Namsan tower is arguably one of the most popular tourist destinations in Seoul, however in my 2.5 years of living in SK I’d never had time to visit. Yesterday we decided to hit it up and boy oh boy, was it a scorcher of a day. (Directions at the end!)

First of all, if you decide to visit in the middle of summer (like we did) or you have little ones, you can hop on a bus or take the infamous cable car if you are brave enough. You don’t have to hike the mountain.

The tower ‘plaza’ offers a variety of restaurants and cafes (including a starbucks – they’re taking over Korea, too.) – so don’t worry if you forget your picnic! (Theres also a convenience store at the bus stop if you’re on a budget. I feel ya.)

 

The plaza and the tower area is littered with cute little notes, memories of people who had once visited. There is, obviously, a place to buy an infamous ‘love lock’ if you so desire. I spent a good 10 minutes reading the ones that I could. There are so many different languages, it’s really amazing to see!

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the main attractions of the tower is the ability to see Seoul from above, and it does not disappoint. We were lucky enough to be there on a clear day with very little visible air pollution!

Every day, all year (except Mondays. Nobody likes Mondays.) A traditional cultural performance takes place in front of the tower (3PM~4PM). I highly recommend it if you are around at that time! The performance is a combination of traditional music, dance, martial arts and weapons demonstrations.

 

 

 

 

I’d heard a lot of hype about the 돈까스 (fried pork cutlet) restaurants near the cable car, however I found a lot of it overpriced, and the restaurant we went to was sub-par at best. (Also not so clean. At least compared to my local restaurants) I recommend walking 5 minutes down Zaemiro, or Seoul Comics Road, to get to Myeongdong, (the shoppers paradise) to find restaurants with a lot more variety.

To get to the tower, I took the subway to Dongguk University station (동대입구역 – line 3) and then took bus 02 to the tower (there are several other busses that go there too).

To get to Zaemiro Comics Street, I drew a little map for y’all. Excuse my attempt.

Until next time, see ya soon! xo