Seoul City Wall Museum

Dongdaemun & Eastern Seoul

LoginSave

With interactive displays and historical artefacts, this modern museum offers an engaging history of the 18.6km-long barrier that has girdled Seoul since the late 14th century. Overlooking Heunginjimun beside a stretch of the City Wall, it also makes a logical embarkation point for a wall hike.

Seoul withdrew its Unesco application for the City Wall in 2017 after it was deemed not to possess 'outstanding universal value' (despite being continuously maintained for six centuries). The city intends to resubmit in 2020.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • x-default

    Gyeongbokgung

    1.77 MILES

    Like a phoenix, Seoul’s premier palace has risen several times from the ashes of destruction. Hordes of tourists have replaced the thousands of government…

  • Biwon Garden at Changdeokgung, Gwanghwamun.

    Changdeokgung

    1.06 MILES

    The World Heritage–listed Changdeokgung is the most beautiful of Seoul's five main palaces. You must join a one-hour guided tour to look around. English…

  • Leeum Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea, Asia

    Leeum Samsung Museum of Art

    2.45 MILES

    Amid the celebrity-owned apartments on the leafy southern slope of Namsan is Korea's premier art gallery. Beautifully designed and laid-out, it balances…

  • A woman walks along the walls of Hwaseong Fortress.

    Hwaseong

    20.38 MILES

    The World Heritage–listed fortress wall that encloses the original town of Suwon is what brings most travellers to the city. Snaking up and down Paldal…

  • Deoksugung Palace in Korea .

    Deoksugung

    1.92 MILES

    One of Seoul's five grand palaces built during the Joseon dynasty, Deoksugung (meaning Palace of Virtuous Longevity) is the only one you can visit in the…

  • National Museum of Korea at night

    National Museum of Korea

    3.73 MILES

    This vast and imposing concrete slab of a museum takes visitors on a fascinating journey through Korea's past from prehistory all the way to the Korean…

  • sunrise of Baegundae peak, Bukhansan mountains in Seoul, South Korea; Shutterstock ID 296386961; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; Project no. or GL code: 56530; Network activity no. or Cost Centre: Online-Design; Product or Project: 65050/7529/Josh Vogel/LP.com Destination Galleries

    Bukhansan National Park

    8.31 MILES

    Granite-peak-studded Bukhansan National Park's sweeping mountaintop vistas, maple leaves, rushing streams and remote temples draw over 5 million hikers…

  • Detail of ROK Airforce plane outside War Memorial and Museum, north of river.

    War Memorial of Korea

    3.02 MILES

    This huge museum documents the history of the Korean War (1950–53) using multimedia exhibits and black-and-white documentary footage, along with artefacts…

View more attractions

Nearby Dongdaemun & Eastern Seoul attractions

1. Heunginjimun

0.13 MILES

The Great East Gate to Seoul’s City Wall has been rebuilt several times in its 700-year history and, after recent renovations, it's looking majestic. It's…

2. Ihwa Mural Village

0.31 MILES

High on the slopes of Naksan is one of the city's old daldongnae (literally ‘moon villages’) where refugees lived in shacks after the Korean War. Sixty…

3. Dongdaemun Stadium Memorial

0.33 MILES

Forming part of the Dongdaemun History and Culture Park, this engaging museum relives key moments from the former stadium’s history. Built by the Japanese…

4. Dongdaemun History Museum

0.39 MILES

Attached to the DDP, this museum makes up a part of the Dongdaemun History and Culture Park and features archaeological remains from the Joseon dynasty…

5. Dongdaemun Design Plaza & Park

0.47 MILES

Designed by the late Zaha Hadid, this neofuturistic cultural complex was commissioned to replace the Dongdaemun Stadium, built during Japanese rule in the…

6. Lock Museum

0.53 MILES

One of Seoul’s quirkier private collections makes for a surprisingly absorbing exhibition. It focuses on the artistry of locks, latches and keys of all…

7. Naksan Park

0.56 MILES

The lofty slopes above Daehangno offer fantastic city views and contain an impressive section of the Seoul City Wall, which you can follow in either…

8. Gwanghuimun

0.58 MILES

The 'southeast gate' of Seoul's fortress wall, Gwanghuimun is far smaller and more modest than Heunginjimun. It was rebuilt in 1976.