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Dongdaemun Design Plaza
To Koreans, and a whole generation of travellers from other Asian countries, the words Myeongdong and Dongdaemun mean one thing and one thing alone – shopping. Many visitors from China, Japan, Thailand and Taiwan pin their Korean travel plans on these two areas alone, and never venture beyond their wider perimeter – a pity, for sure, but testament to the zone’s ever-increasing international reputation. Myeongdong’s tightly packed web of streets features literally hundreds of shops selling clothing, cosmetics and street snacks, while Dongdaemun is the market-place equivalent, and of more interest to those buying fabric or knock-off handbags. However, it’s not all about consumption – Myeongdong Cathedral is up there with Korea’s prettiest Christian places of worship, while just to the south rises Namsan, Seoul’s own mini-mountain.
명동
With a justifiable claim to being Korea’s most popular shopping area, and particularly favoured by Chinese visitors, Myeongdong is home to an intricate lattice of streets, running from the east–west thoroughfare of Euljiro to the northern slopes of Namsan peak. Though those visiting Myeongdong tend to be primarily concerned with shopping or eating, there are a couple of worthwhile sights in the area.
한국은행 화폐금융 박물관 • 110 Namdaemun-ro 3-ga • Tues–Sun 10am–5pm • Free • City Hall (lines 1 & 2) or Myeongdong subway (line 4)
The Bank of Korea Museum was designed and built by the Japanese in the first years of their occupation, and once served as the headquarters of the now-defunct Bank of Choson. A contemporary competitor, the former Choson Savings Bank, sits almost directly opposite, alongside the old wing of Shinsegae department store (신세계), another colonial structure. The exhibitions inside the museum are less interesting than the building housing them, with an array of notes and coins from around the world on display, as well as plenty of Korean currency from down the ages.
명동성당 • 74 Myeongdong-gil • Daily 9am–7pm; Mass daily 6.30am & 6pm; English-language Mass Sun 9am • Free • Euljiro 1-ga subway (line 2)
The hub of Korea’s large – and growing – Catholic community, Myeongdong Cathedral stands proudly over the surrounding shopping area, and is the best-known non-Buddhist religious building in the country. The cathedral was designed in Gothic style by French missionaries, and the elegant lines of its red-brick exterior are a breath of fresh air in the business district’s maze of concrete cuboids. It was completed in 1898 at the bequest of King Gojong, who wanted to make up for persecutions witnessed under his predecessors: the site on which the cathedral stands had previously been home to a Catholic faith community, many of whom were executed during the purges of 1866. In the 1970s, during the dictatorial rule of Park Chung-hee, the cathedral and its auxiliary buildings were used as a refuge for political dissidents, since the police refused to enter this place of worship – a recourse still taken today by occasional fugitives. On the road outside the cathedral, you may come across one of Myeongdong’s most famous characters: a zealous gentleman bearing a sandwich board stating “Lord Jesus Heaven, No Jesus Hell!” (although further questioning reveals that Protestants will also go to hell, as well as the fella’s own Buddhist ancestors).
충무로
Just east of Myeongdong, Chungmuro is a fascinating area that mixes the youthful exuberance of local university students with old-fashioned pleasures more suited to their grandparents. The students cluster in a dense area of cafés and cheap restaurants that spreads southeast from Chungmuro subway station to Donggook University. North of Chungmuro station, you’ll see the Jinyang Building, erected in the late 1960s and the northernmost outcrop of one of Seoul’s first major modern building projects. The tiny maze-like side-streets surrounding this chain of bizarre buildings are a joy to get lost in, with their clutches of cheap restaurants, as well as a fair number of dabang – coffee bars popular in the 1970s, but almost extinct in most parts of town. Adding to the area’s worn mystique are literally hundreds of printing presses, many of which operate late into the night, when their hissing steam and whirring machinery exude a decades-old charm.
Back in time on the seyun–euljiro crossroads
Rising up from Chungmuro station, the Jinyang Building (진양빌딩) was one of Seoul’s first high-rises. From its rooftop one can make out the Seyun Sanga, a line of buildings of similar vintage, sketching a perfect tangent all the way to Jongmyo, over 1km away. In the late 1960s, this was one of the largest development projects of its time, and prime real estate; today, of course, it’s small fry and much of the lower levels are taken up with eerily empty market space – heaven for photographers, or those making a B-movie. Recent plans to demolish the whole area came to nought, and in keeping with Seoul’s recent shift from bash-and-build-higher to let’s-use-what-we’ve-got, the northernmost two towers have been given a rather pleasing makeover. Now referred to as Makercity Sewoon, the two northern buildings have seen small bits of office and exhibition space added to the “wings” hovering above the roads on either side of the buildings. An elevator shaft rises up the north face of the Sewon Tower (the northernmost block, which has great free views from the rooftop), and the hipsters have started to descend upon new start-ups such as Green Dabang bistro.
At one point, the Seyun Sanga passes over the pedestrianized Euljiro tunnel, which runs beneath Euljiro (을지로), one of Seoul’s most important thoroughfares, for a whopping 4km – it’s possible to walk from City Hall all the way to Dongdaemun Design Plaza, a journey of around forty minutes, without having to rise above the surface. The tunnel was a popular shopping area during the 1970s, and it’s still a good place to shop for some unique clothing, including the trilbies, linen shirts and rhinestone-studded ties popular with elderly local gentlemen, or the lurid floral blouses sported by their female counterparts.
남산골 • 28 Toegyero 34-gil • Daily: April–Oct 9am–9pm; Nov–March 9am–8pm • Free • Chungmuro subway (lines 3 & 4)
South of Chungmuro station, Namsangol is a small re-created folk village of hanok housing. There’s not that much to do here, though the area is pretty and quite photogenic, and children may enjoy playing a few of the traditional games and watching the occasional displays of dance and music. Other than this, the centrepiece of the surrounding park is a giant time capsule, buried in 1994 and due to be reopened in 2394. Computer displays indicate what must have been a very hurried filling of the vault – future Seoulites are set to be wowed by an underwhelming collection of twentieth-century memorabilia including bags of rice, documents pertaining to the sewage system and subway tickets.
남산 • Cable car daily 10am–11pm • W6000 one way, W8500 return • Buses (#2 from Chungmuro, #3 from Seoul station and Itaewon, #5 from Myeongdong and Chungmuro) run every 15–20min
South of Myeongdong station the roads rise up, eventually coming to a stop at the foot of Namsan, a 265m-high mini-mountain in the centre of Seoul. Namsan once marked the natural boundary of a city that has long since swelled over the edges and across the river – some restored sections of the old city wall can still be seen on the mountain, as can the remains of fire beacons that once formed part of an ingenious pan-national communication system.
Most visitors reach the top by cable car, whose base is a stiff fifteen-minute climb uphill from Myeongdong subway station; you can avoid much of the climb by taking the lift that runs from near exit 4 of the station (go straight on, then turn left at the first major road). Alternatively, you can take a bus, or walk the whole way up from Myeongdong, Seoul station or Itaewon (around thirty minutes). However you arrive, there are spectacular views of the city from the peak, and yet more from N Seoul Tower, a giant hypodermic needle sitting at the summit. There are other great paths on Namsan, including one which wraps around much of its northern midriff; pick it up just above the lower cable-car station.
Namsan: Seoul’s giant messenger
Hunt around next to the N Seoul Tower, just above the upper terminal of the cable car, and you may be able to discern five curious brick chimneys – these are the remains of the fire beacons that, during the Joseon dynasty, used to relay warnings across the country. If just one flame was lit, all was well; the remaining four would be flared up to signify varying degrees of unrest, with the message repeated along chains of beacons that stretched across the whole Korean peninsula.
Today, Namsan’s peak is used to relay messages of a different kind. Clustered around the tower, you’ll see thousands of padlocks which are placed here by the many young couples who scale Namsan for the romance of the views. The done thing is to scrawl your names or initials on the padlock (preferably inside a love heart), secure it to the railing, then dispose of the key – everlasting love, guaranteed.
N서울타워 • Observatory Mon–Fri & Sun 10am–11pm, Sat 10am–midnight • W10,000 • 
nseoultower.net
N Seoul Tower sits proudly on Namsan’s crown, the most recent incarnation of Seoul Tower, whose name was clearly not trendy enough to pass the consultancy test that followed the redesigning of its interior in 2005. The five levels of the upper section are now home to a viewing platform, and assorted cafés and restaurants, best of which is N.Grill. For many, the free views from the tower’s base are good enough; whether you’re here or within the tower, coming at sunset time is recommended, since you’ll see the grey mass of daytime Seoul turning into a pulsating neon spectacle.
동대문
A famed market area that spreads over both sides of Cheonggyecheon creek, Dongdaemun was named after the gigantic ornamental gate that still stands here (dong means “east”, dae means “great” and mun “gate”). Originally built in 1396, this was once the eastern entrance to a much smaller Seoul, a counterpart to Sungnyemun, way to the southwest. This was yet another of the structures added by the incredibly ambitious King Taejo in the 1390s, at the dawn of his Joseon dynasty; fires and warfare have taken their inevitable toll, however, and the present structure dates from 1869.
Dongdaemun is now best known for its colossal market, by far the largest in the country, sprawling as it does across several city blocks. Just to the south of the market is the new Dongdaemun Design Plaza, one of Seoul’s most ambitious pieces of modern architecture: further south again is an intriguing district, known as “Russiatown” to the few expats aware of its presence. This small area is home to tradespeople and businessmen from Central Asia, particularly Uzbekistan and Mongolia, and you’ll see occasional shops, offices and hotels marked with Cyrillic text. There are also a couple of restaurants, such as Fortune, serving delicious Russian food.
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Gwangjang Market
동대문 시장 • Daily 24hr • Dongdaemun subway (lines 1 & 4)
Hectic Dongdaemun market is Korea’s largest, spread out both open-air and indoors in various locations along the prettified Cheonggyecheon creek. It would be impossible to list the whole range of things on sale here – you’ll find yourself walking past anything from herbs to hanbok (traditional clothing) to paper lanterns, usually on sale for reasonable prices.
Though each section of the market has its own opening and closing times, the complex as a whole never shuts, so at least part of it will be open whenever you decide to visit. Night-time is when the market is at its most atmospheric, with clothes stores pumping out music into the street at ear-splitting volume, and the air filled with the smell of freshly made food sizzling at street-side stalls.
광장 시장 • Jongno 5-ga subway (line 1)
One section of Dongdaemun that is particularly popular with foreigners is Gwangjang market, a salty offshoot to the northwest, and one of Seoul’s most idiosyncratic places to eat in the evening – most people favour mung-bean pancakes and rice beer, but there’s all sorts of weird stuff available too, so just look for something tasty and point. During the daytime, it’s also the best place in Seoul to buy second-hand clothes.
동대문 디자인 플라자 • Complex daily 24hr • Most exhibitions around W8000 • Museum daily 9am–6pm • Free • ddp.or.kr • Dongdaemun History & Culture Park subway (lines 2, 4 & 5)
The most notable sight in the Dongdaemun area is the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, a collection of futuristic buildings and grassy walking areas. Opened in 2014 and colloquially referred to as the “DDP”, this gargantuan city project was created to give Seoul a new, futuristic look, and provide some much-needed parkland to its citizens. It sits on the site of the former Dongdaemun Stadium, which was built in 1926 and hosted major football and baseball matches, including the first-ever Korean league games for both sports. It also saw some action during the Olympic Games in 1988, but this event (as well as the World Cup in 2002) saw Korea building larger and better facilities elsewhere, and the stadium fell into disrepair. Following the turn of the millennium, it was used as a flea market, selling mostly army surplus clothing, secondhand T-shirts and Chinese sex toys, and was finally torn down in 2008 to make way for the DDP.
Iraq-born architect Zaha Hadid won the tender for the new plaza with a design said to echo plumes of smoke – it was then altered slightly to its present shape, which resembles a high-heeled shoe. The reason for this change was the discovery of thousands of dynastic relics found in the earth; construction was delayed for more than a year, and a small museum was added to display some of the excavated treasures. In addition, there’s a café or two and a couple of gallery and exhibition spaces, though overall the complex seems a little overlarge and underused – perhaps, with more ambition, it will become a place of genuine tourist interest.