Seoul(Jongno-gu)

Changuimun was often called Jahamun. It was one of four mini gates in the north surrounding the castle town Seoul during the Joseon Dynasty. But because one of the four main gates, Sukjeongmun, was closed, Changuimun became a favorite north gate. Hence, people also called Changuimun the North Gate. It is the only gate among four mini gates that is still in its original state. Although it is small, almost 50m², in terms of size, it looks very firm and sturdy. While Dongsomun Gate, one of four mini gates, is decorated with a phoenix, Changuimun Gate is adorned with a wooden chicken along its rafters. The reason behind the wooden chicken was that the chicken was believed to be the nemesis of the centipede. People believed that installing the wooden chicken was important to overcome the harmful spirit of the centipede. 


Seoul(Dongjak-gu) , Gangnam・Samseongdong(COEX)

The rear area of the Seoul National Cemetery is surrounded by the sacred mountain ridges of the Dong Jak region that connect to Mt. Gongjak and form the foothills of Mt. Gwanak. Towards the front, the cemetery overlooks the meandering Han River.The Seoul National Cemetery is situated on a plot of land measuring approximately 1,430,000㎡. Entombed here are the remains of 165,000 martyrs and soldiers, police men, and reserve forces who sacrificed themselves for their country. Enshrined within the Memorial Tower are memorial tablets of some 104,000 soldiers who died during the Korean War, but whose bodies were never found along with the remains of some 7,000 unknown soldiers whose bodies were found. The remains of more than 54,000 martyred patriots have been buried in the Burial Plots, which are divided into various sections: graves of soldiers, police officers, meritorious citizens, and key figures of the provisional government. Every year on June 6th (Memorial Day) memorial services and events are held at the Seoul National Cemetery to honor these brave patriots.Facilities consist of the Memorial Gate, Memorial Tower, Chungseong Fountain Tower, Holy Ground, Photographic Exhibition House, Educational Movie Theater, and Relics Exhibition House. In 1955, the cemetery was established as the National Military Cemetery and then was elevated to the status of National Cemetery ten years later in 1965. In 1996, the managing institution also underwent a name change from "National Cemetery Management Office" to "National Memorial Board."


Seoul(Gwangjin-gu) , The Eastern Part of the Seoul

Opened in 1981, the Universal Arts Center is a performing art theater that has been contributing to the development of Korean performing arts for the last 30 years.The 4-story grand theater has a classical exterior and seats up to 1,200 people. Past performances include musicals such as ‘Saturday Night Fever’ and ‘Nonsense,’ and the opera, ‘Yi Sun Shin.' The Paeksang Arts Awards, a supermodel competition, and international conferences have been held at the center as well.The Universal Arts Center is supporting ‘Art Korea’ to promote East-West cultural exchange. It is recognized as a Korean Culture and Arts Center and a Center for International Cultural Exchange.


Seoul(Gangdong-gu) , The Eastern Part of the Seoul

Riverview 8th Avenue is the only cultural area in Korea located beneath a bridge. Not just a performance venue, the building also houses a gallery depicting the 100-year history of the Hangang River and a Hangang Renaissance Project Promotion Room, which provides a glimpse of developers’ plans to further revive the river into a prime leisure spot for citizens and tourists.Thanks to its location under the Gwangjingyo Bridge in Hangang Park (Gwangnaru area), Riverview 8th Avenue affords a scenic view of the river as seen from its glass observatory. Live performances are held on Friday or weekend nights; applications can be made online and a few winners are chosen at random to watch each performance.


Seoul(Seocho-gu) , The Western Part of the Seoul

The Museum of Traditional Music (Gugak) features the Korean first gugak museum, holding about 6,000 pieces of gugak-related materials and relics which have both historical and cultural values. It is comprised of seven themed permanent exhibition halls that present 250 pieces of audio and video clips regarding gugak. In the 3D room, visitors can enjoy 3D animation at all times. Also, various interesting, special and planned exhibitions are held.


Seoul(Gangnam-gu) , Seoul City Hall・Gwanghwamun

The Coreana Art & Culture Complex is the largest museum in Korea that is exclusively for cosmetics and was created to preserve and to promote beauty items and the make-up culture of Korea.Centered around the 53,000 beauty items collected by Dr. Yu Sank-Ok, one of the executive directors of Coreana Cosmetics, three cosmetic museums were created: one in Seocho-dong in 2001 (known as the 2nd center), one in Sinsa-dong in November 2003 (Space *C, the Main Center), and one in Cheonan in June, 2004 (Songpa Tech Institute, the 3rd center). The Main Center, opened in November 20th 2003, within a cultural center named Space *C, drew much attention from the public. The museum sits right next to the Coreana Art Museum that features and curates modern art. The Coreana Art & Culture Complex contributes to the education and research of the nation’s cosmetic culture by presenting the history of women in Korea, including the exhibition of traditional make-up tools. In 2006, in commemoration of the 120th anniversary of ties between Korea and France, the museum held a special exhibition titled “Nature-like Beauty, Cosmetic Culture of Korea”, which attracted much attention and applause at the Center Culturel Coreen in Paris, France. 


Seoul(Mapo-gu) , Yeouido・Yeongdeungpo・Mapo

Located in Sangam-dong, Digital Media City is a cutting-edge digital media entertainment cluster covering an area of about 570,000㎡.Attractions and facilities at the DMC include the DMC Promotion Room, DMS (Digital Media Street), DMC Artpia, Digital Pavilion, and the Korea Cultural Contents Center (Korean Movie Museum).


Seoul(Jongno-gu) , Insadong・Jongnon

Opened on April 1, 1981, Arko Arts Theater’s mission statement is to “boost performance art, obtain performance space to promote its popularity among the public, and support stages to pure art organizations facing financial difficulties."Over the last 24 years, it has made immense contributions to the development of Korean performance art. By the end of 2004, the theater offered 20,581 performances and attracted over 4 million visitors.As the center of performance art, the theater also began to attract a slew of small theaters and has played a pivotal role in promoting performance art and populating Dongsung-dong with artist. Currently, Daehakro (College Street) is home to over 58 theaters that offer colorful performances every day, making it the focal point of performance art in Korea.Large performance hall, children's playroom, small performance hall, practice room pianos, visual equipment (TV and VTR recording), audio equipment (recording, music/effects editing), stages (revolving state, elevated state, and orchestra pit), lobbies (first and second floor of large performance hall and small performance hall) 


Seoul(Gwanak-gu) , The Western Part of the Seoul

Gyujanggak was founded in 1776 during the reign of King Jeongjo, the 22nd ruler of the Joseon Dynasty, at which time it was located on the palace grounds of Changdeokgung. It functioned as the royal library, which housed writings by the previous kings, their relics and books from home and abroad.Today Seoul National University maintains the items of Gyujanggak in a Korean traditional house, Hanok, which is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities necessary for preservation of cultural heritages. Moreover, Gyujanggak Library of Seoul National University collects or publishes books from a variety of sectors such as politics, economy and society.Gyujanggak now houses more than 280,000 items including 7 national treasures, 8 treasures, 180,000-plus old books, about 50,000 documents and 18,000 Chaekpan (printing blocks). Among them, Joseon Wangjo Sillok (the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, National Treasure No. 151), Seungjeongwon Ilgi (the Diaries of the Royal Secretariat, National Treasure No. 303) and Uigwe (the Royal Protocols of the Joseon Dynasty) have been designated as UNESCO World Cultural Heritages. The exhibition hall in Gyujanggak is open to the public.


Seoul(Yongsan-gu) , Euljiro・Chungmuro・Namsan

Namsan Outdoor Botanical Garden opened its doors on February 18th, 1997 in Hannam-dong, where the residential complex for foreigners once stood before it was demolished in 1994. Covering an area of around 59m2, it is divided into 13 themed gardens with a total 117,132 plants from 269 species. Among this diversity, 60,912 plants from 129 species are tree types and 56,220 plants from 140 species are grass types. The 13 themed gardens include a garden of herbal medicine, apricot trees, wildflowers, royal azaleas, shrubs, commercial plants and a garden for the blind.