Ikseon-dong Hanok Street

Just north of Jongno 3-ga Station, a patch of low tiled roofs is squeezed between office towers. Ikseon-dong is one of the oldest clusters of hanok in Seoul, and its alleys, often barely wide enough for two people, are now lined with cafés, restaurants and workshops set up inside converted hanok. It is where 1920s urban housing and present-day Seoul share the same lane.

History: small hanok built for Koreans

The name Ikseon-dong first appeared in the administrative reform of 1914, combining syllables from Jeongseon-bang and Ik-dong. Ik-dong itself came from the long servants' wings (iknang) of Nudonggung, the residence King Cheoljong built for his elder brother on the site of the house where the king was born.

The hanok streets you see today were laid out in the late 1920s and early 1930s by the developer Jeong Se-gwon. As Japanese residents, concentrated south of the Cheonggyecheon stream, began moving north, he bought large estates, demolished them and built tightly packed small hanok for Korean families. In Ikseon-dong he developed the former Wanhwagung site in 1929 and the Nudonggung site the following year, the same approach and the same period as parts of Bukchon.

Under Japanese rule the lanes were home to pansori singers and artists. The singer Kim Cho-hyang gave her house to the Joseon Music Association as an office in 1931, and its successor, the Joseon Vocal Music Research Society, also settled here. After liberation the area became known for yojeong, upscale entertainment houses. One of them, Ojinam, is remembered as the place where the 7·4 South–North Joint Statement was discussed in 1972. Ojinam closed and was demolished in 2010, and some of its timbers were reused at Mugyewon in Buam-dong.

The lanes that escaped redevelopment

In 2004 the district was designated for redevelopment, but in 2010 Seoul's urban planning committee rejected the plan to protect the hanok. From late 2014 to early 2015 shops began opening inside renovated hanok and Ikseon-dong quickly became a downtown attraction. In 2018 it became a district-unit planning zone aimed at preserving its historic character, and it was listed among the Korea Tourism 100 for 2019–2020. Rising rents have also brought a gentrification debate, as long-time residents and older businesses are pushed out.

What to see

• The alley network: step off the main road and narrow lanes branch in every direction, with eaves almost touching overhead.
• Urban hanok: rows of small, tightly packed hanok, where tiled roofs, red-brick walls and glass shopfronts sit side by side.
• Hanbok tailors and fortune tellers: shops that survive from the yojeong era are still dotted around the lanes.
• Neighbouring streets: Nagwon-dong to the west, the Jongno 3-ga street-food tents to the south and Seosulla-gil to the east are all walkable.

Tripto tips

• Visiting: the neighbourhood is free and open at all times; each shop sets its own hours and closing days. The Naminsa tourist information centre answers questions on 02-737-7885.
• Getting there: Jongno 3-ga Station (lines 1, 3 and 5) is right next to the area. There is no parking in the lanes, so use public transport.
• When to go: weekend afternoons and evenings are packed. For photos, a weekday morning is much calmer.
• Etiquette: people still live in some of the inner houses. Please don't peer through gates or make noise.
• Combine with: Unhyeongung, Changdeokgung and Insa-dong are all within walking distance for a half-day loop.