Bukchon Hanok Village
Six hundred lived-in traditional houses, between the two royal palaces.
Duration
1 hr – 2 hrs
Best time
Early morning
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
Bukchon, the northern village, sits on the hill between Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung palaces. It was the quarter of the senior officials of the Joseon dynasty; the houses standing today mostly date from the 1930s, when the land was divided into small plots.
The difference from an open-air museum is simple: the six hundred hanok are lived in. People sleep there, and the city eventually put up quiet-hours signs and posted wardens in the street after years of complaints.
Getting there
Subway line 3, Anguk station, exit 2, then a ten-minute climb. The lanes are steep and cobbled.
Rules on site
These are lived-in houses: the main lane has posted visiting hours, you keep your voice down and cross no thresholds. The slopes are steep and the cobbles slippery when wet.
Other places in Seoul
- Gyeongbokgung PalaceThe great royal palace of the Joseon dynasty, and the changing of the guard twice a day.
- Gwangjang MarketThe country's oldest covered market, its mung bean pancakes and its beef tartare.
N Seoul TowerThe Namsan mountain tower, and the city through three hundred and sixty degrees.
- Demilitarised ZoneThe most closed border in the world, fifty kilometres from the capital.