The back story
Five palaces and a wall: reading Seoul’s great sights
Gyeongbokgung below Bugaksan, the gardens of Changdeokgung, the ancestral halls of Jongmyo, the 18.6-kilometre city wall over four mountains, and the towers of the new city: how to read Seoul.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Hschrijver · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsFor five centuries Seoul was Hanyang, capital of the Joseon dynasty, and the old city still lies within the ring of its four inner mountains: Bugaksan to the north, Naksan to the east, Namsan to the south and Inwangsan to the west. The city wall followed their ridges, and much of it survives: the Seoul Metropolitan Government divides it into four walking sections. Inside it stand the five royal palaces and the royal ancestral shrine of Jongmyo, which UNESCO inscribed in 1995; Changdeokgung followed in 1997.
The palaces
Gyeongbokgung was the principal palace of the Joseon dynasty. Changdeokgung, to its east, is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and its rear garden, the Huwon, is visited on guided tours. Deoksugung stands by City Hall; Changgyeonggung adjoins Changdeokgung; Gyeonghuigung is the quiet palace of the west. Jongmyo, the royal ancestral shrine, was inscribed by UNESCO in 1995.
The wall
The Seoul City Wall (Hanyangdoseong) runs for 18.6 kilometres in four sections: Baegak (4.7 km), Naksan (3.2 km), Namsan (6.7 km) and Inwang (4.0 km), each with its own walking time on the official site (seoulcitywall.seoul.go.kr).
The palaces close one day a week, and not all on the same day: check the Royal Palaces site before you plan.
The new city
N Seoul Tower crowns Namsan; Seoul Sky looks down from the top of Lotte World Tower; the Dongdaemun Design Plaza curves beside the old east gate, and the Cheonggyecheon stream runs through the business district.
Our advice: begin at Gyeongbokgung at opening time, walk east through Bukchon to Changdeokgung for a garden tour, and climb Namsan for the sunset.
Why it's on our list
- The palaces
- The wall
- The new city
Location
The map comes from Google Maps, which sets its own cookies once it loads.
More in depth
The back storyCeladon, ink and white cubes: Seoul’s artsThe national collections in Yongsan, the Leeum on the hill of Hannam, the MMCA beside the palace, the galleries of Samcheong-ro and the stages of the Seoul Arts Center: a city that has made itself an art capital.
The back storyWild Seoul: Granite Peaks, River Islands and the City’s Own BirdsA national park inside the city limits, wetland islands in the Han, a mountain wall of granite, ginkgo avenues and the magpie, the city’s own bird: Seoul’s wild side.