‹

Hanok Villages

Seoul

Photo: Bgag · CC0
Traditional2h

Cheong Wa Dae to Bukchon, Ikseon-dong and Insadong, ending at Ssamziegil. 5.1 km.

  • Bukchon Hanok Village visiting hours

    The busiest lane, Bukchon-ro 11-gil (the Gahoe-dong 31 alley on this route), is open to visitors 10:00–17:00 only. Outside those hours it is residents only and a ₩100,000 fine applies. The rest of Bukchon, its main streets and cafés, stays open.

    Jongno-gu special management area, enforced since March 2025. Checked October 2026.
  • Gyeongbokgung Royal Guard Changing Ceremony, 2027 timetable

    At the start of this walk, in the courtyard just inside Gwanghwamun Gate: the Royal Guard Changing Ceremony runs daily at 10:00 and 14:00 (about 20 minutes), and the shorter Gwanghwamun gate-guard duty at 11:00 and 13:00. No ceremonies on Tuesdays, when the palace is closed, and they are cancelled in heavy rain or snow. The courtyard is free; no palace ticket needed.

    Times unchanged for several years and expected to carry into 2027; confirm on the Korea Heritage Service royal palaces site before you go. Checked October 2026.
  • Naver Map is more accurate for navigation in Korea. Each location has the link.
Open in Google Maps ↗
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=14TBNrDcRMm9lNuEBH3QZbcEAg_mnuNU

✨ About this walk

🏯 This is the walk I give friends on their first day in Seoul. Jongno is the old heart of the city, laid out in 1394 between the palaces and the city wall, and in 5.1 km you get all three of its hanok quarters: Bukchon, where tiled roofs step down the hill between two palaces; Ikseon-dong, a 1920s block of tiny hanok that are now cafés; and Insadong, the street of galleries, tea houses and craft shops.

It is a daytime walk and mostly flat, apart from the climb into Bukchon. Two hours of walking, but take the whole day: there are palaces, markets and far too much good food along the way.

🚶 The route

  1. Cheong Wa Dae, the former presidential Blue House, if you have booked a visit; otherwise start at Gyeongbokgung's east gate. Walk east along Cheongwadae-ro to Samcheong-dong.
  2. Turn into the lane beside the Samcheong police box: rice-cake skewers at Pungnyeon Ssalnongsan, then the cafés and galleries around Jeongdok Library.
  3. Up into Bukchon Hanok Village: the Gahoe-dong 31 alley and the viewpoint on Bukchon-ro 12-gil, roofs in the foreground and Namsan behind. Morning is quietest. Back downhill to Anguk Station.
  4. East along Yulgok-ro and down Samil-daero to the Hyundai Trevian apartments; the lane beside them leads into Ikseon-dong's hanok street. Meals are in the grill alley, Donhwamun-ro 11ga-gil.
  5. Past Jongno 3-ga, where one lane fills with pojangmacha street-food tents after dark, and Tapgol Park.
  6. Insadong-gil from its south end to the top, ending at Ssamziegil, the spiral-ramp craft mall. Anguk Station is 250 m north.

💡 Good to know

  • 🚇 Getting there: Anguk Station (line 3) sits in the middle of the walk. Cheong Wa Dae visits need a free online reservation in advance.
  • 📍 Bukchon is a residential area with posted quiet hours. Stay on the marked lanes and keep voices down, especially around Gahoe-dong.
  • 🍜 Eat little and often: rice-cake skewers in Samcheong-dong, Ikseon-dong grills, Insadong tea houses. Gwangjang Market is a short hop from the end.
  • 📍 Extras pinned on the map: Gwanghwamun Square and the gate, Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung palaces, and Seosulla-gil, the café lane along the Jongmyo Shrine wall.
  • 📍 Hanbok rental shops cluster around Anguk; wearers enter the royal palaces free.
  • #Seoul
  • #Bukchon
  • #HanokVillage
  • #Ikseondong
  • #Insadong
  • #Jongno
  • #Hanbok
  • #SeoulPalaces
  • #KoreaTravel