Jongro - Jong Avenue, Seoul

Wander down Jongno and around the nearby area

FFull of tall, often futuristic-looking office blocks (the building shown here is where my company's Seoul office is located), there's also a lot of life down at street level in this bustling part of downtown.

Jongro (pronouced chongno) is the heart of Seoul. It was the street the king would travel down. It was the street that went down the middle of seoul, from the western gate to the eastern gate. It houses so many things. And even wit hthe hustle and bustle of modernity, traffic and commerce, it remains a reminder of days gone by.

Jongro houses The Kyongbok Palace, the Changdok Palace, the Changgyong Palace, the Toksu Palace, The South Gate, and the East Gate constructed in 1390s, the Chongmyo, the Bosinggak (Bellfry)... to name a few.

1960s~1970s. Gwanghwamun, Insadong, City Hall and lots of other antique palaces are located around Jongno. There are various pubs, restaurants in this area and more over, many amusing events take place here. For a decade, this specific narrow street called "Pimatgol", where numerous pubs are lined one after the other, continuously draws not only many Koreans but also the young visitors to Korea. "Pimatgol" means "avoiding a horse" which goes back to the lifestyle during Joseon Dynasty. The 'Pimatgol' is said to have started as a street off the Jongro thouroughfare, to be free of traffic and to avoid kowtowing to passing royalty. So tehre you go :o)