Spotlight on ... Little Seoul

Size: According to a report last year by South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, there are 45,295 South Koreans in the UK, two-thirds of whom are living in London. There are also estimated to be around 850 North Koreans who have sought asylum in the UK after defecting from the communist state.

Favourite parts of London: New Malden, in Kingston upon Thames, is home to more than 20,000 Koreans. Known locally as Koreatown, its Korean diaspora is the largest in Europe.

So is that where I should head if I want to try some wildly good Korean cuisine?

If you’re in that part of town I’d recommend Jee Cee Neh — its marinated beef and cabbage kimchi are delicious — but you don’t have to head that far south-west to find a good chapch’ae.

What’s that chap you talking about?

Chapch’ae — it’s a Korean stir-fry made with sweet potato noodles. You can try some in the elegant surroundings of Mayfair’s Kaya or order it alongside yook hwei — thinly sliced raw beef served with sliced pears — which is one of the specialities at Fitzrovia’s Koba.

That sounds so much better than all the stodgy mince pies I’ve been eating. But what if I want to experience more than Korea’s culinary delights?

You should explore the Korean Cultural Centre on the Strand. It was set up after a survey by the South Korean government revealed that only two per cent of Londoners knew anything about Korean culture.

That’s shocking. Personally I am extremely well informed on the subject. Oh yeah? Name one major Korean artist.

PSY — that profound man of genius who gave Gangnam Style to the world.

You mean that insanely kitsch K-pop music video that everyone from Etonian schoolboys to Filipino prisoners has parodied?

Yes. It’s become the most watched video YouTube has ever seen — nearly one billion people have seen the 37-year-old South Korean rapper do his trademark pony dance.

Other than my living room, is there somewhere I can go to learn to break those kind of moves?

London KPop Dance Workshop hold regular classes in Old Street. They even filmed a London Style version of the PSY track. I think that’s enough on PSY.