Gwanghwamun to the Forgotten Palace

A royal gate, a civic square and a palace that almost vanished

≈1.7 km · ≈25 min walking · Easy · Jongno-gu · Start: Gyeongbokgung station · End: Seodaemun station

Walk down Seoul's ceremonial axis from the main gate of Gyeongbokgung, past the 1970s arts center and a 1920s newspaper office, to a quiet palace most visitors never find.

Stops

1. Gwanghwamun Gate (광화문)
   The main gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace. Destroyed and moved several times, it was rebuilt in wood on its original axis in 2010.
2. Sejong Center (세종문화회관)
   Seoul's big performing arts center (1978) by Eom Deok-mun, with a huge colonnade and roof forms taken from traditional timber architecture.
3. Ilmin Art Museum (일민미술관)
   A contemporary art museum inside the 1926 building of the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper, one of the oldest surviving offices on the square.
4. Seoul Museum of History (서울역사박물관)
   The city's story from Joseon to the present day, with a large model of today's Seoul on the third floor. Free entry.
5. Gyeonghuigung Palace (경희궁)
   A secondary palace of the Joseon kings, begun in 1617. Most of it was dismantled in the early 20th century; the main hall was rebuilt in the 1990s. Free and rarely crowded.

Best time: Any day. Arrive by 10 am for the changing of the guard at Gwanghwamun (not on Tuesdays).

Tips

• Gyeonghuigung is closed on Mondays.
• The Sejong Center has an underground gallery and an exhibition on King Sejong below the square.

Access

Wide, level pavements and Gwanghwamun Square. The museums have lifts. Gyeonghuigung has a few steps and gentle slopes.

All walks