During my first trip to Seoul, I managed to see many of the city’s highlights: I visited its unique palace complexes, looked up at Lotte World Tower, strolled along the Cheonggyecheon Stream, reached the astonishing Dongdaemun Design Plaza, and explored the architecture of traditional Korean villages. When I returned for the second time, I wanted to diversify my journey with less popular sights. Today I’d like to share an alternative route around the South Korean capital, suitable for those who have already been to Seoul and want to discover something new.
Jongmyo Shrine, Changgyeonggung and Changdeokgung Palaces
On my first visit, I began exploring Korean architecture with the city’s most popular palace complexes, Gyeongbokgung and Deoksugung. This time, I decided to take a look at the architectural ensemble near Jongno 3-ga Station, which includes a shrine and two palaces.
The first major site within the complex is Jongmyo Shrine, a sacred structure of the Joseon dynasty kings—an enclosed area with a large square and a main hall called Jeongjeon, where the rulers’ spirit tablets are kept.
A little farther on are two palace complexes. The first is Changgyeonggung Palace, which covers quite a large area; in addition to former residential buildings, it features an extensive park zone with a pond and a greenhouse.
The second palace, Changdeokgung, is located to the west of this vast site. The highlight here is the Huwon Secret Garden—once a royal leisure retreat, now open for any visitor to stroll through.
Ticket prices for Seoul’s historic attractions are quite low: for example, a combined ticket to the shrine and palaces costs 6,000 won (about $4.32). Admission to the Secret Garden is 5,000 won.
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art
About a 20-minute walk from the exit of the palace complex is the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. This exhibition venue opened relatively recently, in 2013. Before that, the museum already had two branches—in Gwacheon and in the Deoksugung Palace.
In the past, various government institutions were located in the area around the museum complex: for example, agencies responsible for astronomy and the royal library were situated here.
Admission to the museum is 2,000 won.
Seoul Forest
Let’s head to the eastern part of the city. Here we’ll take a walk through the so-called Seoul Forest—a rather large recreational area with ponds, sculptures, and pedestrian and bicycle paths. There is an insect garden, a butterfly garden, and an area where deer live.
The park opened 20 years ago, in June 2005. Before that, the site was occupied by a water treatment facility. Guidebooks call the park one of Seoul’s most iconic green areas—“the forest of life.”
Entrance to the park is free.
Waterworks Museum (Museum of Hydraulic Structures)
While walking through Seoul Forest, I repeatedly noticed signboards pointing the way to the Waterworks Museum. The name didn’t sound particularly appealing, but I decided to go—and I definitely didn’t regret it.
The exhibition space is located on the site of the Ttukseom Water Purification Plant, built at the very beginning of the 20th century. The museum halls occupy former rooms of this hydraulic structure, and the displays introduce visitors to the history of the city’s water supply. It might sound dull to some, but the staff have done everything to keep guests engaged. Visiting the museum buildings, for example, is turned into a small game: you’re given a sheet with a map of the complex, and in each hall you need to stamp it with a corresponding colored mark. A completed map can be exchanged for a small souvenir—a fan, a pencil, or a pen.
Admission to the museum grounds is free.
Bongeunsa Temple
Another free city attraction is Bongeunsa Temple, located on the other side of the Han River. This Buddhist complex was founded in 794; later, the ensemble’s buildings were rebuilt, expanded, and relocated.
There are several buildings within the temple complex; in the northern part you can find a plaza with a large statue. According to online maps, this is a figure of Maitreya, whom believers call the Buddha of the future.
Studio Ghibli Collection Store
Just a few subway stops from the temple is the famous Lotte World Tower, one of the tallest buildings in the world. Last time I came here to take some shots of the skyscraper; this time my goal was the Studio Ghibli Collection store—a must-visit for fans of Hayao Miyazaki’s work.
In the small shop on the lower floor of the tower, you’ll find many souvenirs featuring characters from Studio Ghibli films. A pin badge costs 8,000 won, and a figurine of the cat from “Kiki’s Delivery Service” is 14,000 won.
Amorepacific Museum of Art
I would call the Amorepacific Museum of Art one of the city’s more debatable attractions. It was both the most expensive and the smallest exhibition space among those I visited in Seoul.
The museum is housed in a very unusual building, but the galleries occupy only a small part of it. As city guidebooks note, “the museum collects, researches, and exhibits works of ancient Korean art as well as domestic and international contemporary art.”
On the day of my visit in August 2025, the museum hosted the exhibition “Mark Bradford: Keep Walking,” and admission was 16,000 won.
This concludes my story for now, but I’ll definitely return to the topic of my Seoul trip and write separate articles about each of these attractions. You can find stories about other interesting places in the city in my collection.
Have a nice trip!
