Easier for Suitcases: Namdaemun Market Gets New Stone Walkways and a Night Photo Zone

Travelers who have struggled to wheel a suitcase over Namdaemun Market's cracked old asphalt lanes have reason to cheer. Seoul's Jung-gu District Office announced on July 7 that it had completed a streetscape renewal project for the market, begun in March and finished in just four months. The traditional market, which opened in 1414 and has operated for more than 600 years, had long been hard to n

avigate because of its worn, cluttered lanes and hard-to-spot signage. Under the renewal, the market's seven entrance gates now feature a unified design and LED accent lighting, and the deteriorated asphalt walkways have been fully repaved with stone, making them easier to cross with suitcases and strollers. A new nighttime photo zone, featuring a structure and lighting shaped after Sungnyemun — N

ational Treasure No. 1 — was added to a wall at the Sungnyemun Import Arcade, and new benches were installed on the plaza in front of Sungnyemun for visitors to rest. Directional signs were also set up for the market's specialty alleys — the stationery alley, galchi-jorim (braised hairtail) alley, women's clothing street and eyewear street — while comprehensive guide maps were placed at the four m

ain entrances, cutting down on the confusion visitors used to feel in the market's maze-like lanes. Foreign travelers visiting in the evening might walk the newly refurbished entrance path, snap a photo against the night view at the Sungnyemun photo zone, and rest on a bench along the way; daytime shoppers can check the guide maps at the alley entrances first to avoid wasting time searching betwee

n the stationery, import-goods and clothing sections. Korea Tourism Times Editorial Desk