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With its colorful exterior and deep story, Myeongdong is a popular shopping district in Seoul, especially among international visitors. More than just a shopping district, Myeongdong is filled with a variety of attractions and hidden stories that make it an unforgettable experience for visitors. The area is complete with department stores, duty-free shops, convenient transportation, currency exchange, and accommodations, making it an attractive destination for international tourists.
Myeongdong covers a large area stretching from Cheonggyecheon Stream to Namsan Cable Car, but today we’ll focus on the area around the main Myeongdong Station.
Myeongdong Street, the center of Myeongdong, is always bustling with people looking to shop and eat. The street food on Myeongdong Street is a feast for the eyes and taste buds, but it can be a bit pricey, starting at around 8,000 won, especially for tourists with high expectations of K-food. For example, “Shinsegae Tteokbokki” (10, Myeongdong 9-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul), recently introduced by popular YouTuber “pungja,” has an appealing garlic flavor despite its small portion size (5,000 won per tteokbokki).
Myeongdong is also a popular place to experience the latest Korean culture, with many beauty shops introducing K-beauty trends and stores selling K-pop albums. In particular, Modern House’s living shop “Butter Shop” and “Line Friends,” which sell Korean character merchandise, are popular among visitors who love cute characters.
Wiggle Wiggle House is a popular Korean brand with colorful colors and retro designs, and there are many cute photo zones on the first to third floors, as well as an outdoor rooftop.
Myeongdong is also home to many cultural experiences beyond just shopping. For example, at the center of the street is Myeongdong Nanta Theater, located on the third floor of a UNESCO building. Nanta is a non-verbal performance that combines traditional Korean percussion instruments with Western musical elements, with no dialog, just rhythm and beat.
The Myeongdong Arts Theater was built during the Japanese occupation to host movies and plays, and is a unique mix of Western architecture from different eras. It was founded in 1936 as the Meiji Theater and reopened as the National Theater after liberation, and has since become a romantic street for cultural and artistic people.
There are many places in Myeongdong where you can find traces of various cultural and artistic figures. For example, near Myeongdong Arts Theater, there is a marker on the site of Eunseong Tavern, which was run by the mother of actress Choi Bul-am, and is known for being a gathering place for cultural and artistic figures such as novelist Lee Bong-gu, poets Kim Soo-young and Park In-hwan, and composer Yoon Yong-ha.
As such, Myeongdong was home to many bars and coffee shops frequented by cultural artists in the 1960s and 70s, and was also a fashion center with shops and salons of Korea’s first generation of fashion designers.
The restaurants in Myeongdong are mainly frequented by local office workers and one-time tourists, so they can sometimes be busy and unfriendly, but with the exception of a few restaurants, most of them are friendly and well-received.
For example, “Myeongdong Gyoza,” “Myeongdong Tonkatsu,” and “Hadonggwan” have been around for a long time, and many people visit them for their nostalgic flavors.
In addition to the above restaurants that have been famous for a long time, I would like to introduce some hidden restaurants and cafes that have recently gained high praise and are becoming more and more famous.
“Myeonghwadang” is a Taiwanese-style bistro recommended by Korean chef Lee Yeonbok on YouTube channel Garo Channel, and offers a variety of dishes such as kimbap, hot pot noodles, and jjol.
“Ooga”, famous for its stone pot rice, is a popular ssambap restaurant where you can enjoy a variety of side dishes and Korean set meals.
“Myeongdong Hamheungmyeonok Main Branch” is a long-running cold noodle restaurant in a back alley.
It serves sashimi, water noodles, hand dumplings, and other dishes that are not too spicy.
Myeongdong is also home to a variety of foreign cuisines. “Tsuruhashi Fugetsu” is a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant that originated about 70 years ago in Tsuruhashi, Osaka’s Koreatown, and is the only place in Myeongdong where you can try it.With healthy, vegetable-heavy dishes and an atmosphere that will remind you of traveling to Japan, it’s well worth a visit, even if the wait is long and you have to use a waiting app.
“Gurkha Indian Restaurant” serves authentic Indian and Nepalese cuisine, and is run by locals and staff for an authentic taste of India and Nepal.
The long-established restaurant “Miseong-ok”, founded in 1966, is famous for its Korean beef sullungtang and suyuk, and is a delight to discover, tucked away in an alleyway.
Myeongdong has many other hidden spots, one of which is a cafe called “Mastcha”.
This cafe grinds tea and coffee with millstones and offers a unique experience where you can admire traditional Korean artifacts on the way up to the fourth floor.
The roasted green tea milk tea has a smooth taste unlike traditional English milk tea, and the matcha ice cream has a strong matcha flavor, making it a favorite among green tea lovers.
Other cafes with a retro vibe include “Coin,” known as the filming location for the drama “Answer Me 1994” and the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life,” where green tea shaved ice and ice cream waffles are popular.
“Poem” is a retro cafe similar to Coin, but with a more Japanese feel.
“Molto Italian Espresso Bar” is famous for its European-inspired photo zone, with views of the medieval Gothic Myeongdong Cathedral and Namsan Tower.
Myeongdong’s architecture also adds to the neighborhood’s charm. Myeongdong Cathedral is a medieval Gothic-style building represented by Notre Dame Cathedral in France, designed by a French priest and completed in 1898.
Myeongdong Cathedral is a historic place where Catholics gathered and practiced their religion in the early Joseon Dynasty, and it became a shrine to democracy, especially when a memorial mass for the late columnist Park Jong-chul was held there in 1987.
Next to Myeongdong Cathedral is the Bishops’ Apostolic House, where bishops once lived, and now serves as a history museum. It offers free guided tours that tell the history of Catholicism in Korea.
Another recommended attraction for visitors to Myeongdong is the street where the Chinese Embassy is located. This street is also known as Currency Exchange Street due to its high concentration of currency exchange offices, and is often referred to as Chinatown due to its many Chinese-run restaurants. Famous Chinese restaurants include “Hyangmi”, “Gaehwa”, and “Shandong Gyoza”, which became more popular after the Korean singer Sungkyung visited.
Other favorites include “Sogong Bajirak Kalguksu”, known for its good value for money, and “Lanju Kalmien(Lanjukalmyeon)“, famous for its chewy and crispy Sichuan hot and sour noodles.
Near the street is the Nutrition Center, famous for its electric-roasted whole chicken and pork soup, and Jangsu Galbi, with its delicious grilled short ribs and rib soup.
Myeongdong also has a number of unique cafes, one of which is “The Spot Fabulous,” located opposite the Chinese Embassy. The cafe is housed in a renovated 19th-century European-style building that reflects the popular 19th-century architecture of China’s Samminist Alliance Hall, with long windows that offer beautiful views, and desserts that are not overly sweet and stick to the basics to satisfy.
Another not-to-be-missed spot in Myeongdong is the intersection in front of the Bank of Korea near the Chinese Embassy, which houses the headquarters of Shinsegae Department Store and the Bank of Korea Numismatic Museum. This is known as the most European neighborhood in Myeongdong, with many buildings dating back to the Japanese colonial period.
Shinsegae Department Store’s headquarters is located in the former Mitsukoshi Department Store Gyeongseong branch, and during the Christmas season, many people gather to see the media facade.
The Bank of Korea Money Museum is a Renaissance-style building that was originally the Bank of Joseon, established by the Japanese to serve as a central bank. Here you can learn about the history of money and how it is created, and see rare coins from various countries and eras.
The Seoul Central Post Office is also home to a philatelic museum. Here you can learn about the history of stamps, see stamps from different countries, and experience the “slow letter” where you can post a letter to a loved one or yourself for free. The “Slow Letter” is only available for delivery within South Korea, and you can choose between a 6-month and a yearly subscription.
Finally, we’d like to introduce Myeongdong “Fun Road” as a hidden gem in Myeongdong. Created by the Seoul Animation Center, it’s a cartoon street with familiar characters in every alleyway, and it’s a unique space that showcases the work of various artists.
Here you can find works by Korean artists such as Grafflex and Sticky Monster Lab, and there are some fun pieces along the hilly road to Namsan.
Myeongdong Jemiro is also home to many unique cafes and restaurants that offer visitors a fun experience.
“Gabado” is a cozy place to enjoy tea and tiramisu, with furniture collected from Japanese salvage markets.
Also worth a visit are “Namsandong Waffle Cafe”, which offers a peaceful atmosphere on the rooftop, and “Keiko Shoten”, which is full of Japanese flair.
“Keiko Shoten” is famous for its cute smiley curry rice and chicken nanban.
JeongtaeNe-silbijip, which serves a variety of Korean snacks in a cozy atmosphere, is known for its loyal clientele and local reputation for deliciousness.
If you love lamb, try Lamkamp, which uses only young, unfrozen lamb.
Myeongdong Jemiro also offers a glimpse into Korean youth culture and pop culture. For example, “Island,” introduced by actor Kim Dae-myung, is a live cafe bar that preserves the youth culture of Myeongdong, which was once the center of a guitar craze.
The boss is said to have been the chorus of the Korean singer Kim Kwang-seok Band.
While Myeongdong is always bustling with tourists, it’s also home to many quiet, vibrant, and photogenic neighborhoods.
You’ll have a great time admiring the diversity of Korean modern architecture and discovering the stories behind the neighborhood. Myeongdong is sure to give you a unique experience, and we highly recommend you visit.
