Gwanghwamun Square

About this place

The great square in the heart of Seoul, running about a kilometre and a half south from Gwanghwamun gate in front of Gyeongbokgung Palace. In Joseon times this was the Street of Six Ministries, lined with the offices of state; in the twentieth century it became a sixteen-lane road, before being turned into a pedestrian square, reopened in a wider, greener redesign in August 2022. Two statues stand along the square: Admiral Yi Sun-sin, the naval commander who held off the Japanese fleets in the sixteenth century, with a fountain before him recalling his battles, and then King Sejong the Great, seated, in whose reign the Korean alphabet was created. Beneath Sejong's statue is a free underground exhibition about his life and the inventions of his time. The square is where the city gathers for celebrations and big events, with markets and lights in winter and fountains for children to play in during summer. From its northern end you see the palace with Mount Bugaksan behind it, one of the finest views in Seoul. The square is free and always open, and at its best in the evening. It combines easily with Gyeongbokgung and with the Cheonggyecheon stream at its southern end.