The Great East Gate to Seoul’s City Wall has been rebuilt several times in its 700-year history and, after recent renovations, it's looking majestic. It's stranded in a traffic island, so it’s not possible to enter inside the gate, but there are good photo ops from Dongdaemun Seonggwak Park to the north, which is also where you'll find the City Wall Museum and a trail following the City Wall up to Naksan Park and Ihwa Mural Village.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
1.86 MILES
Like a phoenix, Seoul’s premier palace has risen several times from the ashes of destruction. Hordes of tourists have replaced the thousands of government…
1.17 MILES
The World Heritage–listed Changdeokgung is the most beautiful of Seoul's five main palaces. You must join a one-hour guided tour to look around. English…
2.35 MILES
Amid the celebrity-owned apartments on the leafy southern slope of Namsan is Korea's premier art gallery. Beautifully designed and laid-out, it balances…
20.27 MILES
The World Heritage–listed fortress wall that encloses the original town of Suwon is what brings most travellers to the city. Snaking up and down Paldal…
1.95 MILES
One of Seoul's five grand palaces built during the Joseon dynasty, Deoksugung (meaning Palace of Virtuous Longevity) is the only one you can visit in the…
3.65 MILES
This vast and imposing concrete slab of a museum takes visitors on a fascinating journey through Korea's past from prehistory all the way to the Korean…
8.43 MILES
Granite-peak-studded Bukhansan National Park's sweeping mountaintop vistas, maple leaves, rushing streams and remote temples draw over 5 million hikers…
2.97 MILES
This huge museum documents the history of the Korean War (1950–53) using multimedia exhibits and black-and-white documentary footage, along with artefacts…
Nearby attractions
0.13 MILES
With interactive displays and historical artefacts, this modern museum offers an engaging history of the 18.6km-long barrier that has girdled Seoul since…
2. Dongdaemun Stadium Memorial
0.21 MILES
Forming part of the Dongdaemun History and Culture Park, this engaging museum relives key moments from the former stadium’s history. Built by the Japanese…
0.26 MILES
Attached to the DDP, this museum makes up a part of the Dongdaemun History and Culture Park and features archaeological remains from the Joseon dynasty…
4. Dongdaemun Design Plaza & Park
0.36 MILES
Designed by the late Zaha Hadid, this neofuturistic cultural complex was commissioned to replace the Dongdaemun Stadium, built during Japanese rule in the…
0.44 MILES
High on the slopes of Naksan is one of the city's old daldongnae (literally ‘moon villages’) where refugees lived in shacks after the Korean War. Sixty…
0.46 MILES
The 'southeast gate' of Seoul's fortress wall, Gwanghuimun is far smaller and more modest than Heunginjimun. It was rebuilt in 1976.
7. Kyungdong Presbyterian Church
0.57 MILES
Built in 1981, this fortress-like red-brick church was designed by Kim Swoo Geun, one of Korea's most acclaimed post-war architects, who also designed the…
0.66 MILES
One of Seoul’s quirkier private collections makes for a surprisingly absorbing exhibition. It focuses on the artistry of locks, latches and keys of all…