A Park with a full view of the city

Naksan Park

Seoul is a city with numerous parks; however, Naksan Park is unique. The park’s visitors can enjoy a leisurely walk along the Naksan Trail of the Seoul City Wall and admire downtown Seoul’s beautiful view. If you have time and energy, you may want to walk up the slope from the Hyehwa Station slowly. But suppose you want a less demanding experience. In that case, you can take a town bus (Maeul Bus) at the Dongdaemun Station or the Dongmyo Station, and get off at the last stop. One of the best features of the park is the view of the city from the observatory. During the day, you can see the neighborhoods around the park along with the Namsan Tower. At night, the observatory offers a romantic view of the beautifully lit city wall.

• Address: Naksan-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul
• Operating hours: 09:00–24:00
• Tel. No: +82-2-743-7985 or 7986
• Website: http://parks.seoul.go.kr

A Short, Romantic Downtown Trekking

Naksan Trail of Seoul City Wall

The Seoul City Wall extended around 18.6 kilometers and stood between 5 and 8 meters high. It maintained its function for the longest time among the world’s city walls from 1396 to 1910. The Naksan Trail is a section of the wall between the Naksan Park and the Heunginjimun Gate and preserves structures built around six centuries ago. You can enjoy nice trekking on the trails that run along the wall. Choose the inner trail if you want a full view of Seoul and the outer trail if you’re interested in the walls themselves and the numerous houses on the mountain slope. The wall is dotted with small doors, letting you cross the wall back and forth. You can enjoy the green freshness in spring and summer, the rich autumn colors in autumn, and white snow in winter. The Seoul City Wall Museum neighboring Heunginjimun Park provides an overview of the wall’s history and the story behind its excavation.

• Address: Dongsung-dong, Jonggno-gu, Seoul
• Operating hours: Open 24 hr
• Tel. No: +82-2-2133-2657
• Website: http://seoulcitywall.seoul.go.kr

A Testament to the Majesty of the Seoul City Wall

Heunginjimun Gate (Dongdaemun Gate)

The Seoul City Wall had four main gates facing the east, the west, the south, and the north. The Heunginjimun Gate was the eastern gate of the city, hence the name Dongdaemun (dong means east, and daemun means gate). The construction of the original gate began in 1396 and was completed in 1398. However, the gate that stands today was built in 1869. The Heunginjimun Gate is the only Seoul City Wall gate with an outer wall, called ongseong, surrounding the main structure, a defensive wall against possible attackers outside the city wall. Picture the city wall 600 years ago, with all its majesty and the ancient Koreans coming and going through the gate.

• Address: 288, Jong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
• Operating hours: Open 24 hr
• Tel. No: +82-2-2148-1842
• Website: http://tour.jongno.go.kr

A Traditional Market With Some of the Best Korean Street Foods

Gwangjang Market

If you want to taste a wide range of Korean delicacies all at one place, the Gwangjang Market may be the place for you. The market features vendors selling a wide selection of street foods, including freshly fried bindaetteok (mung bean pancake), tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), gimbap (rice and assorted ingredients wrapped in laver), and yukhoe (Korean version of beef tartare). Among these, bindaetteok is the most popular. Just look at the pancakes heaped up like a mountain, and you can understand why. Also, don’t let the cheap prices and the street vendor vibe fool you because most vendors are experts with more than 20 years of experience; a noodle soup place in the market was even featured in the Netflix series Street Food. The market also sells a wide variety of used products, from designer items to products with unique designs. A bicycle rental station is located at Exit 3 of the Jongno 5-ga Station.

• Address: 88, Changyeonggung-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
• Operating hours: 09:00–18:00 on weekdays, 09:00–17:00 on weekends; Gwangjang Food Market opens until 23:00
• Tel. No: +82-2-2269-8855
• Website: http://jkm.or.kr

A Full Range of Theatrical Experience from Experimental Productions to Outdoor Shows

Daehakro Street

In Korea, around 200 musical productions welcome audiences each year, which is an astounding figure considering that about 30 musicals are presented on Broadway’s stage. The Korean theatrical art scene is also famous for its range, from experimental theaters to blockbuster musicals with subtitles for non-Korean speakers. Daehakro Street has around 140 theaters scattered around the town, where hundreds of shows vie for visitors’ attention each day. The town also offers various outdoor performances, especially in the Marronnier Park on weekends. Most of the shows stopped after the COVID-19 outbreak, but the street performers will hopefully return to the square soon. There are three bicycle rental stations around Hyehwa Station.

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