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Seven Historic Sites in Seoul: Hanyangdoseong, Two Gates and Four Places Inside the Wall

Seoul's old city wall, two of its gates and four places inside it, set out by how each relates to the wall, whether you can go in, and whether it is worth its own slot. Three of the seven are places you enter, and two of those three are free.

Updated Sep 8, 20263 min read

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A hall of Jongmyo Shrine in Seoul

These seven are Hanyangdoseong, two of its gates, and four places that remain inside the wall. The palaces are covered separately.

The order of the list follows the structure of the city wall. The wall came first, the two gates are openings in it, and the remaining four stand inside the line it drew.

Three are places you walk into, and two of those three charge nothing. The other four you walk, look at from outside, or pass through.

The Hanyangdoseong city wall seen from near the summit of Inwangsan, its crenellated line descending a pine-covered ridge to the right, with downtown Seoul's office towers and N Seoul Tower on Namsan beyond.
Hanyangdoseong — the wall descending the Inwangsan ridge
서울연구원 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0)
Sungnyemun Gate from the front: a two-tiered painted wooden pavilion resting on a granite arched gateway, the restored city wall running to either side and downtown high-rises behind.
Sungnyemun — the restored wall running a short way to either side
DoulosCore (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)
Heunginjimun Gate seen over its semicircular barbican: a loopholed brick parapet in front, the two-tiered pavilion rising behind it with the plaque reading 興仁之門 under the eaves, and pink azaleas flowering along the base of the wall.
Heunginjimun — the semicircular barbican wrapping the gate
Tom Page (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0)

There was a wall, and what is left of it are fragments

In 1395 Joseon raised a wall around its new capital. It was carried along the ridgelines of Baegaksan, Naksan, Namsan and Inwangsan, and the other six all stand on that line or inside it.

Time is only part of why the wall survives in fragments; the heritage register is the other part. Sungnyemun was made a National Treasure in December 1962, and Heunginjimun a Treasure the following January. The wall itself became a Historic Site on the same day as Heunginjimun, and that designation took in the gates, bastions, barbicans, beacon mounds and water gates as one heritage item together with the wall. What had been one structure was written down as three separate entries at designation, and later lists have followed that division ever since.

This is why Sungnyemun disappoints. Not because the gate is small, but because what it was attached to is gone. It now stands on an island ringed by roads, where the southern run of the city wall once parted. Heunginjimun kept a little more of what it was attached to: the crescent-shaped barbican wrapping its outer face is the only one built on any of the four great gates.

So the first three are not three places but three fragments of one. Walking the wall is the longest undertaking of the seven, and the two gates are the markers left where that line used to run.

Jongmyo, Unhyeongung and Namsangol compared

AttributeJongmyo ShrineUnhyeongungNamsangol Hanok Village
Adult admissionKRW 1,000FreeFree
ClosedTuesdaysMondaysMondays
How you visitTimed guided tour — check free-viewing daysWalk freelyWalk freely
Go whenYou want quietYou have 30 minutesYou want to see inside a hanok

Bukchon Hanok Village is a residential area, not an attraction

The four inside are each a different kind of thing — the state ancestral shrine (Jongmyo), the house a king lived in before the throne (Unhyeongung), hanok moved here and rebuilt (Namsangol), and a district people still live in (Bukchon).

Bukchon is the one that changes how you should visit. It is not an open-air museum but a district people live in, and the city and district office have designated the lanes around Bukchon-ro 11-gil a special management area with restricted hours for tourist visits; the grace period is over and fines are actually issued. If the goal is to see inside a hanok, Namsangol Hanok Village — where nobody lives — is built for exactly that.

In this list

  1. The Hanyangdoseong city wall seen from near the summit of Inwangsan, its crenellated line descending a pine-covered ridge to the right, with downtown Seoul's office towers and N Seoul Tower on Namsan beyond.
    Seoul

    Hanyangdoseong

    Not a single site but the wall that ringed the capital. Raised in 1395 along the ridges of Baegaksan, Naksan, Namsan and Inwangsan, so which stretch you walk changes both the views and how much you climb.

    Relation to the wall
    The wall itself
    Can you go in
    Walk a stretch of the wall
    Best for
    Choosing a stretch
    Worth its own slot?
    Yes

    not published by the operatorNot published by the operator

    See details

  2. Sungnyemun Gate from the front: a two-tiered painted wooden pavilion resting on a granite arched gateway, the restored city wall running to either side and downtown high-rises behind.
    Seoul

    Sungnyemun Gate

    The southern main gate. Now an island ringed by roads, though the southern run of the wall once parted here.

    Relation to the wall
    South gate — cut loose from the wall
    Can you go in
    From outside — a traffic island
    Best for
    Walking up from Seoul Station
    Worth its own slot?
    No

    See details

  3. Heunginjimun Gate seen over its semicircular barbican: a loopholed brick parapet in front, the two-tiered pavilion rising behind it with the plaque reading 興仁之門 under the eaves, and pink azaleas flowering along the base of the wall.
    Seoul

    Heunginjimun Gate

    The eastern gate. A crescent-shaped barbican wraps its outer face, the only one of the four great gates built with one.

    Relation to the wall
    East gate — its barbican survives
    Can you go in
    From outside — a traffic island
    Best for
    When you are at Dongdaemun
    Worth its own slot?
    No

    See details

  4. Jongmyo Shrine in Seoul
    Seoul

    Jongmyo Shrine

    The one World Heritage site among these seven, the shrine holding the spirit tablets of Joseon's kings and queens. It is far quieter than a palace, and part of it is seen on a guided route rather than wandered.

    Relation to the wall
    Inside the wall — the state shrine
    Can you go in
    Inside — partly guided
    Best for
    A quiet walk
    Worth its own slot?
    Yes

    Feb–May, Sep–Oct Sat·Sun·holidays 09:00–18:00 (last entry 17:00) · Jun–Aug Sat·Sun·holidays 09:00–18:30 (last entry 17:30) · Jan, Nov–Dec Sat·Sun·holidays 09:00–17:30 (last entry 16:30)Every Tue (open if it falls on a public holiday; closed the next weekday instead)₩1,000

    See details

  5. Unhyeongung's main gate, with the palace's name displayed on the wooden signboard
    Seoul

    Unhyeongung

    Called a palace, but a private residence rather than one. The shortest visit here, and central enough to drop between other plans.

    Relation to the wall
    Inside the wall — a home before the throne
    Can you go in
    Inside
    Best for
    A spare half hour
    Worth its own slot?
    No — on the way past

    Apr–Oct 09:00–19:00 (last entry 18:30) · Jan–Mar, Nov–Dec 09:00–18:00 (last entry 17:30) · Apr–Nov Fri 09:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30)Every Mon (open if it falls on a public holiday)Free

    See details

  6. Bukchon-ro 11-gil, the sloped hanok-lined street at Bukchon Hanok Village
    Seoul

    Bukchon Hanok Village

    A neighbourhood people live in, not an attraction. The hours visitors may enter are restricted by law, and there is a fine for ignoring them.

    Relation to the wall
    Inside the wall — a lived-in district
    Can you go in
    Pass through — time limits and a fine
    Best for
    On the way past
    Worth its own slot?
    No — on the way past

    See details

  7. A lane in Namsangol Hanok Village: a hanok on the left with weathered timber posts, latticed paper doors and a railed veranda, a wall of rounded stones set in mortar running along the right, and a sandy path passing between them under a clear sky above the tiled roofs.
    Seoul

    Namsangol Hanok Village

    Five hanok brought in from across Seoul and rebuilt. Unlike Bukchon nobody lives in them, so you can look inside the houses freely, and five of them take about half an hour.

    Relation to the wall
    Inside the wall — relocated hanok
    Can you go in
    Inside
    Best for
    Seeing inside a hanok
    Worth its own slot?
    Yes

    Apr–Oct 09:00–21:00 · Jan–Mar, Nov–Dec 09:00–20:00 · varies by shopEvery MonFree

    See details

Frequently asked questions

Where should I see history in Seoul apart from the palaces?

Jongmyo. It is the one World Heritage site among these seven and it backs onto Changdeokgung, so it attaches naturally to a palace day. Seeing where a king lived and then where a king is honoured puts the contrast in front of you.

Is Sungnyemun worth visiting?

Not as a destination of its own. It stands on a site ringed by roads, so you look at it from outside rather than going in, and a few minutes covers it. Seeing it while passing near Seoul Station or City Hall is the right way to fit it in.

Can I visit Bukchon Hanok Village at any time?

No. The lanes around Bukchon-ro 11-gil are a designated special management area with restricted hours for tourist visits, and a fine applies for ignoring them. The grace period has ended. If the point is to see inside a hanok, Namsangol Hanok Village — where nobody lives — is the better answer.

Where should I start on the city wall?

Walking the whole circuit is a full day. For a first walk the Naksan stretch is gentle and close to the centre; the Namsan stretch climbs more but pays for it in views. Pick the stretch first, then find that stretch's access points.

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