For many foreign Seoulites, the name “Nowon” is more familiar as a punchline than a place. Beyond the long-running joke that the city’s northeastern district’s name sounds like “no one”, there is not a whole lot that is widely known about it.

For most, it is regarded as a quiet residential district filled with apartment blocks and cram school clusters, not nightlife or cultural flair.

But Kelly’s Pub, nestled above a street near Gongneung Station, is a sign that Nowon is no longer a blank spot on the city’s cultural map.

The small, wood-trimmed bar, run by Irish-American expat Brendan Kelly and his wife, has become a surprising gathering place for locals as well as the steadily growing foreign community finding its footing in northeastern Seoul.

Kelly’s Pub is not a themed bar, nor is it trying to import the heavy, old-world aesthetic of a classic Irish tavern. “Honestly, I just wanted a lot of wood,” Kelly says with a laugh.

The interior is brighter than a traditional pub – intentionally so. “We’re on the second floor and a little hard to spot, so I didn’t want it to feel too dark or mysterious,” he says.