The Deoksugung stone wall road and Jeongdong-gil are the walk locals point to when you ask for a good stroll in central Seoul. The street is free and two minutes from City Hall Station.
I walked it on Tuesday 3 November and went back on the 10th for the Jeongdong Observatory entrance and Deoksugung. The autumn colour and the ginkgo avenue were beautiful: ginkgo leaves over the pavement, red maples hanging over the palace wall, and restaurants with outdoor terraces along the way. I left thinking that next time I would come for brunch first.
This guide collects what I copied off the signboards on the way: the car-free hours, a free guided walk, which buildings you can actually go into, and the Jeongdong Observatory hours.
First: these are two different streets
English guides often treat them as one, so it is worth sorting out first.
- Deoksugung-gil is the stone wall road. It runs 310 metres from Daehanmun, the palace gate, to a small fountain roundabout, with the palace wall on one side.
- Jeongdong-gil carries on west from that roundabout. Jeongdong First Methodist Church, the Jeongdong Theater, Jungmyeongjeon and Ewha Girls’ High School are on this part.
The stone wall road is about the wall and the trees; Jeongdong-gil is about the early modern buildings. Walked together they come to about 1.3 kilometres, an easy hour.
The street is only car-free at certain hours
From the sign at the start of the stone wall road, put up by the Seoul city government and the local police:
- Weekdays: 11:00 to 14:00
- Saturdays and public holidays: 10:00 to 18:00
- Sundays: 12:00 to 18:00
Motorbikes, bicycles and scooters are kept out too. Most English guides say “pedestrian only at weekends”, but the road is also closed to traffic from 11:00 to 14:00 on weekdays. The closure covers only the 310-metre stone wall section; cars still use Jeongdong-gil.
There is a free guided walk
A Jung-gu district sign near the start of the stone wall road lists its free walking tours, including one called “A Trip Around Jeong-dong”.
- When: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:00 and 14:00
- No tours: public holidays, December to February, and August
- Start: in front of the Jeongdong Theater, towards City Hall Station Exit 12
- Length: 1.3 km, about 90 minutes
- Cost: free
- Booking and questions: the Jung-gu walking tour site (www.junggu.seoul.kr/tour), +82 2-3396-4623
The route takes in the Jeongdong Theater, Jungmyeongjeon, the old Russian Legation, the Ewha Girls’ High School centennial hall, Jeongdong First Methodist Church, the Pai Chai Hakdang History Museum and the Seoul Museum of Art. It is close to the walk I did. My visit was on a Tuesday, but at 11:00, between the two tours, and I did not know about it then. The sign does not say which languages the guides speak, so ask when you book.
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What you can actually go into
You pass a lot of buildings; these are the ones you can enter.
- Jungmyeongjeon: free, 09:30 to 17:30 (last entry 17:00), closed Mondays
- Seoul Museum of Art: free (special exhibitions extra), Tuesday to Thursday 10:00 to 20:00, Friday 10:00 to 21:00, weekends 10:00 to 18:00 (November to February), closed Mondays
- Jeongdong Observatory: free, weekdays 13:30 to 17:30, weekends 09:00 to 17:30, Friday and Saturday nights until 21:00, closed public holidays
- Sesil-maru rooftop: free, 09:00 to 21:00, closed Mondays
- Pai Chai Hakdang History Museum: free, Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 to 17:00, closed Sunday, Monday and public holidays
- Gojong’s Path: free, 09:00 to 17:30 (November to February), closed Mondays
- Deoksugung Palace: 1,000 won, 09:00 to 21:00 (last tickets 20:00), closed Mondays
I went into Deoksugung but not Jungmyeongjeon or Sesil-maru, so those hours come from the signs and official listings. Deoksugung has its own guide.
Avoid Mondays. Deoksugung, Jungmyeongjeon, the Seoul Museum of Art, Sesil-maru and Gojong’s Path all close that day. You can still walk the street, but there is almost nothing to go into.
Sesil-maru, the rooftop next to the cathedral
The rooftop of the National Jeongdong Theater Sesil building (a different building from the main Jeongdong Theater) is a free public terrace called Sesil-maru, reached by a dedicated lift from the ground floor. The city describes it as the closest place to photograph the Anglican Cathedral. I walked past without knowing it was there. The building is at the end of the cathedral grounds (16 Sejong-daero 19-gil), so do not confuse it with the theater on Jeongdong-gil.
The couples legend, and what is behind it
“Couples who walk the Deoksugung stone wall road together will break up.” Most Koreans know the saying. The usual explanation in English is that the family court was at the end of the road, so couples walking it were on their way to a divorce.
The courts were here. The main building of the Seoul Museum of Art is the old Supreme Court building, and the Seoul Family Court was in this area until it moved to Seocho in 1995.
The story needs more than that, though. Divorce by agreement only needed a family court to confirm it after a 1977 revision of the Civil Code, which took effect in 1979; before that, an agreed divorce was simply registered. And until the 1950s the road was better known as a place for dates.
The song most often credited with spreading the legend is Jin Song-nam’s 1966 hit “Deoksugung Doldamgil”, with Hye Eun-yi’s 1980 song about the same road in a similar mood. Lee Moon-sae’s 1988 “Gwanghwamun Yeonga” put couples back on it. So the courts really were nearby, and the songs probably did more to make the saying stick.
Terrace brunch, and a Korean restaurant with a queue
This is the part I am coming back for. In the middle of Jeongdong-gil, where the red-brick buildings are, several restaurants and cafés put tables out under parasols, with ginkgo trees overhead. Early November daytime temperatures made it pleasant to sit outside.
In the courtyard of Jeongdong-gil 33, Oddhaus Osteria has a parasol terrace and a brunch and dinner menu at the door. Next to it is LePul, a sandwich bar: the chalkboard lists sandwiches, salad, panini, lasagne, coffee, fresh juice and tea, and the wall board adds soups, baked onion bread and picnic boxes.
- Address: 33 Jeongdong-gil, Jung-gu (Shinailbo Building)
- Hours: Tuesday to Friday 10:00 to 20:00, weekends 11:00 to 20:00 (last order 19:00), closed Mondays
- Prices: panini 12,900 to 15,900 won, sandwiches 12,500 to 16,900 won, salads 14,500 to 16,900 won, americano 5,500 won
- Phone: +82 2-3789-0400
I have not eaten at the brunch places yet. LePul’s hours and prices come from online listings, so they may have changed.
If you would rather have Korean food, there is Duksoojung, a Korean restaurant with a queue outside every time I have walked past. That is why I took the photo. If there is no line when you pass and you are in the mood for Korean food, try it.
Jeongdong Observatory opens late on Fridays and Saturdays
At the end of the stone wall road, on the 13th floor of Seosomun Building 1 of Seoul City Hall, is the Jeongdong Observatory. It is free with no booking, and it looks down over the roofs of Deoksugung and Seokjojeon.
- Weekdays (Monday to Friday): 13:30 to 17:30
- Weekends: 09:00 to 17:30
- Friday and Saturday nights: 17:30 to 21:00
- Last entry: 17:20, or 20:50 on Friday and Saturday nights
- Public holidays: closed
The Friday and Saturday night opening started in September 2026 and runs to 21:00 from November to February. It is a trial and could change.
On my first visit I did not go up; I went to the Sky Observatory in the main City Hall building instead, which is a different place and has its own guide. On Tuesday 10 November I went to the entrance of Seosomun Building 1 in the morning, but on weekdays the floor only opens at 13:30, so I could not go up. The hours are posted at the entrance in Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese and match the list above. The photos on the board show the whole of Deoksugung laid out below, so it is on my list for next time. On a weekday, go in the afternoon; if you are walking in the morning, go at the weekend.
Visitors use the dedicated lift, No. 3, and the other floors are offices you cannot enter. No pets, and no disposable cups or containers.
When to come
- Autumn colour: the first two weeks of November. On 3 November the ginkgos were half turned and the maples by the wall were red; a week later, inside Deoksugung, the ginkgos were at their best.
- Time of day: on a weekday, walk between 11:00 and 14:00 when there are no cars.
- Day: Tuesday or Thursday, for the free guided walk. Avoid Mondays.
- Jeongdong Culture Night: a two-night festival each autumn when buildings that are usually closed open in the evening. In 2026 it was on 30 and 31 October.
One thing I saw that day
Halfway along the stone wall road, a procession of royal guards in costume came across the street, the Deoksugung guard ceremony team on the move. Everyone walking stopped to take photos. There was a busker in front of the wall too, which only works because the road is car-free at that hour.
Quick facts
- Where: Jung-gu, central Seoul. City Hall Station (Lines 1 and 2) or Seodaemun Station (Line 5)
- Easiest start: City Hall Station Line 1 Exit 1 or Line 2 Exit 12, starting at Daehanmun
- Distance: the 310 m stone wall road plus Jeongdong-gil, about 1.3 km
- Time: an hour to walk; half a day with Jungmyeongjeon, the art museum and the observatory
- Cost: the street is free; Deoksugung is 1,000 won
- Car-free hours: weekdays 11:00 to 14:00, Saturdays and holidays 10:00 to 18:00, Sundays 12:00 to 18:00
- Day to avoid: Monday
- Free guided walk: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:00 and 14:00 from the Jeongdong Theater; none December to February or in August
Frequently asked questions
Are the Deoksugung stone wall road and Jeongdong-gil the same street?
No. The stone wall road (Deoksugung-gil) is the 310 m stretch from Daehanmun to the roundabout; Jeongdong-gil continues west from there. Together they are about 1.3 km.
Does it cost anything to walk?
No. The street is free, and so are Jungmyeongjeon, the Seoul Museum of Art (except special exhibitions), the Jeongdong Observatory, Sesil-maru and Gojong’s Path. Only Deoksugung charges, 1,000 won.
Do couples really break up if they walk it together?
It is an old saying. The courts that used to be in the area are the usual explanation, but popular songs from the 1960s onward seem to have done more to spread it.
When is the road closed to cars?
Weekdays 11:00 to 14:00, Saturdays and public holidays 10:00 to 18:00, Sundays 12:00 to 18:00. Only the 310 m stone wall section.
Is there a free guided tour?
Yes. Jung-gu’s “A Trip Around Jeong-dong” leaves from the Jeongdong Theater on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:00 and 14:00. It is 1.3 km, about 90 minutes, and free, with no tours December to February or in August.
When is the autumn colour best?
The first two weeks of November. In 2026 the ginkgos were at their best around 10 November.
Where can I eat?
Several places on Jeongdong-gil have outdoor terraces; Oddhaus Osteria and the sandwich bar LePul are at Jeongdong-gil 33. For Korean food, Duksoojung usually has a queue; go in if there is no line.
What are the Jeongdong Observatory’s hours?
Weekdays 13:30 to 17:30 and weekends 09:00 to 17:30, plus Friday and Saturday nights until 21:00 (November to February). Last entry 17:20, or 20:50 on Friday and Saturday nights. Closed on public holidays. Free.
Can I go on a Monday?
You can walk the street, but Deoksugung, Jungmyeongjeon, the Seoul Museum of Art and Sesil-maru are all closed. Pick another day.
How long does it take?
An hour to walk; half a day if you add Jungmyeongjeon, the art museum and the observatory.
The bottom line
Jeongdong-gil packs a church, schools, an old legation, a theater and a former courthouse turned art museum into a short walk, free and next to City Hall Station. In November the autumn colour and the ginkgo avenue are reason enough on their own.
Four things to remember: go on a Tuesday or Thursday, walk between 11:00 and 14:00 on a weekday, avoid Mondays, and leave the Jeongdong Observatory for the afternoon on weekdays. I still owe myself that terrace brunch.
Car-free hours and the walking tour are from the signs on the street on 3 November 2026; the Jeongdong Observatory hours are from the board at its entrance on 10 November 2026. Other hours are from official listings. Last updated November 2026.
Written by WY, a Seoul-based local sharing honest, first-hand guides to Korea. Every guide here is a place I have actually been to: written from my own visit, my own photos. More about me →