KOREA ON CUE · ISSUE 08 · NAMDAEMUN

From Seoul Station to Namdaemun and Myeongdong

From Seoul Station, follow the former overpass on foot toward Sungnyemun. Namdaemun Market lies beyond the gate; a former stone bank and Myeongdong Cathedral are farther east.

Read the first story
The front of an old city gate: an arched opening in a stone base, with a two-storey wooden pavilion on top. No people. Editorial image.

Recommended reading order

  1. Seoullo 7017, the Road Above the Tracks01Seoullo 7017, the Road Above the TracksIn front of Seoul Station stood an overpass built for cars in 1970.SEOUL · 6 min read
  2. Sungnyemun Through Old Photographs02Sungnyemun Through Old PhotographsOld photographs show Sungnyemun with different walls on either side.SEOUL · 8 min read
  3. Namdaemun Market, where the day begins at night — Maya walks in from Sungnyemun and notes how the goods change from lane to lane — and how every building keeps its own opening hours03Namdaemun Market, where the day begins at nightNamdaemun Market has no single opening time for the whole market.SEOUL · 19 min read
  4. Bank of Korea Money Museum: walking into a 1912 bank for free — Lulu walks over from Namdaemun Market, past the granite front, and notes the English tour time and photo rules first — for the day she brings a friend from abroad04Bank of Korea Money Museum: walking into a 1912 bank for freeThe 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. The Bank of Korea Money Museum’s website says 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.SEOUL · 7 min read
  5. Myeongdong Cathedral: counting two colours of brick on the hill — Rina climbs up from Exit 8 of Myeongdong Station and looks, in turn, at a wall of red and grey brick and a nave 23 metres high05Myeongdong Cathedral: counting two colours of brick on the hillThe last part of “Namdaemun & Myeongdong.” The National Heritage Service describes Myeongdong Cathedral as Korea’s first church built of brick. The bricks were made in Korea, in some twenty shapes and two colours, red and grey. Rina has walked the streets of Myeongdong many times but has only ever seen the cathedral’s spire from below; this time she climbs the hill and starts with the bricks.SEOUL · 6 min read
  6. Namdaemun Market: One Line of Food Alleys, Starting with Kalguksu — Lulu walks in from Hoehyeon Station Exit 5, looks in on the long counters of the kalguksu alley, passes the braised-hairtail alley and 1414 BORN Market, and spends the day until dusk picking out a “line” to hand to a friend06Namdaemun Market: One Line of Food Alleys, Starting with KalguksuAn added piece in the Namdaemun and Myeongdong issue.SEOUL · 9 min read
  7. Myeongdong 8-gil: how to choose just one Korean beauty product — Mali starts at Exit 6 of Myeongdong Station on Line 4 and spends the afternoon narrowing a list of candidates down to the one product she takes home07Myeongdong 8-gil: how to choose just one Korean beauty productMali starts her shopping at Exit 6 of Myeongdong Station on Line 4.SCENE · 16 min read

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