Bukchon Hanok Village

Bukchon Hanok Village is a dense neighbourhood of traditional Korean tile-roofed houses (hanok) on the hillside between Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung palaces. The lanes are narrow, the views across rooftops to the palaces below are exceptional, and the overall effect — dark timber, grey tile, stone walls — is unlike anything in the rest of Seoul. Many of the houses are still occupied as private residences; this is a neighbourhood, not a theme park.

The best approach is on foot from Anguk Station (Line 3). The most photographed spot is the top of Bukchon-ro 11-gil, a stepped alley with a view over the rooftops that appears in countless travel photographs. The neighbourhood is at its best in early morning before the tour groups arrive, or in late afternoon when the light is warm.

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A story
Bukchon nearly didn't survive. In the 1970s and 1980s, most of Seoul's historic hanok neighbourhoods were demolished for apartment blocks. Bukchon survived partly by accident — the narrow lanes between Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung were awkward for developers — and partly because residents and preservationists organised to protect them. The Seoul Metropolitan Government began a restoration programme in 2001.

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