visitseoul.net

Since the successful inter-Korean summit this past September, there has been a growing craze for North Korean food. Pyounghwa (Pyeonghwa) Market, Olympic Park, Berlin Wall in Seoul, Peace Culture Bunker, DDP Press Center... These are all places born from desires of peace.

From 1962 to the present, discover and learn about the many peace locations that were erected during the last 60 years and find out how to enjoy your visits to those special locations.

Located between Dongdaemun and Dongdaemun History Museum, Pyounghwa (Pyeonghwa) Market is Korea’s biggest wholesale clothing market in Korea. During the Korean War, North Korean refugees who’ve managed to escape to the South made, dyed, and sold clothing here. Pyounghwa (Pyeonghwa) Market was given its name as a “peace market” to symbolize the refugees’ wishes of unification and peace. Known for cheap, affordable clothing, Pyounghwa Market continued to attract many merchants, leading to the creation of Dongdaemun Shopping Center and going on to become one of Seoul’s main attractions.

Because of how overwhelming and hard it is to browse through all the shops and stores in this huge 3-story shopping complex, it is highly recommended for visitors to visit the website to find out the location of the store they wish to shop in before visiting the market.

Phone Number :  +82-2-2265-3531

Covering a wide area of 1.4 million square meters, Olympic Park is a place filled with natural spaces and park facilities, originally built for purposes of holding the 1986 Asian Games and 1988 Summer Olympics. At the present, it is a multipurpose park with various recreational facilities, cultural events, ecological spaces, and historical sites. The many beautiful sceneries of the park make it not only a popular venue for sport competitions and concerts, but also a popular shooting location for films and commercials.

Open all year round, all areas of the park are open to the public from 5:00 to 22:00 (except the square area which is open until 24:00.)

Website : ksponco.or.kr/olympicpark/english

Phone Number :  +82-2-410-1114

A symbol of unification, a portion of the Berlin Wall is installed near the Cheonggyecheon area. A gift from Germany back in 2005, there’ great significance in having this symbol of unification in Korea, a country that still remains divided to this day. The portion of the Berlin Wall in Seoul is 3.6m high and 0.4m thick. However, a portion of the wall is damaged and there’s been great effort to protect the state of this historical monument from further damage.

This coming November, Seoul Lantern Festival 2018 is expected to take place along the area of Cheonggyecheon Stream near the Berlin Wall in Seoul.

Festival Period : Nov 2 (Fri) – Nov. 18 (Sun)

Location : 11 Cheonggyecheon-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul (Cheonggye Plaza)

Website : http://www.seoullantern.com/en/

Located in the Dobong-gu, an area in the northern end of Seoul, this once forgotten military bunker was nothing but a neglected relic of the war. However, through urban regeneration efforts, it has been recently transformed into the Peace Culture Bunker, a cultural and art space symbolizing the renewed hope for peace and the arts. Created for military purposes back in the Korean War, this site still continues to hold traces and remnants of the past when it was invaded by North Korean tanks in the war.

The Peace Culture Bunker is currently lending out its facilities as accommodation and work spaces to writers participating in various art residency programs in an effort to revitalize local culture and art community.

Website : http://culturebunker.or.kr/  (Korean)

Phone Number :  +82-2-3494-1970