Ikseon-dong Hanok Street익선동

About this place

Ikseon-dong is Seoul's oldest hanok village, where 118 traditional houses built before the 1930s stand shoulder to shoulder along lanes barely wide enough for two people to pass. The quarter took shape in the 1920s when the developer Jeong Se-gwon subdivided large plots into small and mid-sized improved hanok — modest homes for ordinary families, fitted with running water and electricity and planned for light and ventilation, all unusual for the time. After the city designated the area a hanok preservation district in 2018, the retro revival of 2019 onward filled those houses with cafes, restaurants and boutiques, turning the lanes into a destination for younger travellers, who can sit with a coffee beneath eaves nearly a century old.

Good to know

Address

Supyo-ro 28-gil, Ikseon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Hours

Varies by shop

The alleys are open at all hours with no gates. Bear in mind, though, that this is a lived-in residential quarter as much as a commercial one, and the cafes, restaurants and shops that draw visitors mostly open late in the morning, each keeping its own closing day. An early-morning visit finds the lanes and little else. Check the hours of any specific shop you are heading for.

Sources

Confirmed 2 October 2026

Find more photos

Photo spots nearby

• Gwanghwamun Square7 min by transit
• Jongmyo Shrine13 min by transit
• Changdeokgung Palace14 min by transit
• Cheonggyecheon Stream15 min by transit
• Gwangjang Market16 min by transit
• Euljiro16 min by transit