Where will you walk in Seoul?

Six minutes up from Anguk Station the alley becomes a hill. Three stops, walked a second time.

West of Gyeongbokgung below Inwangsan — a coin-lunch market, a stone bridge over a valley and a literature museum on the pass.

One more lap: the main street, Ssamziegil as it climbs, and the museum courtyard where the pace slows.

From Anguk Station past the Bukchon Cultural Center and up the Gahoe-dong lane, then back down.

Part two of “Seochon”. The stone bridge in Suseongdong Valley is the only single-slab stone bridge within the old city walls preserved in its original location and form, and the longest of the single-slab stone bridges within those walls. Noah, who reads distance and movement by eye, climbs from the market lanes to the foot of the mountain, facing the way the water comes down.

It is the place she said “let's go there first” last time. One alley off Insadong-gil there is a museum, and there is no admission charge.

Look out over Seoul from Namsan, then follow the wooded trail towards Huam-dong. Join Lulu and Maya for the views, with time to stop and enjoy the neighbourhood below.

Walk from Seoul Station toward Sungnyemun, Namdaemun Market and the streets leading to Myeongdong.

A new piece for “Namsan and the Neighbourhoods Below.” Construction of N Seoul Tower as a broadcasting tower began in 1969, and it opened to the public in 1980. The observation deck opens every day of the year, and adult admission is ₩29,000. Elena, who reads cities as scenes, climbs up to the tower that stands in the background of so many images of Seoul — and looks back at the city from the other side.

In front of Seoul Station stood an overpass built for cars in 1970. In 2017 it became Seoullo 7017, a walkway for people.

Namdaemun Market has no single opening time for the whole market. Maya arrives expecting the pre-dawn lights from a video she saved, and on a weekday walk through the lanes she learns that when you go depends on what you want to buy.

The fourth part of “Namdaemun & Myeongdong.” Eight minutes on foot from Namdaemun Market, the granite building on the main road is a former bank head office completed in 1912. It was the first building in Korea to have a lift. Admission is free, and it opens Tuesday to Sunday. Lulu, who is choosing where to take a friend visiting from abroad, checks the English tour time before anything else.

Start at Heunginjimun, follow the wall toward Naksan, then look beyond it to DDP and Gwangjang Market.

By Jegi-dong Station — the food lanes of Gyeongdong Market, with the old units asked again in grams.

The second part of “Jongno and Dongdaemun.” At the entrance to Heunginjimun Park, where the city wall meets the main road, some of the stones low in its outer face are carved with writing. They are called gakja seongseok — inscribed wall stones — and more of them are gathered beside Dongdaemun Seonggwak Park than anywhere else on the wall. The early ones name a section and a county; from Sukjong’s reign on, they name a supervisor, a builder and a date. Maya looks at the stones, then walks up to the Seoul City Wall Museum on the hill to read about the people who defended the wall.

Follow the city wall uphill to Naksan for a view over Seoul at dusk. Check the exhibition hall’s closing time before you set out.

A short walk south of Heunginjimun stands a building of silver curves.

The last part of “Jongno & Dongdaemun.” After Heunginjimun, the city wall and DDP, this time it is a market. In 1905 Korean merchants founded the Gwangjang Company to keep a market of their own. Today the busiest spot is the food market where three gates meet, and it stays open until 11 p.m. every day. But the general retail shops close at 6 p.m. and the vintage arcade upstairs at 7 p.m., both closed on Sundays, and hours at the hanbok and fabric shops vary from shop to shop. Lulu, who is bringing a friend visiting from abroad next week, realises that seeing only the Food Alley means missing half the market.

The national museum and a quiet room inside it, the war memorial nearby and an art museum on the Hannam hill — one place per piece.

Riverside parks from Yeouido to Banpo and Mangwon, and Seoul Forest upstream — how to reach the water and what is there.

By Noryangjin Station — a fish market read by weight and by count, then a meal upstairs.

Part two of “Yongsan.” The Room of Quiet Contemplation, on the 2nd floor of the National Museum of Korea’s Permanent Exhibition Hall, opened on 12 November 2021: a 439 m² gallery that shows two national-treasure pensive bodhisattva statues side by side. Before then, the pair had been shown together in a room of their own only three times. On her first visit Rina reached this room almost last, after every other floor. This time she comes for this one room.

In October the Banpo Bridge Moonlight Rainbow Fountain runs for 20 minutes at noon and at 7.30, 8, 8.30 and 9 p.m. To see the bridge that pours out water in every video she has saved, Maya walks down to the river from Express Bus Terminal Station and waits for the first evening show.

The third part of “Yongsan.” Yongsan Family Park opened on 5 November 1992 on land once taken up by a golf course. On Maya’s list of scenes was a picnic: a mat spread on a wide lawn and a packed lunch opened on it. But to protect wildlife, the park does not allow visitors to bring in food. So this time Maya takes the lunch out of the scene and chooses it again.

A temple beside the trade centre, a library under a 13-metre shelf, a tower lookout and an Olympic park — one place per piece.

By Nambu Bus Terminal Station — a whole building of figures and gacha, browsed from the top floor down.

Starfield Library is a free space on two levels at the centre of COEX Mall, open every day, 10:30–22:00. Walk in through the connecting passage towards Samseong Station Exits 5·6, via Millennium Plaza. Look up at the 13 m shelves from below, then down across the space from the upper floor. Leave time to sit at a table or browse the magazines and foreign-language books.

Part three of “Gangnam · Songpa.” Seoul Sky is an observatory at 500 metres, in Lotte World Tower: 123 floors and 555 metres tall. Noah, who reads streets and routes by eye, looks at a city from above rather than from the side for the first time — to see what a string of corners becomes when you rise high enough.

Part four of “Gangnam · Songpa.” At the heart of Olympic Park stands an earthen wall from the early Baekje period: Mongchontoseong Fortress. The National Heritage Service gives its circumference as about 2.7 km, while the park’s website gives the length of the wall as 2,285 m. On her first visit Rina saw the big gate and the lawn and went home. This time she walks through the gate and up onto the wall.

A new piece for Gangnam and Songpa. The Seoul Sky website lists its opening hours on a calendar by date. The October dates checked on 1 October 2026 closed at either 22:00 or 23:00. Ticket sales and entry end an hour before closing. Check the calendar for the day you go. Rina has been up once, in the middle of the day. This time she arrives before the sun goes down and stays until the lights are on.

Spend a day in Seongsu, from your first coffee to the evening light. Explore walking routes, outfits for a day on foot, and the café culture along the way.

Bring the muted colours and neat lines of an office romance to a day in Seoul. Choose shoes, a bag and fabrics around the forecast and your walking plans, then check that you can move comfortably.

You can feel comfortable outside and chilly once you sit down in a café. Look at how the season, your seat and the time you spend there may affect comfort, and how to prepare with a thin extra layer.

What would it take to enjoy the atmosphere of a drama café scene on your own trip? Look at the light and composition, then think through seating, ordering, travel time and clothes.

Uncomfortable shoes, extra shopping bags or a long queue can change your day. Prepare comfortable footwear and a light layer, and decide which stop you could skip if time runs short.

Your first walk through Seongsu may feel different from the photos you saved. Think about busy hours, walking distances, indoor comfort and the bags you will carry before planning the evening.