Tongmungwan is a bookstore that stands out for its perpetually closed doors and windows, which are often obscured by stacks of old books and paintings. As the oldest active bookstore in South Korea, it has operated in Gwanhun-dong since…
Insadong Tea and Crafts
This walk leads you through the narrow alleys and historic storefronts of Seoul's traditional cultural district. You will meet local artisans keeping centuries-old paper, printing, and lacquerware techniques alive.
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1. Tongmungwan
2. Ssamziegil
Ssamziegil stands out in Insa-dong for its continuous, gentle ramp that spirals four stories around a central open-air courtyard. Rather than using stairs or elevators to reach different levels, visitors walk a five hundred meter long path…
3. KyungIn Art Gallery Dawon
The KyungIn Art Gallery, also known as the Kyung-In Museum of Fine Art, is recognized as the first art museum in Korea to be housed within a traditional hanok. Founded in nineteen eighty-three by Lee Geum-hong, the museum complex is…
4. Myung Sin Dang Brush Store
A giant brush hanging from the entrance marks the Myung Sin Dang Brush Store, a specialty shop dedicated to the traditional tools of calligraphy. Founded as an ink stone factory in Boryeong in nineteen thirty-two, the business relocated to…
5. 동양한지
Dongyang Hanji is a shop that specializes in hanji, a traditional Korean paper crafted from the inner bark of mulberry trees. Recognized as a One Hundred Year Shop in two thousand twenty, it maintains manufacturing methods that emphasize…
6. 가야 옻칠 공사 (Gaya Lacquerworks)
Gaya Lacquerworks specializes in traditional Korean najeonchilgi, a craft that involves inlaying thin, iridescent pieces of abalone shell into wood surfaces coated with natural lacquer. These objects, ranging from decorative jewelry boxes…
7. Tapgol Park
Tapgol Park is distinguished by a tall, glass-encased stone pagoda, a ten-story remnant from a fifteenth-century Buddhist temple that once occupied this site. Known as the first modern park in Seoul, it was established in eighteen…