- Address
- 105 Namsangongwon-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
- Getting there
- Namsan cable car from near Myeongdong Station (Line 4, Exit 3), or the Namsan shuttle bus 01 from Chungmuro Station.
- Hours
- Observatory closes 22:30; the grounds and the lock terraces stay open later.
- Admission
- Grounds free. Observatory ₩29,000 adults (13+), ₩23,000 children. The cable car is separate: ₩15,000 return, ₩12,000 one way.
N Seoul Tower (Namsan Tower)
Still operatingOpen — but the observatory ticket is ₩29,000, well above what most English guides still list.
Seoul's skyline landmark and the love-locks terrace that K-dramas return to again and again for confession and date scenes.
What Korean visitors report
🔎 Last checked · August 2026Korean-language visitor reports carry details that English guides do not — what is still standing, what closed, and what the walk from the car park is actually like. We read them and summarise the facts here.
- The ticket price has moved
- The observatory is listed at ₩29,000 for ages 13 and up and ₩23,000 for children aged 3–12. A lot of English-language guides — this page included until August 2026 — still quote around ₩21,000. Book online in advance and there is usually a discount.
- The cable car is a separate fare
- ₩15,000 return or ₩12,000 one way in 2026, on top of the observatory ticket. If you only want the view of the city rather than the view from the tower, the grounds are free and the cable car alone gets you there.
- There is a free lift to the cable car
- Getting from Myeongdong up to the cable-car station is a climb. The Namsan Oreumi, a free inclined elevator, covers most of it. Korean visitors treat this as standard; visitors following English directions often walk the whole way without knowing it exists.
- The cheapest way up is the bus
- The Namsan circular bus is ₩1,400. The combination Korean visitors recommend most often is cable car up, walk down.
- The gondola is not running
- Seoul has been building a public gondola to break the cable car's sixty-year monopoly. Construction began in September 2024 and has been tied up in litigation ever since; it was meant to open in spring 2026 and did not, with a court ruling pending. Do not plan around it.
- What did open is a step-free path
- Namsan Haneul Sup-gil, a barrier-free forest walkway usable with a pushchair or wheelchair, was completed while the gondola stalled. It is the accessible way to enjoy the mountain.
- Small free thing
- The 36× digital telescopes on the observation deck cost nothing to use.
Based on: Naver Place business listing, Korean visitor guides published in 2026, and Korean press coverage of the Namsan gondola litigation
Sources checked:
- Naver Place business listing — hours and admissionRegistry
- Korean visitor guides, 2026 — fares, Oreumi lift, circular busVisitor report
- Korean press coverage of the Namsan gondola lawsuit and Haneul Sup-gil openingOfficial
Dramas filmed at N Seoul Tower (Namsan Tower)
My Love from the Star
The tower and its terraces backdrop the leads' iconic dates.
Boys Over Flowers
The love-locks fence and cable car feature in the series' romance scenes.
Itaewon Class
The tower is the ever-present backdrop of Saeroyi's Noksapyeong bridge scenes.
Visiting tips
The love-locks terrace is free and delivers the classic drama shot — bring your own padlock or buy one at the kiosk. Sunset is the sweet spot: daylight views, then the city lights up while you’re still there.
The walk down through Namsan Park toward Myeongdong follows the same wooded paths that stand in for “quiet Seoul” in countless dramas, and it’s easier than walking up.
What’s nearby
Myeongdong’s street-food alleys sit at the bottom of the cable car — the standard pairing for an evening plan. The Namsangol Hanok Village at the northern foot of the mountain adds a free traditional-architecture stop that also moonlights in historical dramas.