🎧 Yul's Korea Audio Guide
Namdaemun Market & Sungnyemun Gate
Narrated in English with Korean phrases by YUL of KVIBE IDOLS.
🎵 Background music: Still in That Spring (그 봄에 머물러) — KVIBE IDOLS · Listen to the full song →
Full transcript
Annyeong, yeoreobun! It's Yul. See this mighty gate in the middle of the traffic? It has watched Seoul for more than six hundred years, with a K-drama-worthy comeback story. This is Sungnyemun, also known as Namdaemun, the Great South Gate.
It was completed in 1398, as the main southern entrance of the new capital. The name Sungnyemun means Gate of Honoring Propriety. It was badly damaged in the Korean War and repaired, and in 1962 it was named National Treasure Number One.
But here's the most shocking chapter. On the night of February 10, 2008, a man set fire to the gate. Firefighters battled for hours, but after midnight the wooden pavilion on top collapsed. People across Korea watched it on TV in disbelief, and many came here to leave flowers.
Then Korea did what Korea does: it rebuilt. Craftsmen worked for about five years, and in 2013 the restored gate reopened. From ashes to comeback. Daebak!
Right next to the gate is Namdaemun Market. A market in this area goes back to 1414, early in the Joseon dynasty, one of Korea's oldest. Today it's a maze of thousands of shops selling clothes, accessories, kitchenware, glasses and more. There's even an alley famous for galchi jorim, spicy braised cutlassfish.
Yul's tip! Grab a sweet hotteok pancake from a street stall and get lost in the alleys. Many shops close on Sundays, so plan ahead. Polite bargaining is fun.
Next, let's ride up the mountain you can see from here, to the tower that sends signals over Seoul. Kaja!
