TRAVELER STORY · 서울
Written by AI from Korea Tourism Organization travel-course data. It is not a real visitor’s review, so check hours and travel times before you go.
From Gwanghwamun Square to Deoksugung, this autumn walk threads royal Seoul into a single, glowing afternoon.
In Seoul, history does not sit behind glass; it walks beside you under a ceiling of yellow leaves.
The first thing I noticed was the light. It bounced off the wide stone lanes of Gwanghwamun Square and rose toward the ridgeline behind Gyeongbokgung, with Bugaksan Mountain standing watch in the distance. Even in the middle of modern Seoul, the space felt ceremonial, as if the city had stepped back just enough to let its older self breathe.
I had come for a walk, but what began as a route quickly turned into a lesson in scale. Gwanghwamun Square is not just a plaza; it is the restored front porch of the capital, where the old axis of the Joseon court still shapes the city around it. Families drifted past, office workers cut through with practiced speed, and I found myself slowing down, letting the rhythm of the place reset my own.
Gwanghwamun Square is a broad outdoor promenade where present-day Seoul opens onto the long memory of old Hanyang. Rebuilt as a people-first civic space, it frames views toward Gyeongbokgung (Joseon's main royal palace) and Bugaksan while reviving the historical trace of Yukjo Street, the administrative heart of the old capital.
The square feels ceremonial and open at once, with mountain light, palace sightlines, and water features softening the city traffic beyond. In ginkgo season, the walk takes on a golden glow that makes the old fortress route feel unexpectedly intimate.
Walk slowly from the entrance section where the restored Woldae ceremonial platform and Haetae guardian statues recall Gwanghwamun's older face, then continue through the central plaza, Haechi Madang, the historical waterway, and Admiral Yi Sun-sin Fountain. Entry is free, the site is barrier-free, and it works well as the opening stretch of a walk toward Deoksugung.
A dry rustle of leaves followed me toward Gyeongbokgung (the grand main palace of the Joseon dynasty), and suddenly Seoul's traffic noise seemed very far away. Inside the palace grounds, the air changed. Gravel crunched underfoot, painted eaves glowed in restrained jewel tones, and the courtyards opened one after another with the calm confidence of a place built to frame power.
What stayed with me was not only the architecture, but the sense of origin. This was the palace where the dynasty announced itself, where court ritual once set the tempo for the kingdom, and where the intellectual force of King Sejong's era still lingers in the imagination of Korea. I stood for a while facing the formal halls, thinking how rare it is for a capital city to keep such a clear conversation going between mountain, gate, avenue, and throne.
Then came the color. The route toward Deoksugung unfolded in bands of yellow, the ginkgo leaves turning the sidewalks into something almost theatrical. This is the season when the walk makes complete sense: not as a checklist of landmarks, but as a moving picture of Seoul in autumn, with every gust sending another shimmer across the pavement.
Along the way, I paused at the Seoul Museum of Art, Seosomun Main Branch, where the old facade of a 1920s courthouse gives way to bright, glass-linked interiors and soft natural light. The building feels both preserved and unfinished in the best way, always in conversation with the present. I also thought of the old site of the home of Toegye Yi Hwang, one of Korea's most revered Confucian scholars, and how easily this walk folds philosophy, monarchy, and city life into the same few streets.
Deoksugung (a former imperial palace of the Korean Empire) carries the layered history of Seoul in a compact, walkable courtyard of gates, halls, and broad stone paths. It is the palace where traditional Korean architecture stands beside Western-style buildings such as Seokjojeon Hall, making the contrasts of the late empire visible at a glance. On a route from Gwanghwamun Square, it feels especially striking when yellow ginkgo leaves gather along the walls and paths.
The mood shifts between stately and quietly wounded, as if the palace still remembers both ceremony and loss. Wide courtyards, old trees, and the mix of rooflines and stone facades give the place a reflective, late-afternoon gravity.
Walk the outdoor grounds first, then step into the exhibition buildings to see how Deoksugung balances royal Korean spaces with early modern Western design. The site works well as part of a walking course with Gyeongbokgung and nearby Jeong-dong landmarks, and practical basics such as restrooms are available on site.
Seoul Museum of Art, Seosomun Main Branch, stands along Deoksugung Stone Wall Road in central Seoul, where the preserved front of a 1920s former Supreme Court building meets a bright contemporary interior. Climb through the lobby and up the stairs to see how wood, glass, and natural light reshape the old structure into a museum that feels both stately and unexpectedly open. With six exhibition rooms, reference archives, a cafe, and an art bookstore, it offers more than a quick gallery stop.
The mood shifts from historic gravity outside to airy calm inside, with sunlight pooling across the stairways and exhibition halls. It feels especially cinematic after a walk under the ginkgo-lined road, when the city noise fades behind stone walls and old facades.
Pair the museum with a walk from Gwanghwamun Square to Deoksugung and continue along Jeongdong-gil, where the historic streetscape extends the afterglow of the exhibitions. Visit in ginkgo season when the road turns yellow, and do not miss the staircase views and the permanent collection rooms on the second floor.
북악산, 인왕산, 낙산, 남산으로 이어지는 18.6㎞의 성곽 둘레를 따라 걷는 도심 트레킹 코스입니다. 창의문과 혜화문, 흥인지문, 돈의문 터 같은 지점을 지나며 서울의 산세와 오래된 성벽, 지금의 골목 풍경이 한 길 위에 겹쳐집니다.
돌로 쌓인 성벽 옆을 걸으면 차 소리와 바람 소리가 번갈아 들리고, 능선에 오를수록 서울의 지붕들이 발아래로 펼쳐집니다. 가을에는 은행잎이 길 가장자리를 덮어 걷는 속도까지 조금 늦춰집니다.
순성길은 백악구간, 낙산구간, 남산(목멱산) 구간, 인왕구간 4개 코스로 나뉘며, 백악산·낙산·목멱산 봉수대 터·인왕산의 지정 장소에서 얼굴이 나온 인증사진을 찍어 완주 인증을 신청할 수 있습니다. 계절별 완주 뱃지도 받을 수 있어, 한 번에 끝내기보다 여러 계절에 나눠 걷는 재미가 있습니다.
Gyeongbokgung (the grand royal palace of the Joseon Dynasty) is the architectural heart of old Seoul, first founded in 1395 and later rebuilt after war and long ruin. Its broad courtyards, ceremonial halls, lotus ponds, and surviving masterpieces such as Geunjeongjeon Hall and Gyeonghoeru Pavilion reveal both royal grandeur and the scars of history. Walking here fits the spirit of tracing a vanished fortress path, especially when the gingko leaves turn the palace edges gold.
The palace feels wide, wind-washed, and dignified, with mountain-backed roofs rising above gravel courts and still water. Even in the city center, the mood shifts quickly from traffic and stone to measured silence, long shadows, and the weight of dynastic memory.
Enter with time to follow the main axis from Gwanghwamun Gate through the ceremonial grounds, then slow down around Hyangwonjeong Pavilion and the pond for the most lyrical pause. The site is stroller-friendly and barrier-free, with accessible parking, accessible restrooms, an audio guide, and a nursing room, so it works well for families and visitors with mobility needs.
By the time I reached Deoksugung (the palace of the Korean Empire), the day had softened. The stone wall caught the late light, and the palace grounds felt gentler than Gyeongbokgung, more intimate, but layered with a different kind of gravity. This was the royal seat of Emperor Gojong's short-lived empire, and you can feel that hinge of history here: a court trying to redefine itself while the modern world pressed in from every side.
I lingered longer than I expected. Deoksugung has that effect. Its buildings do not overwhelm; they draw you closer. The mood was less about spectacle than aftertaste, a quiet understanding that Seoul's history is not a single dynasty but a series of reinventions. When I finally left, the yellow leaves along the palace edge seemed to carry the story onward, as if the vanished fortress road had simply changed form and continued under my feet.
This walk left me with the feeling that Seoul reveals itself best on foot: royal, restless, and unexpectedly tender in autumn. Long after the palaces faded behind me, the sound of leaves on stone was what remained.
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