Namsan (남산) is probably one of the most famous mountains in Seoul, in big part due to having the highest observation tower known as N. Seoul Tower (as well as Namsan Tower, Seoul Tower, YTN Tower). It’s located in the middle of Seoul, so the view from N. Seoul Tower is pretty nice. It’s extremely couple-oriented and you will pretty much run into only couples and tourist during your visit. You can get there by car, bus, suspended cable or just hike up there. The 3 past times I’ve been here, I’ve reluctantly used the cable car because of my friends;so since I was alone this time, I decided to hike up there! It’s fairly easy to get to, just get on the Line 4 and get off Myeongdong station (명동역) and go through exit 4.
Along the Way
Along the way up, you’ll see different vantage points and eventually come across this awesome balcony area to view a good portion of the city. Unfortunately, the trees are a bit tall and block off bits of the skyline, but it is truly a beautiful site nevertheless. There will be mosquitoes at night, so I do recommend some form of protection as well. The hike takes around 20-30 minutes if you focus on just the walking, but I enjoyed looking at all the different kind of views it had to offer.
At the Top
At the top, is quite a different scene. This is where you’ll begin to see all the couples and tourist. There’s another observatory deck littered with thousands of “love locks”. These locks represent each couples’ wish to stay together forever and are locked around this area. It actually got so crowded that there were at least 2 more spots for these locks to go and there was even a person selling locks on the way to the top. I can just imagine the whole deck buckling because of the weight eventually.
There’s a traditional Hanok gazebo, along with a teddy bear museum, convenience store, a restaurant or two and of course the observation tower. If you plan on eating here, expect it to be somewhat expensive.
One final note, if you plan on walking down the mountain, do be careful going down as some of the steps are slanted downwards for some awkward reason.
If you take the way down, be careful as the steps are slanted downward for some reason. It was a bit of a nightmare for when my ankle was a little sore.
