Noah’s map of Hoehyeon Station’s seven exits, drawn as boxes: Exit 5 for Kalguksu Alley and Sungnyemun, Exit 7 for Shinsegae and the Money Museum

On the morning of Tuesday 24 November, Noah draws seven boxes on a fresh page of his notebook at the desk in his accommodation. Noah is twenty, from Canada, and he draws a map of every place he walks for the first time, then adds the times too. He calls these “time maps”, and today’s will be his seventh. This time he has decided to draw neither buildings nor streets, but the exits of a subway station, one to a box. One box is one exit, and in each box he plans to write what is close to that exit and when it opens.

There is a reason for that choice. One day earlier on this trip, Noah got off at Hoehyeon Station to see Kalguksu Alley in Namdaemun Market, named after kalguksu, Korean noodle soup. That day he climbed the stairs nearest to where he stood on the platform and came out of Exit 1. Only after opening the map on his phone did he realise he had surfaced at the opposite end of the station from Exit 5, the exit for Kalguksu Alley. All that went into his notebook that day was one short line: “1 — not 5”.

The Cue — At a glance

Exit 5 is the one for Namdaemun Market’s Kalguksu Alley and Braised Hairtail Alley, Sungnyemun and Namdaemun Underground Shopping Center. Exit 7 leads straight into the food floor of Shinsegae’s main store, and also takes you to the Bank of Korea Money Museum and Hoehyeon Underground Shopping Center. Exit 1 leads into Hoehyeon Underground Shopping Center (towards Woori Bank). Exit 4 takes you up via Toegye-ro and Sopa-ro towards Baekbeom Square on Namsan, the wooded mountain in central Seoul. Namdaemun Market itself is a five-minute walk from Exits 5, 6 and 7, and the market’s “Gate 5” by Kalguksu Alley is a number the market gave itself, not the same number as subway Exit 5.

Hoehyeon’s exits come in two groups — 1, 2, 6 and 7 at the Myeongdong end, 3, 4 and 5 at the Seoul Station end

Hoehyeon Station has seven exits, numbered 1 to 7, split into two groups at either end of the platform. Open the station map and you find Exits 1 and 7 and Exits 2 and 6 gathered at the Myeongdong end, and Exit 3 and Exits 4 and 5 at the Seoul Station end. So which group of exits you come out of depends on which end you walk to after leaving the train. Exit 5, for Kalguksu Alley and Sungnyemun, is at the Seoul Station end, and Exit 7, which leads into Shinsegae’s main store, is at the Myeongdong end. Before you start looking for stairs on the platform, decide which end your exit is at.

Open in Kakao Map — Hoehyeon Station

At half past nine, Noah steps off the train at Hoehyeon Station. The platform here is on B4, with concourses above it on B1 and B2. Last time, he climbed the stairs nearest to where he got off and came out at Exit 1, at the Myeongdong end. This time, before leaving the platform, he opens the station map saved on his phone and walks towards the Seoul Station end. In a station that starts four floors underground, coming up at the wrong end means an equally long walk back.

On the left of Noah’s notebook page are four boxes, and on the right three. In the left-hand boxes he has written the pairs 1 and 7, then 2 and 6, from the top, and on the right, 3, then 4 and 5. He has copied them exactly as they are paired on the station map. Between the two groups he rules one long horizontal line and writes “Platform B4” above it. Remembering last time’s mistake, he adds a small question mark beside box 1, at the top of the left-hand group.

If you are only going to Namdaemun Market, any of three exits will do. The market is a five-minute walk from Exits 5, 6 and 7 of Hoehyeon Station on Line 4. Its address is 21 Namdaemunsijang 4-gil, Jung-gu, and if you pin this address in your phone map, it is easy to get your bearings whichever exit you use. Which exit suits you best still depends on which alley of the market you are heading for, though, so if you already have a place in mind, check the exit-by-exit sections below first. Noah draws one big circle round boxes 5, 6 and 7 together and writes “Market 5 min” inside it.

He also notes what the station’s name means in a corner of the map. The name Hoehyeon-dong was first given in the reign of King Gojong, late in the Joseon dynasty. The old name, Hohyeon-dong (好賢洞), shifted in sound, and because worthy men such as Jeong Gwang-pil and Kim Sang-heon and his brother lived here together in the Joseon era, the neighbourhood came to be called Hoehyeon-dong (會賢洞). Noah writes “會賢 — where the worthy gather”, adds to himself that today it is where the exits gather, and smiles. The station number, “425”, goes in the title space above the seven boxes.

Exit numbers and the market’s gate numbers are different — the market’s “Gate 5” is the market’s own number

The most confusing thing at Hoehyeon is that there are two sets of numbers. The subway exits are numbered 1 to 7, and the entrances to Namdaemun Market have their own numbers, given by the market. The market calls these entrances gates, and it uses the same numbers to point you to its facilities, as in “Gate 5” or “the Gate 2 alley”. Subway Exit 5 and the market’s Gate 5 share only the digit, and they are different numbers. When you ask the way, say first whether your “5” is the station’s number or the market’s, and nobody gets confused.

At this point, Noah shifts his grip on his pencil. He decides to draw subway exits as squares and market gates as circles. Even when a square and a circle hold the same number, the different shapes show at a glance that they are different numbers. The “1 — not 5” he wrote last time was, in fact, about two squares. From today, every market number on Noah’s maps goes inside a circle.

There are a few circles worth knowing before you go into the market. The market’s information booths are in front of Gate 5 and Gate 3. The foreigners’ community lounge is on the 3rd floor of the Dongwoo Building, in the Gate 2 alley. It offers market and tourist information, luggage-related services and Wi-Fi, with hanbok try-on and refreshments free of charge, and it is closed on the days of Seollal (Lunar New Year) and Chuseok. On a day with lots of bags, note the lounge’s spot next to its circle in your notebook.

Knowing how big the market is helps explain why it needs numbers. Namdaemun Market has about 10,172 shops, and 300,000 people visit every day. Of those, 10,000 a day are visitors from abroad. In a market this size, “near Gate such-and-such” is the quickest way to give directions. Under his circles, Noah writes “10,172”, and thinks the number is so big it makes his seven boxes look a little small.

Looking for food near Exit 5 — Kalguksu Alley is through the market’s Gate 5 arch, on the left

If you are looking for somewhere to eat near Hoehyeon Station Exit 5, start with Kalguksu Alley. Go through the arch that marks the market’s Gate 5, walk a little way, and Kalguksu Alley appears on your left. There are shops on both sides of the alley, with the middle left clear so people can walk through. The address is 42-1 Namdaemunsijang 4-gil, Jung-gu, and it is open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Even if you get off at Hoehyeon early in the morning, the alley is already open.

At 9:40, Noah comes out of Exit 5 and walks towards the market. The day’s first arrow leaves box 5, in the right-hand group. Past the market’s Gate 5 arch, Noah slows down and looks to his left. The route that last time had him going a long way round with his eyes on his phone map takes, today, just one square and one circle. At the end of the arrow, Noah writes “Kalguksu 06:00–21:00”.

From the outside, Kalguksu Alley looks like a single building. That is because it has makeshift doors to keep out the wind, and once you step inside, a roof keeps the rain off. It really is an alley, though, and people pass through under the roof. The alley’s history goes back at least 60 years. Noah draws a short roof-shaped line over the end of the arrow and writes “60+” under it.

The menu includes kalguksu, sujebi (hand-torn dough soup), janchi guksu (noodles in a light broth), yeolmu naengmyeon (cold noodles with young radish greens), chalbap (sticky rice) and barley bibimbap. The alley has one fun custom of giving a little extra. Order kalguksu and a taste of naengmyeon comes with it, and order naengmyeon and a taste of kalguksu comes with it. Order barley bibimbap and you are given a taste of naengmyeon or kalguksu as well, to try. Whatever you order, getting to taste one more dish alongside it is what makes this alley different.

Remembering this at the mouth of the alley, Noah laughs out loud. Order one bowl and two tastes arrive, which is like one arrow with two destinations attached. Noah splits the end of his arrow slightly into two prongs. As it is still morning, he only takes one lap of the alley and leaves a star beside its name. It marks a place to come back to once today’s map is finished.

Near Kalguksu Alley there is also Braised Hairtail Alley. It is another food alley inside the market, 40 years old, and it is open from 3 a.m. to 9 p.m. True to a market that starts its day early, both alleys open before the November sun is up. Next to the arrow from box 5, Noah draws one more short arrow and writes “Hairtail 03:00–21:00”. With two arrows running side by side from one exit, box 5 becomes the busiest square on today’s map.

Sungnyemun is Exit 5 too — where the market begins, closed on Mondays

To get to Sungnyemun, come out of Hoehyeon Station Exit 5. Sungnyemun is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. all year round, January to December, and last entry is at 5:55 p.m., so if you are going late in the afternoon, plan around that time. It is closed on Mondays. When a Monday is a public holiday or a substitute holiday, it opens, and closes instead on the first non-holiday after. If you plan to combine the market and Sungnyemun on the same day, just avoid Mondays.

At 10:20, Noah leaves the market lanes and walks towards Sungnyemun. Namdaemun Market is a market whose shops spread out from Sungnyemun, so Sungnyemun is something like its starting point. Noah draws a third arrow from box 5 and writes “Sungnyemun 09:00–18:00 / closed Mon” at its end. He underlines the last entry time, “17:55”, twice. He remembers mixing up last entry and closing time at the museum three days ago.

You can also walk from the Seoul Station side. From Exit 4 of Seoul Station on Lines 1 and 4, Sungnyemun is a 10-minute walk. If you arrive at Seoul Station, you can walk straight to Sungnyemun without changing trains for Hoehyeon. Outside the right-hand group, Noah draws a small arrow coming in from the Seoul Station side. It is the first arrow on today’s map to come in from outside Hoehyeon’s seven boxes.

Namdaemun Underground Shopping Center, off Exit 5 — the passage stays open after the shops close

Hoehyeon Station Exit 5 also leads into Namdaemun Underground Shopping Center. It lies under the middle of Namdaemun-ro, behind Shinsegae Department Store and the Namdaemun Sangga arcade. You can also get in from in front of Sungnyemun. The shops are open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., and the passage from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. The shops close on the second and fourth Sundays.

At 10:50, Noah goes down into the underground shopping centre from in front of Sungnyemun. The first thing he writes down is not the shop hours but the passage hours. It means the passage stays open for another hour after the shops close. Under box 5, Noah rules a short line going down underground and writes “Shops 09–22 / passage 05–23” on two lines. Today is a Tuesday, so closing days are no worry, but he adds “2nd & 4th Sun” beside it as well.

You can reach this shopping centre from other stations too. Exit 7 of City Hall Station on Line 1 and Exit 8 of City Hall Station on Line 2 (towards Sungnyemun) also lead to Namdaemun Underground Shopping Center. The address is 14 Namdaemun-ro (underground), Jung-gu. After Seoul Station, Noah writes down City Hall Station too. With two arrows now outside the boxes, the space round the right-hand group starts to get a little crowded.

Out of Exit 7 — straight into the food floor of Shinsegae’s main store

For Shinsegae Department Store’s main store, use Hoehyeon Station Exit 7. Exit 7 leads straight into the main store’s food floor. The department store opens at 10:30 a.m., so its day starts later than that of Kalguksu Alley or Braised Hairtail Alley, which open in the small hours. So if you get off at Hoehyeon early in the morning, the natural order is to walk the market on the Exit 5 side first, then move over to the Exit 7 side after 10:30. In November, the store is closed on Monday the 30th, so keep the Exit 7 side out of your plans that day.

At 11:10, Noah comes back up to street level and walks over to the Myeongdong end, where Exit 7 is. The department store has already been open since 10:30. Noah draws the first arrow from box 7 in the left-hand group and writes “Food floor 10:30” at its end. Then he notices that the box right next to it is box 1, where he came out by mistake last time, and he chuckles. The Myeongdong end was exactly where Noah came out that day.

If you come by bus, it helps to remember the name of the stop. The stop to get off at on the Shinsegae main store side is called “Namdaemun Market.Hoehyeon Station” (남대문시장.회현역). With the station’s name and the market’s name side by side in one stop name, it is easy to remember, too. Outside box 7, Noah draws a small square shaped like a bus and writes the stop’s name inside it. It is the only square on today’s map for a vehicle other than the subway.

Exit 7 for the Bank of Korea Money Museum too — “Exit 7” from all three stations

For the Bank of Korea Money Museum, too, take Hoehyeon Station Exit 7. The address is 39 Namdaemun-ro (Namdaemun-ro 3-ga), Jung-gu. The interesting thing is that the exit number is 7 from other stations as well. City Hall Station on Lines 1 and 2 is Exit 7, Euljiro 1-ga Station on Line 2 is Exit 7 (towards Lotte Department Store), and Hoehyeon Station on Line 4 is Exit 7. Starting from Hoehyeon, City Hall or Euljiro 1-ga, you only need to remember one exit for the Money Museum: Exit 7.

Reading these directions, Noah taps the three numbers one after another with his finger. “All three stations are 7.” Noah draws a second arrow from box 7 and writes “Money Museum 7·7·7” at its end. He decides to give the inside of the museum a page of its own on another day, and today walks only as far as the front of the building. With two arrows now leaving box 7, the left-hand group starts to get as busy as the right.

Hoehyeon Underground Shopping Center, off Exits 1 and 7 — an escalator from Myeongdong Station Exit 5 to the Hoehyeon arcade’s entrance 4

Hoehyeon Underground Shopping Center connects to Hoehyeon Station Exit 1 (towards Woori Bank) and Exit 7 (towards Shinsegae). It sits on the route between Myeongdong and Namdaemun Market and is linked to Shinsegae Department Store and the buildings around it. From Exit 5 of Myeongdong Station on Line 4, an escalator runs to the Hoehyeon arcade’s entrance 4. The address is 58 Sogong-ro (underground), Jung-gu. On a day when you are spending time around Myeongdong and then crossing to Namdaemun Market, try using this shopping centre as your way through.

The shops are open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., and the passage from 5 a.m. to midnight. It is closed on the first and third Sundays of every month. Namdaemun Underground Shopping Center closes on the second and fourth Sundays, so the two underground shopping centres close on alternate Sundays. In November 2026, Hoehyeon Underground Shopping Center is closed on the 1st and the 15th, and Namdaemun Underground Shopping Center on the 8th and the 22nd. If you want to walk through both on a Sunday, first count which Sunday of the month it is.

At noon, standing at a fork in the shopping centre’s passage, Noah counts the Sundays under his breath. “First and third, this one. Second and fourth, that one.” Then, at last, he draws an arrow beside the question mark in box 1. At its end goes “Hoehyeon Underground 09–22 / passage 05–24”, and a third arrow leaves box 7 for the same place. The exit he came out of by mistake last time now has somewhere to go, and the question mark no longer marks the box where he went wrong.

Out of Exit 4 — from Toegye-ro into Sopa-ro, to Baekbeom Square on Namsan

To head up towards Namsan, come out of Hoehyeon Station Exit 4. From Exit 4, walk along Toegye-ro towards Sungnyemun, turn into Sopa-ro, and you reach Baekbeom Square. Exit 4 is paired with Exit 5 at the same Seoul Station end, so on the platform you walk to the same end as you would for Kalguksu Alley. If you want to carry on up to Namsan on a day you have looked round the market, remember this pair.

At 1 p.m., Noah comes out of Exit 4 and walks along Toegye-ro. As he turns into Sopa-ro, the road begins to climb towards Namsan, and Noah pauses to catch his breath and smiles. He sends a long arrow upwards from box 4 and writes “Baekbeom Square — Toegye-ro, Sopa-ro” at its end. It is the only arrow from the right-hand group that heads away from the market and Sungnyemun. Though they are a pair at the same end, the arrows from 4 and 5 point in exactly opposite directions.

If you are heading for the Namsan Cable Car, Myeongdong Station suits you better than Hoehyeon. From Myeongdong Station Exit 3, it is a 10-minute walk towards the Namsan Cable Car. At the far left of the map, beyond the Myeongdong end, Noah writes “Cable car — Myeongdong Stn 3” in small letters. Even neighbouring stations on the same Line 4 number their exits separately, so remember an exit number together with its station’s name. Noah, too, labels the Myeongdong numbers with the station’s name instead of a square.

What to find inside the station — lifts drawn by Exits 1 and 7 and by Exits 4 and 5, toilets on B2

On a day with luggage, it helps to know where the station’s facilities are in advance. The station map shows lifts by Exits 1 and 7 and by Exits 4 and 5. On the Exit 4 and 5 side, the map also shows one lift running from B1 down to the platform on B4. The platform is on B4, so if you are pulling a big suitcase, look for that one first. The station also has escalators, lockers, accessible toilets, ATMs, photo booths and portable safety footboards.

The customer safety office is on B1 at the Seoul Station end, in other words on the side of Exits 3, 4 and 5. The toilets are on B2 at the Seoul Station end. There are places to buy tickets and top up transport cards at both ends of B1. The customer safety office’s number is 02-6110-4251, and if you lose something, contact the lost property centre at Chungmuro Station (02-6110-3344). The Seoul Metro call centre is on 1577-1234.

At 3 p.m., Noah comes back down into the station and stands in front of the big station map in the B1 concourse. This time he can see the same map as the one on his phone, at full size. Touching the lift symbols one by one with his finger, he draws small vertical bars beside boxes 1 and 7 and boxes 4 and 5 in his notebook. Under the right-hand group he writes “WC B2”. Now that he knows the toilets are under the market-side group, the right-hand group looks even more like a good starting point for the day.

The seventh time map — arrows from four exits

At half past three, Noah sits on a bench on the platform and looks over today’s map from the start. Four arrows have left box 5, in the right-hand group: Kalguksu Alley, Braised Hairtail Alley, Sungnyemun and Namdaemun Underground Shopping Center. Three have left box 7, in the left-hand group: the food floor of Shinsegae’s main store, the Money Museum and Hoehyeon Underground Shopping Center.

Box 1 has one arrow, to Hoehyeon Underground Shopping Center, and box 4 has one arrow, climbing to Baekbeom Square. Comparing the places where he has written opening times, Noah sees that the map is a map of exits and a timetable for the day at once. The early times are gathered on the right, and the department store, which opens later, is on the left. The order shows plainly on the map: come early in the morning and start with the right-hand group, come late in the morning and start with the left. At the very bottom of the map, Noah adds one more line: “Morning → 5 / after 10:30 → 7”.

Noah photographs the map with his phone. At the very back of his notebook, the time map Hina gave him in Ttukseom on Halloween night is still tucked in. Under the photo, Noah writes a short message and sends it. “Today I drew the exits as boxes. Box 1, where I came out the wrong way last time, has an arrow now too.” After sending it, Noah does not rub out the question mark in box 1, and leaves it where it is.

Common Mistakes

• 01

  Taking subway Exit 5 and the market’s Gate 5 for the same thing

  the market’s gate numbers are its own. Kalguksu Alley is through the market’s “Gate 5” arch, on the left.

• 02

  Climbing the stairs nearest you on the platform

  Exits 1, 2, 6 and 7 are at the Myeongdong end, Exits 3, 4 and 5 at the Seoul Station end. The platform is on B4, so coming up at the wrong end means a long way back.

• 03

  Looking for the Namsan Cable Car from Hoehyeon Station

  Hoehyeon Station Exit 4 is for Baekbeom Square. For the cable car, walk 10 minutes from Myeongdong Station Exit 3.

• 04

  Going to Sungnyemun on a Monday

  it is closed on Mondays. When a Monday is a public or substitute holiday it opens, and closes on the first non-holiday after.

• 05

  Planning both underground shopping centres on a Sunday and finding one closed

  Hoehyeon Underground Shopping Center closes on the 1st and 3rd Sundays, Namdaemun Underground Shopping Center on the 2nd and 4th.

• 06

  Going to Shinsegae’s main store on Monday 30 November

  it is the store’s closing day in November 2026.

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