A strong "hidden green Seoul" segment if you want a third, quieter location.

Half-day shape: home-style buffet lunch at Gourmettree → walk to Bongeunsa for the temple-versus-skyscraper shot → cross to COEX for Starfield Library. Three contrasting moods within a few hundred meters.

Stop 4: Songpa — Mien Ai (미엔아이)

Finish in Songpa-gu, in the Ogeum area of southeast Seoul. The anchor is Mien Ai (미엔아이), a Taiwanese kitchen — not to be confused with the Vietnamese pho at Stop 1. Mien Ai specializes in Taiwanese beef noodle soup (牛肉麵), chao fan fried rice (炒飯), and gua bao (割包, the steamed-bun pork sandwich). It is the most distinctive cuisine on the trail and a genuinely underserved content niche in Seoul.

Detail	Info
What it is	Taiwanese — beef noodle soup, chao fan fried rice, gua bao
Address	5 Ogeum-ro 16-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul
Campaign benefit	For 2 people
Campaign	Apply: Mien Ai

Why it films well: three very different dishes mean three different shots from one sitting — the deep braise of beef noodle soup, the wok toss of chao fan, and the hands-on assembly of a gua bao. Taiwanese food is far less covered than Korean or Japanese in the Seoul creator space, so a clean explainer ("what is gua bao, and where to find it in Seoul") has a real shot at search and discovery. The campaign covers 2 people, ideal for a tasting-format reel.

CTA: Apply to the Mien Ai campaign on X30 →

Nearby in Songpa

Olympic Park. The 1988 Seoul Olympics legacy park — vast open lawns, the lone "Tree of Life" hill that goes viral every autumn, sculptures, and museums. One of the best wide-open green spaces in Seoul for drone-style and walking content, and it is free (Olympic Park / KSPO official).

Address: 424 Olympic-ro, Songpa-gu, Seoul
Subway: Olympic Park Station (Lines 5/9), Exit 3
Hours: 5:00 – 22:00 (plazas open 24h)
Admission: Free

Seokchon Lake & Lotte World Tower. Two connected lakes (East and West) wrapped around the base of the 123-floor Lotte World Tower — the most accessible cherry-blossom spot in Seoul each spring, and a clean tower-reflection shot year-round. The Lotte World Mall and theme park sit right on the water (Let's Seoul / Visit Seoul).

Location: Jamsil-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul
Subway: Jamsil Station (Lines 2/8), Exit 3 for West Lake (approx. 3-min walk)
Admission: Free (the 2026 cherry-blossom festival runs March 29 – April 6)

Songridan-gil (송리단길). A trendy café-and-restaurant street wrapped around the east side of Seokchon Lake — built along Baekje-gobun-ro 45-gil and packed with roughly 170 independent eateries and bakeries, running from the lake toward Songpanaru Station (Line 9) (Visit Korea). It is the polished, photogenic counterpart to Olympic Park's open green — a natural café-content segment to close the day.

Half-day shape: Taiwanese lunch at Mien Ai → Olympic Park for open-green B-roll → Seokchon Lake for the Lotte World Tower reflection → Songridan-gil cafés right beside the lake at dusk.

How to Apply and Earn

Every restaurant on this trail runs a live campaign on eXerty (X30). The flow is the same for all four: open the campaign, apply, get approved, visit and create your content, then submit. When your content is verified, you earn credit points (CP) you can put toward your next experience — so each campaign you complete funds the one after it.

Start with whichever neighborhood is closest to you — the lower the friction on your first campaign, the faster you finish the whole cycle and have a published post to show for it. Then browse the rest on the full campaign feed.

New to eXerty? Browse the campaign feed to see how each brief is structured before you apply.