Gyeongbokgung Palace & Seochon half-day
The neighbourhood just below Buam-dong: palace in the morning, Buam-dong in the afternoon.
Gyeongbokgung Palace & Seochon half-day →KoreaClear · Seoul · Buam-dong & Cheongun-dong, Jongno-gu
A hillside neighbourhood between Inwangsan and Baegaksan, just behind Gyeongbokgung Palace and Seochon. In one half-day you walk to a poet's museum, a hanok library, a Joseon-era city gate and an old villa garden.

There is no subway station, so take a bus. Gyeongbokgung Station (Line 3) Exit 3 → green bus 1020, 7022 or 7212
Wednesday to Sunday. Seokpajeong Seoul Museum closes Monday and Tuesday; the museum and library close Monday
Hills and stairs: wear comfortable shoes
The four places are close together but on hills. The order is a suggestion; change it to suit the bus stop where you get off.

Korean name: 윤동주문학관
A small museum for the poet Yun Dong-ju, made from an old water pumping station and its tanks. One tank is open to the sky. The Poet's Hill walking path starts behind it.

Korean name: 청운문학도서관
Jongno's first public library in a hanok, on the Cheongun Park walking path. Its roof uses handmade tiles made the same way as those for the restored Sungnyemun Gate, plus about 3,000 tiles saved from demolished hanok. You can rest in the hanok reading room or the pavilion by the pond.

Korean name: 창의문
A gate of Seoul's old city wall where Inwangsan meets Baegaksan (Bugaksan), listed as Treasure No. 1881. It is the only one of the four small gates whose Joseon-era gate tower still stands; the tower was rebuilt in 1741. It is also called Jahamun.

Korean name: 석파정 서울미술관
A private art museum with Seokpajeong behind it, the former villa of Heungseon Daewongun (father of King Gojong). The villa is a Seoul-designated heritage site, and you walk among rocks, a stream, pavilions and old buildings. Most visitors spend the longest time here.
Take bus 1020, 7022 or 7212 back to Gyeongbokgung Station from the opposite side of the road at the stop where you got off (Jahamun-gogae · Yun Dong-ju Poet's Hill, or Jahamun Tunnel Entrance by Seokpajeong Seoul Museum).
Small cafés line the main road and side streets. We do not name them because shops change often. Check that a place is open in a map app before you go.
The neighbourhood just below Buam-dong: palace in the morning, Buam-dong in the afternoon.
Gyeongbokgung Palace & Seochon half-day →Add places such as Buam-dong Cafe Street to your Seoul days.
Plan your trip →