| Jongno | |
 | |
| Information | |
| Country |  South Korea |
|---|---|
| City | Seoul |
| Location | |
 37 ° 34 ′ 23 ″ N 126 ° 58 ′ 46 ″ E | |
| Official site | |
Jongno is a district of Seoul. It forms the northern half of Seoul's historic core, Jung being the southern half. Jongno is home to a plethora of Joseon Dynasty palaces, shrines, temples, parks, historic districts, and other traditional sites. Jongno owns four of Seoul's five grand palaces: Gyeongbok-gung, Changdeok-gung, Changgyeong-Gung and Gyeonghui-kung. We also find there Jongmyo; the Jogyesa temple, seat of the Korean Buddhist Order Seon; the hanok village of Bukchon; Insadong; Cheongwadae, the Presidential Palace; the National Museum of Folklore of Korea (formerly the National Museum of Korea) and Hyehwa, a district filled with small independent theaters.
To go
The main metro stations serving Jongno are Gyeongbukgong (Line 3), Anguk (Line 3), Jongno-3ga (Line 1Line 3Line 5) and Gwanghwamun (Line 5).
To see
Do
To buy
- Ssamziegil ,
82 2-736-0088 
open from 10 h - 20 h 30, closed for Seollal and Chuseok. – Ssamziegil is a complex of shops located at the beginning of Insadong-gil, which opened in 2004. It has the shape of a sort of rectangular spiral staircase on three floors, and brings together about a hundred craft shops (clothing, jewelry, leather, etc.), restaurants, cafes (one of them, the Sky Garden, is on the terrace on the third floor). Very pleasant place to buy green, costume jewelry, or simply have a drink. For certain activities (making candles, decorating pottery, etc.), you can make your own items in the basement.. - The store from Tong-In , 82 2 732 4867, fax : 82 2 732 4847 – Spanning four floors, this boutique offers high quality items including pottery, marquetry, lacquerware, as well as jewelry, card making, and more. Not necessarily cheap, but the quality is there. It is located a little further than Ssamziegil, on the same side of Insadong-gil.
- 1 Kyobo Bookstore (Kyobomungo, 교보 문고 / 敎 保 文庫) Jongno1-ga, Jongno-gu (Metro: line 5, Gwanghwamun station, exit 3.), 82 2-397-3500 open from 9 h 30 - 22 h. – Kyobo is Korea's largest bookstore chain, and this store is located right in the center of Seoul. Comparable in size to the FNAC Forum, it is completely invisible from the outside, because it is underground. It can be reached directly from Gwanghwamun subway station, or at the Sejongno / Jongno intersection. There is a huge selection of books / CDs / DVDs, but also stationery / cardmaking, and a bunch of other accessories (there are even ... handbags). Has a department of books in foreign languages.
open from Eat
- Gogung , 82 2-736-3211 – Restaurant specializing in bibimbab, the parent company is also in Jeonju. Excellent bibimbab, at moderate prices. It is located in the basement, take the stairs immediately to the left after crossing the entrance to Ssamziegil. The map has English subtitles.
- Gung , 82 2-733-9240 – Restaurant specializing in mandu of the Gaesong region (now in North Korea), the chickpea pancakes are also very good; we can just regret the use of glutamate (called in Korea MSG). Restaurant run from mother to daughter for three generations. It seems that the founder, almost 100 years old (in 2013), still makes a few appearances at the cash desk. The map has English subtitles. To get there, take insa-dong 10-gil from the main street insa-dong gil, then it is about fifteen meters on the left.
