On a first visit to Jongno, it is easy to walk only along the broad avenue from Gwanghwamun to Gyeongbokgung Palace and then leave. Jongno’s true character, however, remains more vivid in the roads used by people outside the palaces to hear the time, conduct business, and find a meal than in the palaces where kings lived. Starting at Exit 4 of Jonggak Station lets you encounter those layers in sequence within 100 minutes.
0–15 minutes: Hear the time at Bosingak
Bosingak is not merely a pavilion to pass after taking a photograph. During the Joseon period, the bell was struck 33 times at dawn to lift the curfew and open the city gates, and 28 times at night to close them. The bell hanging there now was newly cast in 1985, while the old bell made during King Sejo’s reign is kept at the National Museum of Korea because it developed cracks. The pavement in front of the pavilion also contains a benchmark installed as the elevation reference for the 1970 construction of Seoul Subway Line 1. Joseon’s system of time and the modern subway’s standard meet in one place.
15–40 minutes: Leave the main road for Pimatgol
Go behind Bosingak and walk east along the traces of Pimat-gil. ‘Pima’ means avoiding the horses of high-ranking people. Commoners who found it troublesome to show the required respect whenever they encountered mounted officials on the main road used the alley behind it instead, and soup restaurants and taverns sprang up along that route. The entire alley seen today, however, is not preserved in its original Joseon-period form. Subway construction in 1974 and several rounds of redevelopment caused many sections to disappear or be relocated into passageways inside new buildings.
40–70 minutes: Distinguish two declarations at Tapgol Park
Tapgol Park retains the Ten-story Stone Pagoda and the Stele of Wongaksa Temple from the Joseon period. On March 1, 1919, students and citizens gathered here, read the Declaration of Independence, and marched into the streets. The 33 national representatives held their declaration ceremony not at Tapgol Park but at nearby Taehwagwan. Remembering the distinct roles of the two places reveals that the March First Movement was not an event staged by one group of leaders, but a mass movement unfolding simultaneously in different spaces.
70–100 minutes: Cross Insadong to Nakwon Arcade
From the north side of Tapgol Park, briefly follow Insadong-gil and head toward Nakwon Arcade. Look beyond the souvenir shops to the mounting shops, brush-and-paper stores, and antique-art dealers inside the alleys. The final stop is Nakwon Arcade, built over a road. Walking among the instrument shops and repair workshops on the second floor leaves you with the understanding that Jongno is not a neighborhood where old things are merely displayed, but one where long-established trades still take orders and repair goods.