Myungdong Street

It's the most happening place in Seoul, South Korea.

The equivalent of Tokyo's Shibuya district, it has flagship stores of every luxury brand in the world.

The stores play the role of "antenna" shops, with their offerings and personnel attuned to the bleeding edge.

Constant design and technology events, tons of street vendors, and now, if you're specially anxious about bird flu or what-have-you, telecom giant KTF offers female subscribers only (couldn't get away with that here, could they?) free cellphone handset disinfection.

You put your phone into a Karis UV Sterilizer (approved by the Korean Food and Drug Administration) for three minutes, and the UV rays destroy bacteria without penetrating the phone's surface.

[via Wired magazine]