When Brandon first received orders to South Korea, I had been following my friend over at Loving Life Moore for a while. It just so happened that the first post of hers that I saw after he got the orders was her post about the East Gate Wall in Seoul. Maybe it was just because the possibility of actually visiting it was now real, or maybe it’s just because the gate is really incredible – but it stuck with me and it became the very first thing on my South Korea Bucket List.
Dongdaemun Gate and the East Gate Wall
On our weekend trip to Seoul, I made sure to add Dongdaemun Gate and the East Gate Wall onto our itinerary. What I didn’t realize was that we had actually been just down the street from the Gate earlier in the weekend when we visited Dongdaemun Design Plaza. I probably SHOULD have realized this, since they both share the same name, but I didn’t because I only knew Dongdaemun Gate by it’s other name: Heunginjimun. It was a silly mistake that definitely cost us some time, but in the end it didn’t really matter.
Dongdaemun Gate is one of the four main gates on the outer wall of the Old Seoul City. It was located on the east side of the outer wall and was used to protect various government facilities. While the gate itself was not open for visitors to actually enter through, just off to the side sits the East Gate Wall which is open year-round.
After walking around the Gate itself and admiring its beauty, we headed across the street to the East Gate Wall. It’s a wild experience, walking up the old wall, but being right beside a modern, bustling city. It was truly world’s colliding and I was here for all of it. We didn’t hike the entire length of the wall – which stretches something like 18 kilometers – but only made it to the very top of the hill. We were not prepared for a full hike and by this point in the day the kids were already exhausted and ready for some food. But they did enjoy walking up the hill, finding rocks and sticks (because, toddlers), and peeking through the windows in the wall at the rest of the city beyond. I enjoyed getting to the top of the hill where we had a killer view of Dongdaemun Gate and Dongdaemun Design Plaza. Again, the comparison of old and modern was striking.
I’m not sure if any of our children will remember the experience of walking the East Gate Wall or seeing Dongdaemun Gate, but I know for sure that I will. Again, I may have loved it because it was the first thing that was on my bucket list for South Korea. But even if I only loved it because of that, it is still an incredible piece of Korean history and is 100% worth a visit!
’til next time…
Ash
Tips for visiting Dongdaemun Gate in Seoul
Address: Dongdaemun Gate is located just down the street from Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Jongno district of Seoul. We used 서울시 종로구 종로 288 in Naver and took the subway to Dongdaemun Design Plaza and then walked to the gate.
For kids: The trail going up to the wall is very steep at times and I wouldn’t consider it to be stroller-friendly. Our four older kids were able to handle the walking and stairs easy enough, but our almost two-year-old definitely struggled on her own. I would recommend bringing a baby carrier for smaller children to make it easier on everyone.
