6 Hidden Gems in Seoul Most People Walk Right Past
6 landmarks with verified facts and stories
Bongeunsa Temple
Seoul, South Korea
Bongeunsa is a 1,200-year-old Buddhist temple hidden in the shadow of Gangnam's glass towers — a spiritual enclave of wooden halls, stone pagodas, and ancient trees that provides the most jarring contrast in a city full of jarring contrasts.
Changgyeonggung Palace
Changgyeonggung-ro, Seoul, South Korea
Changgyeonggung is the overlooked palace — the fourth of Seoul's five Joseon palaces and the one most visitors skip in favour of Gyeongbokgung or Changdeokgung, which makes it the most peaceful and least crowded.
Gyeonghuigung Palace
Saemunan-ro, Seoul, South Korea
Gyeonghuigung is the secret palace — the fifth and least known of Seoul's Joseon-era palaces, hidden behind a modern government building and visited by a fraction of the tourists who crowd the other four.
Ikseon-dong
Seoul, South Korea
Ikseon-dong is Seoul's best example of old and new coexisting in the same alley — a grid of tiny hanok houses from the 1920s that has been converted into one of the city's trendiest café and restaurant districts without demolishing the traditional architecture.
Naksan Park & Ihwa Mural Village
41 Naksan-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Naksan Park is a hilltop park on the eastern edge of Seoul's old city wall that offers one of the best sunrise views in the city — a panorama from the wall's ramparts that takes in the palace district, Namsan Tower, and the modern skyline in a single sweep.
Tongin Market
18 Jahamun-ro 15-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Tongin Market is a small neighbourhood market near Gyeongbokgung that offers one of the most fun food experiences in Seoul — the DIY lunchbox programme, where you buy a tray of old-fashioned Korean brass coins (yeopjeon) at the market entrance and use them to purchase individual side dishes, rice, and mains from the stalls, assembling your own custom dosirak (lunchbox) that you take upstairs to a communal eating area.
Explore hidden gems in Seoul
GPS-guided narration at every landmark. Tap a spot on the map, hear the story. Every fact verified.