[WEEKEND GETAWAY] Spend a day full of art and culture in Seoul's Bukchon and Seochon

K-campus

Published: 17 Nov. 2023, 09:19 Updated: 17 Nov. 2023, 10:06

[WEEKEND GETAWAY] Spend a day full of art and culture in Seoul's Bukchon and Seochon

A street in Seochon, Jongno District, central Seoul. You can see both modern and old traces of Seoul in this neighborhood. [JOONGANG PHOTO]

Winter streets may make you think of only Christmas trees and red-and-golden decorations blanketed under snow. However, you can add a Korean twist to your typical winter scene by going to an area in Seoul that is known for its cultural and historical richness.

Even through the coldest days, Bukchon and Seochon areas surrounding the famous Gyeongbok Palace in Jongno District, central Seoul, are filled with visitors eager to enjoy the Korean winter in some of the most historical parts of the city.

In fact, the essence of these neighborhoods is highlighted when blankets of snow bring out the beauty of hanok, Korean-style houses. There are a plethora of attractions and fun things to see and do here that are worth visiting every season. If you are interested in spending a culturally and aesthetically fulfilling day in Seoul, here are the recommendations by the Korea JoongAng Daily to add to your itinerary.

Ground Seesaw Seochon
그라운드시소 서촌

Ground Seesaw Seochon in Jongno District, central Seoul [KOREA TOURISM ORGANIZATION]

Seochon is located on the western side of Gyeongbok Palace, with seo meaning west in Korean and chon village or neighborhood. Seochon has been an affluent part of the city, home to numerous artists and aristocrats in the late Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910).

It still serves as one of the more important cultural hubs of the city, hosting famous art venues such as Daelim Museum, Artside Gallery and Park No-soo Art Museum.

However, the trendiest of Seochon's many art and culture venues is Ground Seesaw Seochon, which runs creative art exhibitions.

Ground Seesaw Seochon is a cultural space and has branches in other parts of Seoul. It runs exhibitions throughout the year, only taking short breaks in between. So far, Ground Seesaw Seochon gained recognition through its experimental approach to art.

"Mundo Mendo: Fantastic City Life" is an exhibition that is currently running, which features various works of a Tokyo-based Spanish illustrator Luis Mendo. His archives, showing his interpretation of urban life in different countries, are on display over four floors. The exhibition runs until December 3. If you decide to stop by the attached cafe, Around Seesaw, don't forget to get a 10 percent discount after showing your ticket.

18-8, Jahamun-ro 6-gil, Jongno District, central Seoul

(서울특별시 종로구 자하문로6길 13-8)

Opening hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Doors close at 6 p.m. Closed on the first Monday of every month)

Admission fee: 15,000 won ($11.4)

Phone number: 1522-1796

Website: https://groundseesaw.co.kr/

Boan1942

보안여관

Boan1942 in Jongno District, central Seoul, used to provide shelter for artists until it reopened as a cultural platform in 2017. [BOAN1942]

Around three minutes by foot from Groundseesaw Seochon, a four-story brick building standing next to a two-floor building appears. As the old signboard 'Boan Yeogwan(inn in Korean)' implies, Boan1942 is a cultural venue that used to be a shelter for artists for over 60 years, from 1942 to 2005. After it closed in 2005, it was renovated and reopened 12 years later in 2017 as an art space featuring a community market, a cafe, a bookstore and an exhibition space.

Boan1942 maintains its old rooms through which visitors can see what inns looked like in the past. [JOONGANG PHOTO]

The exhibition space, "Art Space Boan" displays traces of the venue's past, including a signboard, old furniture and some vintage installments. There are also a total of seven rooms functioning as a guest house, meaning the building still partially serves its original role of providing accommodation for those visiting.

The building doesn't stand out in terms of its exterior design, but it has been gaining popularity over the past couple of years since it has gone viral on social media.

This Saturday, the venue starts a new exhibition, "Snake Oil Salesmen and the Promised Land," that will continue until December 10. It is a free exhibition that stresses the need to reconsider the meaning of co-existence and society.

If you have time and energy to look around more places, walk a few minutes more to Tongin Market, a traditional market where you can try various street foods.

@boan1942

33 Hyojaro, Jongno District, central Seoul

(서울특별시 종로구 효자로33)

Opening hours: noon to 6 p.m. (Closed on Mondays)

Phone number: 02-720-8409

Official Website: http://www.boan1942.com/

Gamgodang-gil

감고당길

Jeongdok Library appears when you head all the way up Gamgodang-gil in Jongno District, central Seoul. [KIM KYUNG-ROK]

Bukchon Hanok Village sits high on the list of places to visit in Seoul for most tourists. However, many might not be aware of Gamgodang-gil, or Gamgodang Street in between Bukchon and Insa-dong.

Buk means north in Korean, so the name Bukchon means it's an area north of Gyeongbok Palace. Back in the early 1900s, the street view of this neighborhood consisted of large and spacious hanok, where the aristocrats lived. However, as Japan's colonial rule of Korea continued, the spacious houses were replaced with smaller hanok homes built next to each other.

Once you leave Anguk Station through exit 1, you will be greeted by a narrow but aesthetically pleasing street called Gamgodang-gil, or Gamgodang Street, which leads the visitors up a 440-meter-long (1,443 feet) path toward Bukchon. With trees along the stone walls of the street as well as galleries and shops, the promenade has much to offer for its visitors. Near the end of the ascend, Jeongdok Library appears, which was once a high school building and is now a storage of nearly 520,000 books.

The street is also often crowded with students as there are multiple schools nearby. You can see students in uniforms passing in crowds if you visit the neighborhood around the late afternoon. The Seoul Museum of Craft Art is also along the way, so you may stop by if you are interested.

The Songhyeon Green Plaza in Songhyeon-dong, Jongno District, central Seoul, is located on the western side of Gamgodang-gil. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN CITY]

On the street's western side is Songhyeon-dong, where the Songhyeon Green Plaza, with an area of 36,642 square meters (9 acres), provides room for rest from urban noises.

34-2 Songhyeon-dong, Jongno District, central Seoul

(서울특별시 종로구 송현동 34-2)

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA Seoul)

국립현대미술관 서울

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Jongno District, central Seoul [MMCA]

If you are an art enthusiast, it is highly unlikely that you have not yet heard of the MMCA, or the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Sogyeok-dong, Jongno District, central Seoul. The MMCA is a must-visit if you are exploring the Bukchon area. It not only hosts large-scale exhibitions but also has plenty of amenities inside, including a souvenir shop and a bookstore.

Currently, the museum is running multiple exhibitions, one being "MMCA Hyundai Motor Series 2023: Jung Yeondoo – One Hundred Years of Travels." Another exhibition, "Back to the Future - An Exploration of Contemporaneity of Korean Contemporary Art," explores the change of time by examining artworks from the 1980s to the 21st century. The admission fee is 2,000 won per exhibition, but the museum sells all pass tickets for 5,000 won when it runs three or more paid exhibitions. Admission is free on Wednesdays and Saturdays during late opening hours and also on the last Wednesday of every month. Those under 24 and over 65 get free admission.

@mmcakorea

30 Samcheong-ro (Sogyeok-dong), Jongno District, central Seoul

(서울특별시 종로구 삼청로30)

Opening hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Late night openings on Wednesdays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. (Closed on Jan. 1, Chuseok holidays and Lunar New Year's Day)
Phone number: 02‒3701‒9500

Website: https://mmca.go.kr/

BY KIM DONG-EUN [kim.dongeun@joongang.co.kr]