Photo: Unsplash
Traditional hanok houses sit between royal palaces here. Bukchon and Samcheong-dong are for slow walks, Ikseon-dong packs tiny hanok cafes and restaurants into narrow lanes, and Insadong sells crafts and tea. Many visitors wear hanbok, which also means free palace entry.
Getting there Anguk Station (Line 3) for Bukchon and Insadong, Jongno 3-ga Station (Lines 1, 3, 5) Exit 4 for Ikseon-dong, Gyeongbokgung Station (Line 3) for the palace and Seochon.
Photos: Korea Tourism Organization PhoKo · 이범수 (KOGL Type 1) / Korea Tourism Organization PhoKo · 김지호 (KOGL Type 1) / Korea Tourism Organization PhoKo · 라이브스튜디오 (KOGL Type 1)
Typical: BagelsLondon Bagel Museum Angukhotple.korea The original 2021 store of the brand that set off Korea's bagel craze still draws hour-long queues of locals and overseas visitors, and its cluttered British-deli interior is all over Instagram.
Gyeongbokgung Palacehotple.korea Renting hanbok and posing in front of the throne hall or Gyeonghoeru Pavilion is one of the most posted things travelers do in Seoul, and hanbok wearers get in free.
Typical: Hanok caféCafe Onion Angukhotple.korea A renovated hanok with a tiled-roof courtyard and a counter piled with sugar-dusted pandoro, it remains one of the most posted bakery cafes in Anguk.
Bukchon Hanok Villagehotple.korea The sloping lane of tiled roofs on Bukchon-ro 11-gil is the hanok photo most travelers want, often taken in rented hanbok after a palace visit.
Changdeokgung Palace & Secret Garden (Huwon)hotple.korea Every November the Secret Garden's maples around Buyongji and Aeryeonji ponds fill Korean feeds, and in 2026 bloggers reported people queuing from dawn because same-day garden tickets were gone by about 9:40.
Tongin Markethotple.korea The coin lunchbox, where you swap cash for old-style brass coins and fill a tray stall by stall, is a favourite with visitors to Seochon and was featured by The Korea Herald in May 2026.
Osulloc Tea House Bukchonhotple.korea Justin and Hailey Bieber were photographed here in late October 2026 with matcha lattes and ice cream, and the rooftop-view tea bar was already a favorite for hanok-roof photos.
Typical: Salt breadArtist Bakery Angukhotple.korea The salt-bread sister shop of London Bagel Museum sits right at Anguk Exit 1, and its long lines and boxes of salt bread keep showing up in feeds.
Hanboknam Gyeongbokgung (Hanbok Rental)hotple.korea Hanbok wearers get into Gyeongbokgung for free, and this large rental shop a minute from the station is where many of the palace's hanbok photos start.
Typical: Hanok caféCheongsudang Bakeryhotple.korea Its bamboo-lined entrance, with stepping stones over running water, is one of the most recognisable shots in Ikseon-dong and still turns up in 2026 food guides and blog reviews.
Typical: SamgyetangTosokchon Samgyetanghotple.korea Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang dropped in with his family in June 2026, which put this long-running Seochon hanok restaurant back in the news and on many travelers' lists.
Typical: Hanok caféSeoul Coffee Ikseonhotple.korea A retro hanok cafe built around memories of 1980s Seoul, it is one of the longest-running stops on Ikseon-dong's hanok street, and its black sesame cream latte and red bean butter toast are regular sights on Korean feeds.
Typical: Kalguksu (knife-cut noodles)Hwangsaengga Kalguksuhotple.korea A Michelin Bib Gourmand pick for years, it is a standard lunch stop between Gyeongbokgung and Bukchon, and its bowls of milky broth and plump dumplings are a common post from the area.
Typical: Sujebi (hand-torn noodle soup)Samcheongdong Sujebihotple.korea Open since 1982 and listed as a Bib Gourmand in the MICHELIN Guide Seoul 2026, it is a standard warm-bowl stop on the Samcheong-dong walk, and most of its top Google reviews are written by overseas visitors.
Ssamziegilhotple.korea The spiral ramp lined with craft stalls is the most photographed building in Insadong, and one-day craft classes inside keep it on travel reels.
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