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Gangnam Night Streets

Seoul

Photo: 최광모 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Night walk2h

The back streets around Gangnam Station after dark: Seocho-daero 75-gil and 77-gil on the west side, Teheran-ro 1-gil on the east, and short walks from exits 10 and 11 along Gangnam-daero. Plus Garosu-gil in Sinsa-dong and the Banpo Bridge fountain with Sevit Island on the Han River. Starfield Library and Bongeunsa Temple are pinned for the daytime.

  • Banpo Bridge Moonlight Rainbow Fountain: 2026 show times

    Runs 15 March to the end of October, 20 minutes per show. March to May and October: 12:00, 19:30, 20:00, 20:30, 21:00. June to September: the same plus 21:30. No show in wind over 7 m/s, when rain is forecast during show hours, or when the river is muddy; extra shows are added for events.

    Seoul Hangang Park official timetable for 2026. Checked October 2026; the 2027 table is published each March.
  • Naver Map is more accurate for navigation in Korea. Each location has the link.
Open in Google Maps ↗
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✨ About this walk

🌃 Gangnam Station is where office Seoul lets its hair down. The main road is all towers and screens, but behind it is a dense grid of restaurants, bars, karaoke rooms and late shops that fills up the moment work ends. I have picked out the three back streets worth walking after dark and two short strolls from the station exits.

There is no single route here. Wander the streets in any order, cross Gangnam-daero through the station and compare the two sides. Two hours covers it with a meal.

🚶 The route

  1. West side, Seocho-daero 77-gil and 75-gil: the main nightlife lanes behind the station, 0.6 km and 0.5 km of restaurants and pubs with queues from early evening.
  2. East side, Teheran-ro 1-gil and its branch: the quieter office-worker lanes from Gangnam-daero 102-gil up to Teheran-ro, with grill houses and bars.
  3. Gangnam Station exit 10, north along Gangnam-daero to the Kakao Friends flagship store, 0.3 km with the whole street lit by screens.
  4. Exit 11 to CGV Gangnam, the site of the old Dong-A Theatre, 0.4 km the other way.
  5. Pinned for daytime: Starfield Library in COEX mall and Bongeunsa temple opposite it, both at Samseong Station, two stops east on line 2.
  6. Garosu-gil, 1 km from Sinsa Station exit 8: 250 m along Dosan-daero, then the 700 m avenue of ginkgo trees north to Apgujeong-ro, flagship stores on the street and the quieter boutiques in the side lanes. Best in the late afternoon, yellow in early November.
  7. Banpo Bridge Moonlight Rainbow Fountain and Sevit Island: 15 min from Express Bus Terminal Station exit 8-1 through the underpass to Banpo Hangang Park. Watch the 19:30 or 20:00 show from the lawn, then walk over to the lit floating islands for the close-up view.

💡 Good to know

  • 🚇 Getting there: Gangnam Station, line 2 and the Sinbundang line. Exits 10 and 11 are on the west side; the station passage crosses under the road.
  • 🌉 Make an evening of it: Garosu-gil at 17:00, the Sinbundang line one stop from Sinsa to Gangnam for dinner in the back streets, then line 9 or a taxi to Banpo Hangang Park for the 20:30 or 21:00 fountain show.
  • ⏰ Restaurants serve until late and many bars go on past midnight. Line 2 runs until about midnight; the taxi ranks get long after that.
  • ⏰ Weeknights are busy from 7 pm with office workers; weekend crowds are younger and later.
  • ⏰ Starfield Library and Bongeunsa are free and best in the morning, before the evening walk.
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