Seoul Tower is a icon of Seoul – and of South Korea in general. Visible from many different parts of the city, Seoul Tower (previously called Namsan Tower) was Seoul’s first general radio wave tower and is still used today to broadcast a variety of Korean stations. And aside from being useful, it’s also quite the sight to see – no matter where in Seoul you’re seeing it from.
Our Visit to Seoul Tower
One of the first things on my Seoul Bucket List was to go up to the top of Seoul Tower. We could see it from so many different places around the city, that it was hard NOT to think about it constantly. So, on our last day in Seoul, we finally made the trek to the top of Nam Mountain so experience the tower up close. And while seeing it up close and personal absolutely did NOT disappoint, going up inside of the tower proved to be underwhelming – although there were a few things that contributed to that. Towering at a whopping 774 feet high, it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed when staring up at the tower from the base.
The view from the top of Nam Mountain is incredible. Even though the day we went was a little on the smoggy side (read: majorly smoggy), it was still really incredible. Brandon didn’t have any desire to go up into the tower, but the older two kids and I wanted to. So we stopped at a Cinnabon, got Brandon and the three younger kids settled, and purchased our tickets.
I’ve been up into a few towers in Korea by this point and the elevator rides never cease to amaze me. It’s not enough just to have a normal elevator: instead they have a presentation playing on screens that make up the walls and ceiling of the elevator. There are fireworks shooting off (and as we were waiting in line, they had the Seoul episode of the Mickey Shorts playing) and all kinds of cheesy “experience the city from Seoul Tower” mumbo jumbo that makes going up into the tower quite the experience.
Once on the observation deck, you can look out on the entire city through very dirty windows. Maybe it was because the air quality was at some of the worst we’ve seen in Korea, or maybe they just really never clean the windows, but I found that to be a little annoying (do I sound entitled yet?). Still, the views were incredible (despite the smog and filthy glass). Our favorite part was seeing that we were only 246.9km (about 153 miles) from Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. Our close proximity to North Korea never ceases to make me geek out just a little.
We walked around on the observation deck for a while, bought some small souvenirs, and then headed back down the elevator to save Brandon from the younger kids (who were SUPER done with our little trip and were really giving him a run for his money). As we got to the bottom, it was getting darker, so we got to see the lights of Seoul from the top of Nam Mountain. That by itself was beautiful. In the end, I would visit Seoul Tower again just for the night-time views, but I probably wouldn’t pay to go to the observation deck again.
Tell me, have you been to Seoul Tower?
’til next time…
Ash
How to visit Seoul Tower
Directions: Seoul Tower is not accessible by Subway (for obvious reasons), so a bus is the best way to get to it. Paste 서울타워 into Naver and it should give you detailed instructions on how to get there using public transportation.
Public Transportation Directions: From Seoul Station, take line 4 toward Hoehyeon Station and get off at Chungmuro Station. Leave the station through Exit 2 and take bus number 01 up to Namsan Seoul Tower.
Cost:
Observation Deck Admission
Adults (ages 13+) – ₩21,000
Children (4-12 years old) – ₩16,000
Children (3 and younger) – FREE
Hours of operation:
Observation Deck
Monday – Friday: 10:30am – 10:30pm
Saturday – Sunday: 10:00am – 11:00pm
*Hours of operation are subject to change at any time without notice. Please check the Seoul Tower website for hours on restaurants and gift shops in Seoul Tower.
