Buam-dong Walk, Seoul, South Korea

Sep 6, 2026 | Asia, City, Neighborhood, South Korea - Seoul Area

A walk through Buam-dong, a quiet hillside neighborhood of Seoul known for its small cafés, galleries, and peaceful atmosphere. 1277

Changuimun Gate (Buksomun): 42 Changuimun-ro, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea

Literary Museum of Poet Yun Dong-ju: 119 Changuimun-ro, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea

Hill of Poet Yun Dong-ju: 119 Changuimun-ro, Cheongun-dong, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea

Cheongun Literature Library: 40 Jahamun-ro 36-gil, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea

Date Picture Taken: Apr, 2026

I took public transportation to Buam-dong for a walk. I had seen the neighborhood recommended by several Seoul travel guides on YouTube as a pleasant area to explore on foot.

The first thing I did after arriving in Buam-dong was stop at a coffee shop for a cup of tea, since I had already had coffee earlier that day.

After leaving the coffee shop, I began walking through the streets of Buam-dong.

Near the coffee shop was Changuimun Gate, one of the historic gates in Seoul’s old city wall.

A view of Changuimun Gate from the other side.

Next to Changuimun Gate is a long flight of stairs leading up to the Seoul City Wall and the trail along the ridge.

At the top of the stairs, I reached the Seoul City Wall and began walking along the wall.

Then I returned to where I had started and took the stairs back down from the city wall.

Literary Museum of Poet Yun Dong-ju

Literary Museum of Poet Yun Dong-ju (윤동주문학관)

The Yun Dong-ju Literature Museum is a small museum near Changuimun Gate in Buam-dong dedicated to Yun Dong-ju (1917–1945), one of Korea’s most beloved modern poets. His poetry is known for its introspective themes of conscience, identity, longing, and life under Japanese colonial rule.

The museum itself is unusual: it was created by converting a former water-pressure facility and water tanks into exhibition spaces. Nearby is Poet’s Hill (시인의 언덕), where visitors can walk and enjoy views of the surrounding area.

Photography was not allowed inside the museum, so I was unable to take any pictures of the exhibits.

Next to the museum is a trail leading into Inwangsan Mountain, so I decided to hike around the mountain and explore some of its trails.

Hill of Poet Yun Dong-ju

Next to the Yun Dong-ju Literature Museum is the Hill of Poet Yun Dong-ju, a peaceful hillside park dedicated to the poet. The hill has walking paths, sections of the old Seoul City Wall, and viewpoints overlooking the surrounding city and mountains.

While studying at Yonhi College (today’s Yonsei University) in the early 1940s, Yun Dong-ju lived for a period in a boarding house in the Nusang-dong area near Inwangsan. He frequently walked around Inwangsan and the surrounding hills, and the landscape became associated with the period when he was writing some of his poetry.

Cheongun Literature Library

Cheongun Literature Library is a small public library near Inwangsan Mountain, known for its beautiful traditional hanok-style architecture. Surrounded by trees and quiet walking paths, it provides a peaceful place for reading and literature in the middle of Seoul.