Dongdaemun Design Plaza Layover, Seoul
Part of the full Seoul Layover: Gyeongbokgung and Namsan, ICN
Seoul’s Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Zaha Hadid’s curving landmark on the site of an old stadium, sits beside Heunginjimun, the city’s east gate, and from the gate the old city wall climbs over Naksan, floodlit and open all night.
The Seoul City Wall floodlit along Naksan
The Seoul City Wall ringed the Joseon capital from the 1390s, running over four hills and between eight gates, and Naksan, at 124 metres the lowest of the four, is the stretch to walk after dark. The trail runs about 2.1 kilometres from Hyehwamun down to Heunginjimun, takes around an hour, and is open 24 hours at no charge; after dusk the battlements are floodlit and the lit towers of eastern Seoul fill the view on the city side. Look at the stonework as you go: the first builders used rounded stones set in mud, King Sejong’s masons in the fifteenth century replaced sections with squared blocks, and a restoration in 1704 added the large, even slabs, so the eras show in the same face of wall.
The walk is easy to do alone, but a guided sunset walk over Naksan fills in the history of each section and times the climb for the light.
Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Zaha Hadid’s building on the old stadium site
Dongdaemun Design Plaza, known as DDP, opened on 21 March 2014 on the site of Dongdaemun Stadium, Korea’s first modern stadium, and it runs about 280 metres from end to end with barely a straight line in it: long curving walls, a skin of metal panels and a roof you can walk up onto. Walking around and through it costs nothing; the exhibitions inside are ticketed separately.
When the stadium came down from 2007, excavators found a buried length of the city wall and Igansumun, a water gate that let a stream pass through the wall. Both are now laid out in Dongdaemun History and Culture Park, on the plaza’s own grounds, a free look at what the district was before the stadium and the shopping towers.
The building has three basement levels and four above ground, joined to the metro station beneath by long curving passages and ramps, and a rolling suitcase makes every change of level there a slow one.
Heunginjimun, the east gate with a half-moon outer wall
Heunginjimun, usually called Dongdaemun, stands on a traffic island on Jong-ro, the east gate of the old city wall. It was first built in 1398, and what stands now is the rebuilding of 1869. Its distinctive feature is the ongseong, a curved outer wall thrown around the front of the gate like a half moon so attackers could be hit from several sides at once, a feature unique among the city’s gates.
Across the road, in Heunginjimun Park where the wall starts its climb onto Naksan, the Seoul City Wall Museum tells the wall’s 600-year story with large models and video, free and open 9am to 6pm, Tuesday to Sunday.
Four stops on Line 4 to Seoul Station and the airport express
Dongdaemun History and Culture Park station, connected to the plaza, is on Metro Line 4, and Seoul Station is four stops west, about ten minutes. From there the AREX express runs non-stop to Incheon International Airport (ICN), 43 minutes to Terminal 1 and 51 to Terminal 2, for 13,000 won; the blocks around Seoul Station are worth a look if the train is not due. With a daytime gap rather than an evening one, the palace itinerary through Gyeongbokgung and Bukchon makes a better use of the light, and Dongdaemun is the place to end up once it has gone.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do during a layover near Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul?
Walk around and through Zaha Hadid's Dongdaemun Design Plaza, look at the stretch of city wall and water gate uncovered on its site, then cross to Heunginjimun, the east gate with its half-moon outer wall, and follow the Seoul City Wall up over Naksan. From late afternoon, three to four hours covers all of it and puts you on the wall after dark, when it is floodlit. A guided sunset walk on Naksan is the one thing worth booking, and the wall is just as walkable without one.
Is the Naksan city wall walk open at night?
Yes. The Naksan trail along the Seoul City Wall is open 24 hours and free, and the wall is floodlit after dark. The section from Hyehwamun to Heunginjimun is about 2.1 kilometres and takes around an hour at an easy pace, with climbs and steps over Naksan, the lowest of the four hills the wall crosses at 124 metres.
What happened to Dongdaemun Stadium?
It was demolished from 2007 to make way for Dongdaemun Design Plaza, which opened on the same site on 21 March 2014. The stadium had been Korea's first modern stadium, and clearing it uncovered a buried length of the Seoul City Wall and Igansumun, a water gate that carried a stream through the wall. Both are now laid out in Dongdaemun History and Culture Park on the plaza's grounds, free to walk through.
How do I get from Dongdaemun to Incheon Airport?
Take Metro Line 4 from Dongdaemun History and Culture Park station to Seoul Station, four stops and about ten minutes, then the AREX express, which runs non-stop to Terminal 1 in 43 minutes and Terminal 2 in 51 for 13,000 won. The express ticket also lets you check in and drop bags at the in-town desk under Seoul Station, for airlines that offer it.