Itaewon Special Tourist Zone (이태원 관광특구) - Area information - Korea travel information

Itaewon Special Tourist Zone (이태원 관광특구)

18.7Km    2024-11-27

196 Itaewon-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Itaewon was the first special tourist zone in Seoul, designated in 1997. It is a multicultural place where over 20,000 foreigners live and is widely recognized by international visitors.

The name Itaewon started to spread worldwide in the 1980s when Korea hosted the 1986 Seoul Asian Games and the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, as well as many international conferences. Since then, Itaewon has become a popular travel destination. Clothes and accessories with unique designs, and leather products in particular are famous. This is a go-to place for both shopping and entertainment. The street is crowded with shops selling clothes and bags, as well as hotels, restaurants, entertainment facilities and travel agencies. With about 2,000 shops and stores lining every street, visitors can experience a multicultural atmosphere. Also famous in the district is Antique Furniture Street where more than 100 shops selling furniture and antiques stretch from Hamilton Hotel toward Bogwang-ro.

Travelers can taste authentic cuisine and experience culture from around the globe on World Food Street where there are 40 restaurants operated by foreigners. Since the late 1990s, an increase in the number of tourists from Southeast Asia and the Middle East has transformed the streets from being US Army-oriented into culturally diverse. Various performances and events are held in the area. In particular, Itaewon Global Village Festival, held every October, is a famous festival. Tourists can pay in US dollars, Japanese yen, or another currency freely. In addition, visitors can use various languages like English, Japanese, and Chinese with the sellers.

Kervan Turkish Restaurant (케르반레스토랑)

18.7Km    2025-03-15

192 Itaewon-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Kervan is a Turkish restaurant located in Itaewon, offering authentic kebab, pidé, and Turkish desserts. It faithfully recreates the Turkish culture and food through its interior, decorated with traditional tiles, and dishes prepared by a chef from Türkiye. Main menus include Chicken steak, Rich pidé, and Chicken shish kebab.

H+ Yangji Hospital (에이치플러스 양지병원)

18.7Km    2025-11-21

1636 Nambusunhwan-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul

We operate a one-stop medical service with 15 specialty centers and 21 departments, along with a 24-hour emergency room. As a certified training hospital for gastroenterology endoscopy specialists, we have been accredited as an Excellent Endoscopy Unit for three consecutive terms and are equipped with state-of-the-art endoscopy and liver-specialized systems.
Our world-renowned medical team, including SRC Master Surgeons (U.S.), provides efficient and safe personalized bariatric and metabolic surgeries. The Spine and Joint Center performs minimally invasive and minimal incision surgeries through close multidisciplinary collaboration.
We also operate Da Vinci robotic surgery and maintain a dedicated Department of Critical Care Medicine.

Living Power Center (리빙파워센터)

Living Power Center (리빙파워센터)

18.9Km    2024-10-25

59 Singomae-ro, Giheung-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do

The Living Power Center is a shopping center offering various home and lifestyle goods, including furniture, appliances, food, and pet supplies. There is a water playground outside the center and various performances to delight young visitors.

Itaewon Shopping Street (이태원 쇼핑거리)

Itaewon Shopping Street (이태원 쇼핑거리)

18.9Km    2025-03-29

Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
+82-2-797-7319

Itaewon Shopping Street is a 1.4-kilometer-long road located near Itaewon Station. There is an enormous variety of shops, entertainment venues, and restaurants lined along both sides of the street. As the neighborhood has a reputation as a mini melting pot in Seoul where languages other than Korean are widely spoken, it is one of the most visited places by international visitors. It has become a gateway for many international visitors to receive services and information on basic tourist needs such as accommodations, shopping, tourist attractions, and more.

Heungbu Bossam (흥부보쌈)

Heungbu Bossam (흥부보쌈)

18.9Km    2024-10-15

15-13 Sillim-ro 59-gil, Gwanak-gu, Seoul
+82-2-888-9464

It's a great place to hold group dining and gathering. This Korean dishes restaurant is located in Gwanak-gu, Seoul. The most famous menu is kimchi cabbage wraps with pork.

The Hyooshik Simdo Hotel & Spa Sillim by Aank (더휴식 심도 호텔 앤 스파 신림역점)

The Hyooshik Simdo Hotel & Spa Sillim by Aank (더휴식 심도 호텔 앤 스파 신림역점)

18.9Km    2025-04-22

7 Nambusunhwan-ro 181-gil, Gwanak-gu, Seoul

The hotel offers a variety of rooms to choose from, including standard rooms, a music room, a wellness room equipped with a premium massage bed, a movie room, a PC room with computers, four types of spa rooms, and a bunker room that can accommodate up to four people.

Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art (삼성미술관 리움)

18.9Km    2022-12-15

60-16, Itaewon-ro 55-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
+82-2-2014-6901

Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, exhibits traditional and modern art works by Korean and international artists. The museum itself is just as fascinating as the art works on display, since the museum's three buildings were designed by internationally renowned architects Mario Botta, Jean Nouvel, and Rem Koolhaas.

MUSEUM 1 houses traditional Korean art, such as calligraphy, paintings, ceramic arts, and metal craftwork, while MUSEUM 2 displays modern and contemporary art by both Korean and international artists.

Seoul Upcycling Plaza (서울새활용플라자)

18.9Km    2024-01-05

49 Jadongchasijang-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul

Saehwaryong is a Korean term for upcycling, a process of redesigning or recycling discarded resources or materials to give them a new value or purpose. Seoul Upcycling Plaza operates upcycling-related exhibitions, upcycling practice education and experience programs, design studios, upcycling stores, workshops, and more. It is a great place to look around for ideas and inspirations on how to use products for longer periods of time. The plaza demonstrates the first step to creating a resource-recycling society.

Blue Square (블루스퀘어)

Blue Square (블루스퀘어)

19.0Km    2024-03-05

294, Itaewon-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
+82-1544-1591

Blue Square is a multipurpose performance venue located in Hannam-dong. It includes Shinhan Card Hall, a performance hall dedicated to musicals with 1,776 seats, and Mastercard Hall, a multipurpose performance hall with 1,400 seats. Blue Square also includes the Book Park, which has a collection of nearly 75,000 books, and a café with a terrace that looks toward the Namsan Mountain. Many visitors come to the Blue Square to see its collection of popular musicals and other performances.