Haebangchon late evening walk

✨ About this walk

🌆 Haebangchon, 'Liberation Village', is my favourite corner of Seoul after dark. Refugees from the north built it on the hillside between Namsan and Yongsan after 1945, and today its steep lanes hide a tiny roofed market full of Thai, Turkish and Korean kitchens, with rooftop bars looking out over the whole city.

This 2.4 km walk climbs 100 m from Huam-dong through Sinheung Market and the Sowol-ro viewpoints to the old city wall below Namsan. Set off an hour before sunset: dinner in the market, dusk on the rooftops, the lit wall to finish. Trust me on the order.

🚶 The route

1. Huam-dong bus terminus (village bus Yongsan 02): a short alley to the 108 Stairs, built in 1943 as the approach to a Japanese war shrine. Climb them or ride the inclined elevator beside them.
2. Up Sinheung-ro to the Sinheung Market sign, the classic photo. Do not go in yet: continue to the five-way junction and enter the market by the hidden stairs opposite Haebang Church.
3. Inside Sinheung Market: a loop through the alleys under the transparent roof, with restaurants on the ground and upper floors. Leave on the east side by Mega Coffee.
4. Back to the junction and into the alley between the 7-Eleven and the lottery shop. It climbs north-west to the Cliff rooftop bar, where the valley opens up.
5. Stairs up to Sowol-ro: the Soyo rest area viewpoint and the Comfort Seoul terrace, where the road runs at rooftop level above the cafés.
6. Cross Sowol-ro at Namsan Library and follow the Seoul City Wall, Namsan Tower on your right, to Baekbeom Square and the statue of Kim Koo. The lit wall path continues up Namsan from here.

💡 Good to know

• 🚇 Getting there: village bus Yongsan 02 from Seoul Station or Noksapyeong Station to the Huam-dong terminus, or a 15 min walk uphill from Seoul Station.
• 🍜 Dinner in the market: Pad Ka Pao for Thai on the second floor, Haebangchon Dak for herbal roast chicken, H5NG for neon American-Chinese. Mersin Kebab's tantuni and Haebang Wang Gopchang are a minute away. Haebang Park's rooftop café is where to wait out a queue and catch the sunset.
• 👟 The lanes are steep and some stairs are unlit; wear proper shoes. The village bus shares the narrow road, so step aside when it comes.
• 📍 From Baekbeom Square, Myeongdong Station is 15 min downhill, or keep climbing the wall path to N Seoul Tower, about 45 minutes.

• #Seoul
• #Haebangchon
• #HBC
• #SinheungMarket
• #Namsan
• #RooftopBar
• #EveningWalk
• #Itaewon
• #KoreaTravel