Seoul Museum of History

Not bad if you wanted to know about Seoul, but not a place to recommend. There's not much to look at. Youtube is better

Focused on the history of Seoul itself. Leant things that wasn't taught at school about history of Seoul. Free entry! Why not visit if you are in Seoul.

This is a must see museum for those of you who are interested in the physical history of Seoul. The building was designed by a prominent Korean American Architect, Jongsung Kim, who studied under Mies van der Rohe (modern architecture master) at IIT. The museum holds special exhibitions on the first floor, but for the foreign tourists who thirst in urban history of Seoul should run directly to the second floor permanent exhbition section. Here you will see early waterways of Joseon Dynasty’s Hanyang (Tokyo was Edo, Seoul was Hanyang). The founders of Hanyang read four inner mountains and four outer mountains as ther natural boundary of defense and prosperity. Four inner mountains are North(White)-head Mountain (Mount 북악 or 백악, North) South Mountain (Mount 남산, South) Camel-back Mountain (Mount 낙산, East, Symbolizing Dragon) Benovelence-king Mountain (Mountain 인왕, West, Symbolizing Tiger). Early city walls were constructed along these four mountains. The Royal Legal Palace of Joseon (Geongbokgung) is built underneath North-head muntain, and the royal shrine and a temple of rice deities were constructed according to the left and right side if King’s throne. Furthermore, East Gate and South Gate of Hanyang City walls functioned as bookend gates for a major commercial strip that is Jongro. Of the four gates, South Gate was most used to those who came on foot or by the ferries at Han River. The Royal Palce and the South Gate created major north-south axis where King’s cabinet resided. All this interesting history and narrative are in this museum. Go and check it out. You will appreciate Seoul more !

Good FREE museum that you can over see Korea capital city SEOUL and its history. Especially, it has various miniatures and visualizations. On 3rd floor it offer well maintained and up to dated entire seoul city diorama even you can search and spot light as you want. At ground floor, it has nice cafe and shop that you will enjoy and direct connect to small Gyeonghee palace that you can enjoy quietness at the city.

Super clean and organized - very much liked seeing Seoul through the decades.