도서 소개
Seoul Walker: Half-Day Walks Across Seoul’s Historic and Cultural Spaces is a guidebook for those who wish to uncover the stories hidden within the city - not through hurried sightseeing, but by walking slowly and observing the traces of time left in its streets and structures. It invites you on a quiet adventure to explore the hearts of people and the marks of an era found in every corner of Seoul.
*본 책은 한국어판 <서울 산책자 : 도심 속 숨은 시간의 풍경을 찾아 떠나는 반나절 역사 산책>(한·영판 동시 출간)의 영문 번역판입니다.
출판사 리뷰
Discover Seoul not just as a modern metropolis, but as a living timeline where the past and present quietly coexist.
Seoul Walker: Half-Day Walks Across Seoul’s Historic and Cultural Spaces is a guidebook for those who wish to uncover the stories hidden within the city not through hurried sightseeing, but by walking slowly and observing the traces of time left in its streets and structures. It invites you on a quiet adventure to explore the hearts of people and the marks of an era found in every corner of Seoul.
From public squares, royal palaces, hanok villages, streams, city walls, royal tombs, museums, memorial parks, traditional markets, riverside parks, and forests each of these spaces, so different in character, together form the time map of Seoul. In the past, kings ruled the nation from their palaces, and countless commoners made their living along Cheonggyecheon Stream. In modern times, citizens have gathered in public squares to raise their voices. Each place was once the center of its age and has now become part of our everyday lives.
Each of the eleven themed walks in this book introduces a distinct facet of Seoul’s character from royal rituals and Confucian traditions to postwar recovery and urban regeneration. As you follow these routes and learn their stories, you will come to see how moments from different centuries coexist within this single city, and how time, memory, and people continue to shape it.
This book is also a thoughtful companion for foreigners living in Korea. Many expats, busy with their daily lives, often remain within familiar neighborhoods, rarely venturing beyond them. By exploring more of the city, they can gain a deeper understanding of Korean culture and history, and in turn, feel more connected with the local community.
For multicultural families, Seoul Walker offers a wonderful opportunity for parents and children to experience Korean culture together and naturally learn about the country’s history.
“When you come to know something, you begin to love it and when you love it, you come to know it even more.”
Let Seoul Walker guide your steps through palaces, markets, museums, and riverside parks. The path you walk today may someday become another story of Seoul.
With Gyeongbokgung Palace on one side and Changdeokgung Palace on the other, it’s common to see foreign visitors dressed in hanbok crossing through Songhyeon Green Plaza. Behind their smiles, you can often catch a hint of travel-weariness. A bench might tempt them to rest, but the sight of flowers blooming here and there entices them to keep walking, soon posing for photos with the blossoms as a backdrop.
On holidays, families fill the plaza as well. Children race freely across the wide lawn, and their parents follow ─ grateful, perhaps, for a place in the heart of Seoul where no one has to call out, “Don’t run!” Couples, breathing in the sweet scent of the flowers or leaning close for a photograph, find their affection deepening in this shared space.
Consider the difference between the two. Gyeongbokgung, the main palace, was designed to project royal dignity. Its buildings are aligned in a straight north-south axis across a broad plain. While impressive, it can feel monotonous unless one has a deep interest in traditional architecture. Moreover, to see highlights such as the scenic ponds and pavilions, unpainted halls, and the royal library influenced by Qing China, visitors must walk all the way to the far end.
Changdeokgung, by contrast, is built on a gentle slope that rises from west to east, following the ridges of Bugaksan Mountain. Believing that the natural terrain carried vital energy affecting human fortune, the builders preserved the land’s natural contours rather than leveling it. As a result, the structures do not follow a rigid pattern but are scattered irregularly, constantly shifting the visitor’s perspective.
Walking deeper into the Secret Garden (후원, Huwon), one encounters a royal garden so refined it feels almost otherworldly. Among the five palaces of Seoul, Changdeokgung alone is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The five principal colors used in dancheong are blue, red, yellow, white, and black, together called Obangsaek (오방색) ─ each associated with one of the five directions in East Asian cosmology. Pigments were often derived from minerals and combined to create a wide palette, many shades of which are uncommon in Western traditions.
The dancheong in Joseon palaces can be seen as a form of traditional Korean fine art, because it incorporates symbols and colors rooted in the dynasty’s philosophy. Motifs such as lotus blossoms, clouds, stylized pattern of climbing vines, and mythical creatures like dragons and phoenixes appear throughout interior and exterior surfaces.
작가 소개
지은이 : 안희선
역사여행 가이드이자 투어 기획자. 역사여행 및 투어 전문 브랜드 히플레이드Hee:playde를 운영하고 있다. ‘역사와 문화가 있는 곳은 모두 놀이터가 된다’는 신념으로, 2019년부터 궁궐, 박물관, 서울의 골목 등에서 누구나 쉽게 즐길 수 있는 여행 프로그램을 기획하고 진행해 왔다. 기관과 기업 등 단체 대상 인사이트 문화투어와 지역 해설사 교육도 이어오고 있다. 특별한 감성과 시선으로 궁궐을 소개한 포토에세이 《궁궐과 풍경》을 출간했으며, 서울 브랜드북 《감각서울》 2호에 〈시간을 품은 궁궐의 정원들〉을 기고했다. 앞으로도 새롭고 낯선 시선으로 풍경 속에 숨겨진 시간의 이야기를 찾아 기록하고 나누고자 한다.A travel guide and docent specializing in Korean history and culture. She runs Hee:playde, a brand dedicated to creating historical and cultural travel experiences in Korea.Guided by the belief that “any place with history and culture can become a playground,” she has been designing and leading accessible travel programs since 2019, introducing visitors to Seoul’s royal palaces, museums, and hidden alleys.She published the photo essay Palaces and Landscapes, which presents Seoul’s royal palaces through a distinctive perspective and sensibility, and contributed an article titled Gardens of Palaces Embracing Time to the second issue of Sense of Seoul, the city’s official brand book.Continuing her walks with a fresh and curious eye, she seeks to uncover and share the hidden stories of time that dwell within everyday landscapes.
목차
Prologue
01 PUBLIC SQUARE
Songhyeon Green Plaza & Gwanghwamun Square & Seoul Plaza
Walking Theme│A Stroll through Seoul’s History, Culture, and People
Steps│4,000
Duration│1 hour 30 minutes
02 ROYAL PALACE
Changdeokgung Palace
Walking Theme│Want to Explore the Place Where Joseon Kings Once Lived?
Steps│9,000
Duration│3 hours
03 HANOK VILLAGE
Bukchon Hanok Village
Walking Theme│A Time Travel Following the Stories Beyond Hanok
Steps│6,000
Duration│2 hours
04 STREAM
Cheonggyecheon Stream
Walking Theme│A Calm Streamside Walk along the Currents of History
Steps│5,000
Duration│1 hour 30 minutes
05 CITY WALL
Hanyangdoseong
Walking Theme│A Day Tracing the Footsteps of Old Seoul along the City Wall
Steps│25,000
Duration│7 hours
06 JOSEON ROYAL TOMB
Seolleung & Jeongneung
Walking Theme│Strolling through Gangnam’s Most Auspicious Site
Steps│6,000
Duration│2 hours
07 MUSEUM
National Museum of Korea & The War Memorial of Korea
Walking Theme│A Museum Tour with as Much to See Outdoors as Indoors
Steps│20,000
Duration│7 hours
08 MEMORIAL PARK
Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery
Walking Theme│A Journey to Meet Stars that Shine Even in the Daytime
Steps│3,000
Duration│1 hour
09 MARKET
Dongmyo Flea Market
Walking Theme│In Search of a Lively Weekend Afternoon in Seoul
Steps│4,000
Duration│1 hour 30 minutes
10 RIVERSIDE PARK
Yeouido Hangang Park
Walking Theme│A Place that Refreshes Life in Seoul, Filled with Everyday Joy
Steps│6,000
Duration│2 hours
11 FOREST
Seoul Forest
Walking Theme│A Slow Stroll through a Green Haven in the Heart of the City
Steps│4,000
Duration│1 hour 30 minutes
References
