Must-see attractions in Seoul

  • Deoksugung Palace in Korea .

    Deoksugung

    Myeong-dong & Jung-gu

    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…

  • National Museum of Korea at night

    National Museum of Korea

    Itaewon & Yongsan-gu

    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…

  • Olympic Park with pond and ducks in foreground.

    Olympic Park

    Gangnam & Southern Seoul

    This large and pleasant park was the focus of the 1988 Olympics. Strolling its paths takes you past its stadiums surrounded by plenty of greenery, ponds…

  • Detail of ROK Airforce plane outside War Memorial and Museum, north of river.

    War Memorial of Korea

    Itaewon & Yongsan-gu

    This huge museum documents the history of the Korean War (1950–53) using multimedia exhibits and black-and-white documentary footage, along with artefacts…

  • Magic Hour of Bongeunsa Temple in Gangnam, Seoul

    Bongeun-sa

    Gangnam & Southern Seoul

    Located in the heart of ritzy Gangnam, the shrines and halls of the Buddhist temple Bongeun-sa, with its tree-filled hillside location, stand in direct…

  • Building in Namsangol Hanok Village, Myong-dong.

    Namsangol Hanok Village

    Myeong-dong & Jung-gu

    Located in a park at the foot of Namsan, this peaceful village is a wonderful spot to encounter traditional Korean culture. It features five differing…

  • Noryangjin Fish Market

    Seoul

    Providing terrific photo opportunities, Korea's largest fish market supplies every kind of aquatic life form to restaurants, fish shops and the general…

  • Namdaemun traditional market

    Namdaemun Market

    Myeong-dong & Jung-gu

    You could spend all day in this swarming night-and-day market and not see it at all. The largest market in Korea, each section has hundreds of stalls,…

  • Leeum Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea, Asia

    Leeum Samsung Museum of Art

    Itaewon & Yongsan-gu

    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…

  • Seoul City and N Seoul Tower, South Korea

    N Seoul Tower & Namsan

    Myeong-dong & Jung-gu

    The iconic N Seoul tower (236m), atop the city’s guardian mountain Namsan, offers panoramic views of this immense metropolis from its observation deck…

  • View of Tangent building

    Tangent

    Gangnam & Southern Seoul

    Hyundai Development Company commissioned Daniel Libeskind to work with Seoul-based firm Himma on its headquarters opposite COEX Mall. The result, Tangent,…

  • Lotte World

    Gangnam & Southern Seoul

    This huge complex includes an amusement park, an ice-skating rink, a cinema multiplex, a department store, a folk museum, a shopping mall, a hotel,…

  • Gyeongui Line Forest Park

    Seoul

    This 6.3km park, named for the former Gyeongui Line (on which it was built), is a narrow, long green space that runs along the discarded railroad tracks…

  • KT&G SangsangMadang

    Seoul

    Funded by Korea’s top tobacco company, this visually striking building is home to an art-house cinema, a concert space (hosting top indie bands) and…

  • Seokjojeon

    Myeong-dong & Jung-gu

    A good example of Deoksugung's potpourri of contrasting architectural styles, the grand neoclassical-style Seokjojeon was designed by British architect GR…

  • Seoullo 7017

    Myeong-dong & Jung-gu

    This overpass-turned-park is a green space in the heart of the city. About 24,000 plants are grown here, including various types of flowers and trees, all…

  • South Korea: Seoul City Hall

    Seoul City Hall

    Myeong-dong & Jung-gu

    Looking like a tsunami made of glass and steel, Seoul City Hall was completely redeveloped in 2013 and now is a major architectural attraction of the city…

  • Itaewon Bugundang History Park

    Itaewon Bugundang History Park

    Itaewon & Yongsan-gu

    Even longtime residents of Itaewon might be surprised if you tell them that it is indeed possible to find historical relics in the heart of the…

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    Namsan Park

    Myeong-dong & Jung-gu

    Beloved by locals as a place for exercise, peaceful contemplation and hanging out with loved ones, Namsan was a sacred shamanistic spot when the Joseon&hellip;

  • Myeong-dong Cathedral interior, Myong-dong.

    Myeong-dong Catholic Cathedral

    Myeong-dong & Jung-gu

    Go inside this elegant, red- and grey-brick Gothic-style cathedral, consecrated in 1898, to admire the vaulted ceiling and stained-glass windows. The&hellip;

  • Banpo bridge

    Some Sevit

    Gangnam & Southern Seoul

    At the south end of Banpo Bridge are these three artificial floating islands interconnected by walkways. Each features futuristic buildings in a complex&hellip;

  • Seonjeongneung

    Gangnam & Southern Seoul

    Seonjeongneung Park contains two main burial areas for kings and queens from the Joseon dynasty. The first tomb is for King Seongjong (r 1469&ndash;94), who was&hellip;

  • Lotte World Tower

    Gangnam & Southern Seoul

    Completed in early 2017, Seoul's latest landmark is the 555m-high Lotte World Tower &ndash; the tallest skyscraper in Korea (and sixth highest in the world)&hellip;

  • SMTown coexartium

    Gangnam & Southern Seoul

    This five-level interactive shrine to K-Pop in the COEX Mall has already become a pilgrimage hot spot for fans since opening in 2018. The photo hall is&hellip;

  • Gyeongui Line Book Street

    Seoul

    This extension of the Gyeongui Line Forest Park is a book-themed pathway of bookshops housed in train-carriage-like containers. The street commemorates&hellip;

  • Seoul Arts Center

    Gangnam & Southern Seoul

    As well as being home to Seoul's premier concert halls, this art centre also has three art galleries. Seoul Calligraphy Museum is devoted to hand-drawn&hellip;

  • Jeoldusan Martyrs' Shrine

    Seoul

    Jeoldusan means &lsquo;Beheading Hill&rsquo; &ndash; this is where up to 2000 Korean Catholics were executed in 1866 following a royal decree, most thrown off the high&hellip;

  • War & Women's Human Rights Museum

    Seoul

    In Korea the survivors of sexual slavery by the Japanese military during WWII (known euphemistically as 'comfort women') are respectfully called halmoni &hellip;

  • Football Faentasium

    Seoul

    This interactive museum at the World Cup Stadium & Mall is a must for football fans, despite the steep admission fee. Korean football history and its&hellip;

  • National Assembly

    Seoul

    Home to South Korea&rsquo;s parliament since 1975, the pleasant grounds here with a fountain and an elaborate hanok (traditional wooden house; used for official&hellip;

  • Seoul Metropolitan Library

    Myeong-dong & Jung-gu

    Opened in 2012, the Seoul Metropolitan Library is within the original City Hall's Renaissance-style building, constructed in 1926, that's fronted by a&hellip;

  • Sungnyemun

    Myeong-dong & Jung-gu

    Standing alone on an island (in direct contrast to the mayhem around it), Seoul&rsquo;s picturesque Great South Gate, Sungnyemun, is one of the capital's&hellip;

  • Citizens Hall

    Myeong-dong & Jung-gu

    Head down to City Hall's basement to reach Citizens Hall, a multipurpose space with an interesting mix of multimedia art exhibitions, design shops and a&hellip;

  • Ewha Womans University

    Seoul

    Come to this venerable university, founded in 1886 by American Methodist missionary Mary Scranton, to view Dominique Perrault&rsquo;s stunning main entrance&hellip;

  • Mullae Arts Village

    Seoul

    Something very interesting is going on in Mullae-dong, a light-industrial area of the city packed with compact metalwork factories. Artists and designers&hellip;

  • Banpo Bridge Rainbow Fountain

    Gangnam & Southern Seoul

    Covered with 10,000 lights, the Banpo Bridge Rainbow Fountain's coloured water rains down in messy arcs from the double-decker Banpo Bridge. More&hellip;

  • Jeonggwanheon

    Myeong-dong & Jung-gu

    Within the Deoksugung complex, the interesting fusion-style pavilion Jeonggwanheon was designed by Russian architect Aleksey Seredin-Sabatin as a place&hellip;

  • Seoul Olympic Museum

    Gangnam & Southern Seoul

    Seoul's Olympic Museum has been completely updated as an interactive museum to not only show highlights of the 1988 Olympics but also the thrills of the&hellip;

  • Oil Tank Culture Park

    Seoul

    Originally built after Korea&rsquo;s first oil crisis in 1973 and reopened in 2017, this cultural centre is made up of five abandoned oil tanks. Planted in a&hellip;

  • Lotte World Adventure & Magic Island

    Gangnam & Southern Seoul

    Lotte World Adventure & Magic Island is a mainly indoor Korean version of Disneyland, complete with &lsquo;flying&rsquo; balloons, 3D films, laser and music shows,&hellip;

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