City: Jongno-gu
Top Things to do in Jongno-gu
10 Museums in Jongno-gu That You Shouldn't Miss
Seoul is the business and cultural hub of South Korea, where skyscrapers tower over Buddhist temples. Take it all in from the N Seoul Tower, built atop a peak in Namsan Park. The teahouses and shops of Insadong give you a taste of Korean flavor, which you can further experience with a visit to the grounds and museums of Gyeongbokgung. UNESCO World Heritage Site Changdeokgung Palace is a fine example of authentic ancient architecture.
Restaurants in Seoul
1. Hanbok Museum
2. Toykino Toy Museum
3. Gyeongbokgung Palace
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 10,654 reviews
The National Museum of Korea and the National Folk Museum are located on the grounds of this palace, built six centuries ago by the founder of the Chosun dynasty.
Reviewed By Krubee - Singapore, Singapore
At the heart of Seoul lies this ancient yet historically significant center of the Joseon dynasty - the Eternal, Grand, Beautiful and Enchanting Gyeongbokgung Palace, the largest and grandest of the 5 palaces built during the Joseon dynasty in 1395 by King Taejo, the first King of Joseon.. It is the seat of the King, His household and the government. To date it is one of the most famous attractions in Seoul and South Korea. Millions of tourist visit this Palace and it is a must visit. You could take the Seoul metro and could alight at Gyeongbokgung station which is connected via Heungnyemun Gate or outside via Gwanghwamun station and you need to walk via North direction passing by the statue of King Sejong the Great. The National Palace Museum of Korea is located via Heungnyemun gate. The entrance fee to this palace is around 3K Won for adults. As you enter the main gate of Gwanghwamun in the south you will be greeted by several other gates as you walk north into the Geunjeongjeon (Throne hall). The cobbled stones floor indicates that you are entering history. Other significant buildings include the beautiful Gyeonghoeru Pavilion (Banquet hall) with a lake surrounding it, Gangnyeongjeon (King's residential quarter), Gyotaejeon (Queen's quarter), Hyangwonjeong (2 story Hexagonal shape pavillion on lake connected by Chwihyanggyo bridge), and many more. We went here during Fall season and it's magical we were surrounded by trees of red, yellow and orange. The wind blowing adds to the beauty of the falling leaves. Despite the plenty of tourists we have space to take beautiful photos and videos. There are even Korean cultural dance shows with photo opts afterwards. Behind this massive complex stands the mighty Mt. Baegaksan (a 342 m high granite mountain) a perfect background for your beautiful photos and videos. Some tourists rent traditional Hanbok dress, a traditional Korean clothes. Rental prices vary depending on the time starting at around 13K to 15K Won for about 4 hrs. It adds to the total experience you could get while walking around this historical palace not to mention it adds beauty to your photos and videos. Between 10 to 3 PM the traditional changing of the guards occur every hour which is a spectacle of Korean culture and tradition. We left at 5 PM which is also the closing time at this Eternal Grand Palace. It is my 2nd time to visit this but it still amazes me every time.
4. National Folk Museum of Korea
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 963 reviews
The history of ordinary Koreans.
Reviewed By wireless_in_CA
This museum was located next to rear entrance to the Gyeongbokgung Palace. The building design was quite unexpected and its concrete base rose high above the ground with a multi story pagoda located on the top. There also was a nicely landscaped garden surrounding the museum. Inside were multiple exhibition halls that did a very good job in detailing the traditions and daily lives of the Korean people both past and present with artifacts (clothing, tools, replica homes, funeral biers, etc) and detailed explanations. The special exhibit was focused on present day workers from Incheon and the work they did. It was personal with their uniforms, biographies and the products they worked on (i.e. cars, textiles). Admission was free. A cafe was also located on the ground floor off to the side of the main entrance.
5. Seoul Museum of History
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 310 reviews
Reviewed By R_A617 - Ayr, United Kingdom
Recently updated and free. 600 years of Seoul, very well divided into sections. Everything was helpfully in English with very well done brochures/guides for each section. We visited on a wet day - but spent much longer than intended. Definitely worth the visit.
6. Owl Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 18 reviews
7. Daelim Museum
8. National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Seoul
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 238 reviews
Transport: Metro - line 3 to Anguk station. Exit 1 Facility Highlights: Exhibition Space, Museum Archive, Project Gallery Space, Media Theatre, Multipurpose Auditorium, etc. Description: The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea opens a new branch in 2013 at Gimusa, the former Defense Security Command site, built in early 20th century located near Gyeongbokgung at the heart of Seoul. Focusing on the Characteristic of the site that required an underground expansion, the construction plan adopted the madang(yard) concept, successfully integrating the exterior and interior of the building. The Seoul branch brings up a new discourse on the relationship between the public and the museum in an urban space, opening new possibilities for a future-oriented art museum of the twenty-first century. The site of Seoul branch once served as Jongchinbu(Office of Royal Family Affairs of the Joseon Dynasty), which was relocated to adjacent public library in 1981. the new plan includes restoring Jongchinbu to its original site, preserving the former Defense Security Command compound, and thereby establishing a meaningful cultural center that harmoniously embraces the historical Joseon Dynasty and modern Korean history.
Reviewed By tolerg
Unfortunately due to Coronavirus, we can't visit the museum. This museum is beautiful if you are interested in modern and contemporary arts, this place is for you. My personal favorite artworks are Grandfather and Grandson by Park Su-geun, and Fighting Fowls by Lee Jung-seob. These are beautiful pieces. I recommend attending this museum.
9. Arario Museum in Space
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 59 reviews
Kate Kim Su-Kun’s Space Office building, which occupies an important position in Korea’s contemporary history of architecture, reopens as ARARIO MUSEUM in SPACE on September 1st, 2014. ARARIO MUSEUM is a contemporary art museum, born out of a collection compiled by ARARIO Inc.’s founder Kim Chang-il’s unique taste in and passion for art. ARARIO MUSEUM in SPACE aims to become a central location for cultures and arts where visitors can share and communicate their artistic experiences, by continuously introducing a wide variety of domestic and overseas art works that harbor historical, social, and cultural values, augmenting the historical significance of the existing building with the cultural values of contemporary art. The Arario collection comprises contemporary art works that have been collected over 35 years by the hands of Chairman Kim Chang-il. Chairman Kim, who was mainly focusing on modern and contemporary Korean art works, began to build a systematic collection of domestic and overseas contemporary art pieces with a renewed taste after visiting an exhibit held at The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles in 1981, which left him with a deep impression. He expanded the scope of his collection to Western contemporary art, taking note of UK’s YBAs and Germany’s Leipzig school since 1998, and has been focusing on young artists in China, India, and Southeast Asian after 2000. Now, the collection consists of over 3,700 pieces of contemporary art works from both the East and West. The MUSEUM’s inaugural exhibition, , presents over 200 pieces by 43 artists out of the collection built over the past 30 years. The exhibition will offer an open scope, unlimited to any specific period, country, or media, and introduce works from a wide array of regions including Korea, and Western countries such as the US, UK, and Germany, as well as India, China, and Southeast Asia.
Reviewed By poodledoop
Interesting modern art museum in an interesting building. The installations make excellent use of the space - for example bathroom themes in old bathrooms- and fit well. Watch your head - some of the ceilings are low. Eat at the coffee shop next door and get a discount on admission.
10. Seoul City Wall Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 31 reviews
Reviewed By sineadoc00
Located right next to the subway station at Dongdaemun, the museum and city wall don’t immediately stand out against the Seoul’s modern backdrop of cafés and commerce. However after climbing up one of Seoul’s trademark killer slopes, the Doseong Museum holds a treasure trove of historical information and objects, which show the incredibly rapid foundation and evolution of the city as seen through its surrounding wall. Built to demarcate the city of Seoul (at first named Hanyang) from the surrounding countryside, a local guide first showed us around the three floors of the City Wall Museum itself, which includes a range of interactive exhibits showing how the wall was built and rebuilt by different rulers over the years, before restoration began at the end of the twentieth century. Having had an overview of the construction of the wall, our guide took us out to trek up the wall to Namsan, stopping at points as we went along to point out how Seoul had expanded beyond the original limits of the city and showing us how the different brickwork that you could see on the wall corresponded to different eras of Korean history. Since 90% of the wall has been rebuilt, our guide told us it would take over ten hours to walk all the way around, so we only completed about an hour of the hike, which took us through some beautiful parts of the city, with really good views of the sprawl of the city as well as of the mountains which surround it. As someone who missed this tourist spot the first-time round, I would say this is a must-visit for any tourist coming to Korea and interested in Korean history. As long as the weather is good, visiting the museum and the wall is a great way to get in some exercise, see some amazing scenery and learn more about the transformation of the city. Picture creds: myself and Funday Korea.
