Ikseon-dong sits between Insa-dong and Jongmyo Shrine. Seoul's first planned housing estate went up here in the 1920s, when developer Jeong Se-gwon split large plots into small hanok homes and sold them only to Koreans. The houses were largely overlooked until the early 2010s. Today the grid of narrow alleys holds cafés, restaurants, craft shops and photo booths. Around it are the Nagwon Instrument Arcade, old rice-cake shops and, after dark, the red tents of the Jongno 3-ga pojangmacha street. In 2026, Time Out ranked the Jongno 3-ga area, which includes Ikseon-dong, #1 on its list of the world's coolest neighbourhoods.

🚇 Jongno 3-ga Station (Lines 1, 3, 5), Exit 4 for the hanok alleys and Exit 5 for Nagwon Arcade

Half-day plan in Ikseon-dong

Places in Ikseon-dong

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