Songhyeon Green Plaza (열린송현 녹지광장) - Area information - Korea travel information

Songhyeon Green Plaza (열린송현 녹지광장)

Songhyeon Green Plaza (열린송현 녹지광장)

5.9Km    2025-11-11

Songhyeon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Songhyeon Green Plaza, located between Gyeongbokgung Palace and Jongno, is a space for culture and rest. The site was formerly used as housing for Shiksan Bank during Japanese rule. After Korea’s liberation, it served as a residence for the US Embassy and military personnel. Later in 1997, it was returned to the Korean government but remained unused for years. In 2022, the ownership was transferred to the Korean House and Land Corporation and then to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which redeveloped it into a green plaza and opened it to the public. Upon entering the plaza, visitors are greeted by a spacious lawn adorned with flowers during the blooming season. The plaza is connected to the nearby tourist attractions through shortcuts cutting through it, including Cheong Wa Dae (Blue House), Gwanghwamun Plaza, Insa-dong, and Bukchon Hanok Village.  

Imun Seolnongtang (이문설농탕)

5.9Km    2025-06-18

38-13 Ujeongguk-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
+82-2-733-6526

Imun Seolnongtang has been serving its hearty seolleongtang for over a hundred years since it first opened in 1907. Even its name has a long history: the word imun comes from Imun-gol, the now-obsolete name of the restaurant’s location, and seolnongtang, an old variation of the word seolleongtang. During the Japanese colonial rule, the restaurant’s regular customers included Gijeong Son, the marathon gold-medalist at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The meal served at this restaurante is reputed to stay consistent from the Japanese colonial period. 

Myeongdong Cathedral (서울 명동성당)

Myeongdong Cathedral (서울 명동성당)

5.9Km    2022-12-27

74, Myeongdong-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul

Myeongdong Cathedral is the Church for Archdiocese of Seoul and was also the birthplace for the Roman Catholic Church community in Korea. The church houses the remains of several individuals: Bishop Laurent Joseph Marie Imbert (1796-1839), and priests Peter Simon (1803-1839), James (Jacques Honor Chastan, 1803-1839) and Pourthie Jean Antoine Charles (1830-1866) and four martyrs.

Myeongdong Cathedral is located in downtown Seoul and tourists frequently come and visit the place. Near the cathedral are other tourism spots such as Namsangol Hanok Village preserving Korean traditional houses, N Seoul Tower overlooking Seoul and Namdaemun Market, a traditional market with a wide variety of food and goods.

Seoul International Writers' Festival (서울국제작가축제)

Seoul International Writers' Festival (서울국제작가축제)

5.9Km    2025-07-30

26 Insadong 9-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul
+82-70-8826-5207

Seoul International Writers' Festival was founded in 2006 with aims to lay a foundation for connecting Korean literature and international literature. This year's theme is "() Meets the Eye," inviting attendees to explore the beauty of literature that is much more than meets the eye.

Palgakdo Main Branch (팔각도 본점)

Palgakdo Main Branch (팔각도 본점)

5.9Km    2025-01-23

643 Gyeongin-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul

Palgakdo is a restaurant specializing in charcoal-grilled chicken cuts. The chicken is cooked over charcoal, making it tender and juicy. Visitors can try various chicken parts paired with delicious side dishes and sauces. The store’s unique interior, inspired by a pentagon theme, makes it a great place for dates and group gatherings.

Namsan Arts Center (남산예술센터)

Namsan Arts Center (남산예술센터)

5.9Km    2021-08-26

138, Sopa-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul
+82-2-758-2150

Namsan Arts Center, reopened as a creative space in Seoul in September 2009. It redefined the colors and characteristics of the theater, aiming for a modern theater production center centered on creative premieres, a contemporary performance venue where visitors can feel the pulse of the times, and a theater capable of various experiments.
Namsan Arts Center Drama Center is the first modern folk theater in Korea and the oldest performance hall in which the original architectural form has been preserved. Under the concept of "Contemporary & New Wave," the center continues to produce domestic original plays, and through active exchanges with excellent overseas theaters, build a repertoire of high-quality works that can read domestic and overseas trends, and present contemporary cultural diversity.

The Children’s Museum of the National Folk Museum of Korea (국립민속박물관&국립민속박물관 어린이박물관)

6.0Km    2025-06-19

37 Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul

The Children’s Museum of the National Folk Museum of Korea, located within Gyeongbokgung Palace, showcases artifacts related to Korean traditional culture. This interactive museum allows children to experience and learn about various aspects of Korean traditional clothing, food, society, culture, and games firsthand. Especially catering to children from Asian countries, there is a service for renting items, and reservations are required for admission.

HILLS & EUROPA (힐즈앤유로파)

HILLS & EUROPA (힐즈앤유로파)

6.0Km    2025-11-05

35 Sinheung-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Haebangchon's Hot Place
Singer Lee Hyori's OTT entertainment program 'Seoul Check-in' was filmed, and you can enjoy the atmosphere of Haebangchon properly. The low wooden ceiling and walls filled with unique objects and LPs from all over the world create a unique and cozy atmosphere. It is always full of customers as you can enjoy great visual cocktails and delicious dishes against the backdrop of various genres of music. During the day, it is good to enjoy coffee and dessert like a cafe. It is famous for its delicious cream caramel pudding, along with coffee that makes use of the taste of coffee beans from each region of origin. There are also various types of signature cocktails, but we recommend the unique visual 'Cigar in a Glass' that Lee Hyori and Park Narae drank.

Sonjung Bossam (손정보쌈)

Sonjung Bossam (손정보쌈)

6.0Km    2025-07-25

24 Samil-daero 15-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Sonjung Bossam offers dishes with a modern touch by reinterpreting traditional meals. Passed down for three generations, this restaurant values sincerity and careful attention in food making in order to serve every customer a heartwarming meal. Sonjung Bossam's signature dish Premium Gabri Bossam takes only the rarest pork cut, the blade-end fatback called "gabri" in Korean, and boils the meat using the restaurant's secret recipe for tender, juicy meat. The restaurant also serves their own special version of spicy stir-fried fish roe and intestines and haemultang (spicy seafood stew), boasting a generous amount of various seafood and rich broth. All meals are prepared wholeheartedly as if they are being served to a family.

Whanki Art Museum (환기미술관)

Whanki Art Museum (환기미술관)

6.0Km    2024-03-04

63, Jahamun-ro 40-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul
+82-2-391-7701

Whanki Art Museum exhibits the works of Kim Whanki (1913-1974), the pioneer of Korean abstract art. Kim was inspired by traditional features such as Korean mountains and streams, the sky, moons and clouds, the white porcelain and traditional patterns, and worked to express them in abstract forms through points, lines, and surfaces. The main collection features nearly 300 works by Kim. One can also find an art shop and a café.