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

Nearby 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.