Yongsan: the station, the park, and the hillside neighborhoods

The reason for that fragmentation is the base. For most of the twentieth century the center of the district was a garrison — Japanese, then American — which meant the city grew around a hole roughly three square kilometers wide. Everything in Yongsan is oriented toward the edge of that space.

Since the relocation of the garrison, parts of the site have opened to the public in stages as the Yongsan Park project proceeds. Access has been partial and by reservation for some sections, so check what is currently open rather than assuming a finished park.

Behind the station is the remains of the Yongsan Electronics Market, once the country's dominant place to buy computers and components. It has shrunk considerably as buying moved online, and much of the surrounding area is under redevelopment. Visit for the atmosphere of an older retail model rather than for bargains.

For travelers, the practical value of Yongsan Station is as a transfer point: it is a straightforward place to start a day trip south by KTX, and it links directly to Ichon and the museum quarter one stop away.

The War Memorial of Korea, near Samgakji Station where lines 4 and 6 meet, covers Korean military history with a strong focus on the Korean War, including outdoor aircraft and vehicle displays. It is the clearest single explanation in Seoul of why the peninsula is divided.

Namsan itself rises on Yongsan's northern edge. The cable car and the tower are reached from the Myeongdong side, but the quieter walking approaches come up from Huam-dong and Haebangchon on the Yongsan slope.

Haebangchon has a substantial foreign resident population and a strip of small restaurants and bars along its main road; Huam-dong, closer to Seoul Station, is quieter and more residential, with a slowly growing number of cafes in converted houses.

Walking them is a workout, and the reward is views back over the district and a sense of the city's texture before the towers. These are working neighborhoods, so the usual courtesy applies: keep noise down in the lanes, especially at night.

A resident also knows what is currently open on the old base, which has changed repeatedly as the park project advances, and which hill routes have stairs rather than slopes.

localseoul matches travelers with ID-verified Seoul residents for coffee, food or a walk. It is free during early access, it is not a tour service, and the local is not paid by you. Most requests hear back within 48 hours.