A Walking Tour Through History and Nature: Seoul's Seodaemun to Samcheong-dong
Saturday, August 30, 2025
Baekdu Walking Group (5 participants for the walk, 5 joining for lunch)
Walking Schedule (2 hours 30 minutes):
Seodaemun Station Exit 4 -- Donuimun Museum Village & History Museum (Azzio) -- Inwangsan Fortress Trail -- Inwangsan Dulle Trail -- Suseongdong Valley -- Gyeongbokgung Palace -- Kkonnuri Deulbap Restaurant
Lunch: Kkonnuri Deulbap (Basement of Beopryunsa Temple in Samcheong-dong) + Cafe Lotus
Meeting point: Seodaemun Station Exit 4
The Donuimun Museum is divided into three sections: Relics Hall, Museum Village, and Experience Zone.
The Museum Village recreates the neighborhood of our childhood in the 70s and 80s.
Walking through narrow alleys, past old store signs, and seeing the games painted on the walls, we reminisce about those times.
It was a time spent with young mothers, fathers, and their young siblings.
The Relics Hall showcases the urban changes in the Donuimun (Seodaemun) area.
The Experience Zone offers various activities such as cooking, cloisonné crafts, and fan making for a fee.
It seems that many foreigners participate in these activities.
Our main purpose was walking, but it would be fun to visit this space just to explore it later.
We stopped by Azzio in the Donuimun History Museum.
It is a museum created in a place that was once an Italian restaurant.
You can see the green scenery of Gyeonghuigung Palace through the window.
Donuimun was the west gate of Seoul's city walls, but it disappeared as the city grew.
When Gyeongbokgung Palace burned down, Gyeonghuigung Palace, the west palace, became a major palace along with Changdeokgung Palace, the east palace.
Many government offices were established in the Donuimun area.
It's interesting to compare the maps and photos of that time with the current city.
Donuimun History Museum (Azzio)
Experience Center
It was a hot and humid day.
Even walking in the shade, we quickly became soaked in sweat.
On the Inwangsan Fortress Trail, we walked facing Inwangsan Mountain directly.
We took a side path from the fortress trail to the Inwangsan Dulle Trail.
Walking along the Dulle Trail, we exited towards Suseongdong Valley in Seochon.
Now we are on a city street.
We passed by the National Palace Museum and Gyeongbokgung Palace and arrived at Kkonnuri Deulbap Restaurant, where we had a lunch appointment.
We departed around 10 AM and walked non-stop to make it to our 12:30 PM appointment, but we were about 10 minutes late.
It was a tight schedule for museum viewing and walking.
Some friends were exhausted from walking in the heat.
Inwangsan Fortress Trail
Suseongdong Valley
Beopryunsa Temple
Kkonnuri Deulbap
Kkonnuri Deulbap is a place I've wanted to visit.
Every time I came to Samcheong-dong, I gave up because there were too many people waiting.
After waiting for about 20 minutes, we were seated.
There were many side dishes of seasoned vegetables and they were delicious.
It's a buffet style, so you can refill as much as you want.
I would like to come again if the wait isn't too long.
Cafe Lotus
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