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Fall in Korea Day 4: Ihwa Mural Village at Naksan Park, Seoul

May 18, 2015

naksan park seoul featured photo

Fresh from Busan, our first day back at the Capitol capital of South Korea was spent exploring artsy-fartsy neighborhoods in Seoul. Despite being incredibly tired and groggy, we dragged ourselves out of our comfy hostel to travel all the way to Hyehwa-dong.

On my first trip to Seoul back in 2012, my family stayed in Hyehwa-dong but we didn’t get to explore the district. It’s known for the student theaters dotting the area, but we didn’t know that back then. This time, my friends I still didn’t go there to watch a play. Instead, we went to Hyehwa-dong to walk up to Naksan Park.

At Naksan Park, you can find the Ihwa Mural Village, which has been featured in numerous Korean dramas like Rooftop Prince. It’s an off-the-road destination, but just like the Gamcheon Culture Village in Busan, the community has turned into a booming tourist spot.

In 2006, the community transformed itself in what they called the Naksan Project. About 60 artists participated in painting the walls and installing art pieces around the area. Now, local and foreign tourists alike regularly visit the park.

hyewa station seoul ihwa mural village directions seoul korea

On our way to Naksan Park, we passed by an elementary school and an art installation that looks like rainbow-colored poop. We thought we’d get lost finding the Mural Village, but there were markers to help us find our way.

The neighborhood felt very quaint, mostly because there’s a school nearby and most stores and cafes catered particularly to students. We also didn’t see any tourist on our way, so we were surprised when we got there and see people of all nationalities. Heh.
ihwa mural village 14ihwa mural village 10

There’s no sign telling you that you’ve arrived at Ihwa Mural Village. However, if you’ll just look closely, you’ll know that you’ve found the place. The walls of restaurants and houses were suddenly decorated with larger-than-life murals. Also, we found ourselves in front of a staircase with clouds and birds decorating the walls.

There were cute cafes everywhere! We wanted to stop by and hang out for awhile, but we had to get back to Hongdae by noon.

cute cafes in korea cute cafes in seoul cute in korea ihwa mural village 3

Since it was a Saturday, we noticed the large number of young Koreans touring the place with their friends. It can be difficult to take a picture of a mural without someone suddenly photobombing your photos. It’s okay, though. I ended up photobombing others’ photos, too. I wonder how many cameras caught my derpy facial expressions.

fall in korea 2 ihwa mural village naksan park 2 naksan park korea

To my great surprise, we came upon these high walls at Naksan Park. The road around the area was under renovation that time, but I immediately knew that it’s one the shooting locations of King 2 Hearts. My heart did some somersaults and it also sunk to the ground, because it’s the place Princess introduced to Soldierbot as her favorite spot in Seoul. They’re my OTP and I still can’t forgive the drama for the injustice it did to my OTP.

For more recent K-drama viewers, you might recognize it from Angry Mom. It’s where Hong-Tae took Ah-Ran after saving her from his evil father.ihwa mural village 12 ihwa mural village 5

There’s a freedom wall with a huge “Before I die…” written on top of it. Tourists are supposed to follow that statement with their own answers, but we ended up just doodling our names. Good thing Kimpee always has a Sharpie with him!ihwa mural village 7 ihwa mural village 9 ihwa mural village 6ihwa mural village seoulfall foliage korea seoul 7

Even though Ihwa Mural Village has its own charms, I felt like the paintings in Gamcheon Culture Village are more interactive. The ones in Ihwa-dong are also smaller in scale. Then again, the art in Ihwa-dong doesn’t necessarily have to be 3D paintings.

What I do love are the paintings and mosaic that span entire staircases! Obviously, this is where tourists flock the most. We barely got a chance to take solo photos. I can’t even remember if we had a group photo in one of the staircases. It’s probably in Jinky’s cameras.

ihwa mural village 13 ihwa mural village 2 ihwa mural village 8 ihwa mural village 15

Aside from murals and art installations, Naksan Park is also home to some of the cutest cafes I had seen around Seoul. There’s also this ice cream shop with a yellow door. Cute illustrations and potted plants also decorateed the walls and the exterior.cute cafes in seoul 2 cute cafes in seoul naksan park naksan park seoul korea 2ihwa mural village 11 naksan park kimpee

After seeing every mural, we explored the lower side of Naksan Park. When you need a high spot overlooking Seoul, this is the perfect place to go. It also looked divine during autumn! The mix of golden, red and green leaves from the trees lining up the streets looked amazing.

Kimpee, on the other hand, looked foolish. But what’s new? He photobombed half of my photos. flips laptopnaksan park seoul koreaihwa mural village 4 naksan park seoul 2

All four of us in one shot!

naksan park seoul 4 naksan park seoul 3 naksan park seoul 8 naksan park seoul 5 naksan park seoul 7 naksan park seoul korea 4autumn in koreaIt’s really too bad that I don’t live in Seoul. I’d love to see how Naksan Park looks like in spring, summer and winter. It looks lovely in fall, so I wonder how it looks when cherry blossoms are blooming? Basically, I’d love to see all of Seoul in every season. So far, I’ve seen Korea in spring, summer, and fall. Only winter is left, and I wish to make that a reality next year!

Ihwa Mural Village (이화 벽화마을) at Naksan Park (낙산공원)

Ihwa-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Admission: Free
Time: Open 24/7 but try to visit before sun down

Ihwa Mural Village Direction:

  • Ride the subway and get down at Hyehwa Station (Line 4), Exit 2. 
  • Walk for about 200m. Once you see the street called Dongdung-gil, turn left.
  • Keep walking until you reach the Lock Museum. 
  • After about 50 meters, turn right in a street called Naksan Gongson-gil then walk until you reach Naksan Park. 

Autumn in Korea 2014 Travelogue:

  • Seoul Accommodation: Hongdae Family Housetel (Pencil Hotel 3)
  • Busan Accommdation: Hi Korea Hostel
  • Aboard KTX Express From Seoul to Busan And Back Again
  • Fall in (Love With) Korea
  • Fall in Korea Day 1: N Seoul Tower At Night
  • Fall in Korea Day 2: The Cliffside Haedong Yonggungsa Temple in Busan
  • Fall in Korea Day 2: Fried Chicken Night at Gwangalli Beach, Busan
  • Fall in Korea Day 3: Sunrise at Haeundae Beach, Busan
  • Fall in Korea Day 2: Gamcheon Culture Village in Busan
  • Fall in Korea Day 2: Lunch at Jagalchi Fish Market in Busan
  •  Fall in Korea Day 3: Busan Tower and BIFF Square

fall in korea

14 Comments · Travel

Comments

  1. Coolest PMT Ever! says

    May 18, 2015 at 11:22 PM

    I love the photos! Keep up the amazing blog content. Now I know which places to visit the next time I visit Korea. Keep up the good work!

    Reply
    • Jane says

      May 20, 2015 at 10:35 AM

      Thank you, Tony! Haha

      Reply
  2. Cris-Justin Masungsong says

    May 18, 2015 at 11:26 PM

    Thanks for the info. Very useful especially cause of the directions! 🙂

    Reply
    • Jane says

      May 20, 2015 at 10:47 AM

      Hi CJ! Thanks thanks. 😀

      Reply
  3. Anton Tinsay Locsin says

    May 21, 2015 at 8:52 PM

    Awesome blog! Reminds me of the last time I went to South Korea.

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/antonlocsin/6909654871/

    If you find any problems while in SoKor, be sure to visit the Philippine Embassy there. Here’s the link: http://www.philembassy-seoul.com/

    More posts please.

    Reply
    • Jane says

      May 22, 2015 at 9:11 AM

      Hehehe thank you for SEO-ing my blog. 😛

      Reply
  4. Andy says

    July 23, 2015 at 2:58 PM

    Hi Jane,

    Is this 1 day at Ihwa Mura is enough for a day trip ?

    Reply
    • Jane says

      July 24, 2015 at 10:47 AM

      Half day is enough for Ihwa Mural Village 🙂

      Reply
  5. Vixalexa @Watch movie HD says

    March 24, 2016 at 2:03 PM

    The road sign is that true directions XD

    Reply
  6. Allegra says

    April 24, 2016 at 3:24 PM

    Nice pictures. May I know the date when you visited Naksan Park please? I’m trying to estimate the date for the best autumn foliage in Seoul.

    Reply
    • Jane says

      April 25, 2016 at 9:22 AM

      November 8, 2014 🙂 I think late October or early November is a great time for autumn foliage. 🙂

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. How to Travel Korea on a Budget says:
    November 2, 2015 at 9:04 AM

    […] Ihwa Mural Village […]

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  2. 25 Photos to Convince You to Travel to South Korea in Autumn says:
    November 18, 2015 at 9:04 AM

    […] Image credit: Oh My Janey […]

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  3. 24 Fun Things to Do on Your SECOND Trip to Seoul says:
    August 29, 2016 at 3:13 PM

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Hello, I'm Janey. I'm a fangirl, a bookworm, a dreamer and a wannabe writer. I'm a couch potato and a traveler rolled into one.
This is my lame attempt to be a travel blogger, but honestly, this is just an archive of my daily reality.


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