Dilkusha Walk: Haengchon-dong & Sajik-dong Local Eats

Most history-minded visitors stay inside the palace walls. Few climb the lane behind Dongnimmun Station to Haengchon-dong, a hillside district below the old city wall on Inwangsan. Up there is a brick house with an unexpected name, Dilkusha. It was the home of the American journalist who got news of Korea’s 1919 independence movement out to the rest of the world.

Ten minutes further on you reach Sajik-dong, where Joseon kings prayed to the gods of earth and grain. Around both are shops kept alive by regulars: a Tibetan curry house, a hand-drip café that plays records, a Michelin-listed doganitang shop and quiet coffee bars behind Gyeonghuigung Palace.

Why walk up to Haengchon-dong?

You can see where the March 1st Movement was reported to the world, a centuries-old ginkgo under the city wall, and the kingdom’s most important altar, all within about a kilometer. It is also a working neighborhood, with apartment blocks, an old galbi alley by Dongnimmun Station and small cafés tucked into the curve of the wall. Seochon and its markets lie on the other side of Sajik-ro, and they are covered in our Seochon and Tongin local eats guide. This walk stays on the quieter western side: 행촌동 (Haengchon-dong), 교남동 (Gyonam-dong), 사직동 (Sajik-dong) and the streets behind Gyeonghuigung.

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Do you need to book Dilkusha?

No. Entry is free and you can walk in and look around on your own. You only need to book if you want a guided tour. Seoul city lists the hours as Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00–18:00, with last entry at 17:30. The house is closed on Mondays. Guided tours are booked through the Seoul Public Service Reservation site, 서울시 공공서비스예약 (yeyak.seoul.go.kr). Staff will ask you to put on indoor shoes or covers to protect the floors.

Albert Wilder Taylor was an American living in Seoul who worked as a special correspondent for the Associated Press. In 1919 he got hold of a copy of the Declaration of Independence. Seoul city says he hid it in his newborn son’s cradle so it could be smuggled out. He then reported the March 1st Movement and the Jeam-ri massacre to the outside world. He and his wife, Mary Linley Taylor, built Dilkusha in 1923 and lived there until 1942, when the Japanese colonial government expelled them.

Seoul city says the restoration was based on old photographs. Inside, the living rooms on the first and second floors are furnished as they were in the 1920s, and the other rooms hold exhibitions on the Taylors and their time in Seoul. Taylor’s descendants have donated family belongings, including an amber necklace that Seoul city describes as having “endured over 100 years.” Allow 40 minutes to an hour.

According to Mary Taylor’s memoir, as quoted by the Korea Times, lightning set the house on fire in 1926 and the couple rebuilt it by about 1930.

Was Haengchon named after General Gwon Yul?

Not in the way it is often told. News reports say the name means “ginkgo village” and comes from the huge tree in front of Dilkusha, not from General Gwon Yul’s pen name. The two stories got mixed up because the tree stands on the site of Gwon Yul’s house.

Gwon Yul (1537–1599) was the general who won the Battle of Haengju during the Japanese invasions of the 1590s. Seoul city marks the ginkgo as standing on the site of his house, 권율장군 집터. According to a 2014 NoCut News report, the tree is said to have been planted by Gwon Yul himself. Reports put its age at about 420–450 years, depending on the source. Neither its age nor its planter is recorded in any official listing we could find.

The hanja for Haengchon is 杏村. 杏 can mean ginkgo or apricot, and according to the Korea Times and other reports, the area took its name from the tree. Local people also called it 은행나무골 (Eunhaengnamu-gol, “ginkgo valley”). As a pen name, Haengchon belonged to a different man altogether: the Goryeo scholar Yi Am.

Mary Taylor’s memoir describes the tree’s roots “humped up from the ground like great serpents,” local women praying under it for sons, and a spring below called Magpie Spring. A century later it still shades the front of the house.

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Along the city wall to Sajikdan

From the ginkgo, climb a few minutes to the Hanyang city wall, then follow it down and east to Sajik Park. The houses packed under the wall here are known as the 행촌 성곽마을 (Haengchon Fortress Village). Seoul city defines it as the part of Haengchon-dong and Gyonam-dong below the Inwangsan section of the wall. The lanes are residential, so keep your voice down.

Sajikdan (사직단) is where Joseon kings made offerings to sa (社), the god of earth, and jik (稷), the god of grain. It was laid out when King Taejo moved the capital to Hanyang. Seoul city says the rites stopped under Japanese rule around 1910, many of the buildings were cleared, and the grounds were turned into a public park. The walls and some buildings were restored in the 1980s. Sajikdan was designated a Historic Site on 21 January 1963. Its main gate, 사직단 대문, is a separate Treasure designated the same day.

Work is still going on. According to news reports, the national heritage agency started rebuilding the 안향청 (Anhyangcheong) precinct in November 2024. This was the group of six buildings where incense and ritual texts were kept, and the target for completion is 2026. Some areas may be fenced off while you are there. The state rite, 사직대제 (Sajik Daeje), is still held every autumn, according to Seoul city.

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Where to eat and drink

Around Dongnimmun Station for old-school meals and hanok tea, Sajik-ro 9-gil for curry and drip coffee, and the lanes behind Gyeonghuigung for specialty coffee and modern Korean food. Two places you will see on every list deserve a mention first.

Daeseongjip (대성집), at the Dongnimmun crossroads, is a doganitang specialist with a Michelin Bib Gourmand listing. Doganitang is a soup of beef knee cartilage in a milky broth. The menu on its map listing is ₩13,000 for a regular bowl, but that listing is old. It closes when the broth runs out and is shut on Sundays. It belongs with the old soup shops in our seolleongtang and gomtang nopo guide.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Neungna Bapsang (능라밥상) is right next to Dilkusha and serves North Korean home cooking: Pyongyang naengmyeon, Haeju bibimbap and onban. Most mains are about ₩15,000. For more on the cuisine, see our guide to North Korean food beyond naengmyeon.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Sajikdong Geu Gage (사직동그가게): A small, colorful room on Sajik-ro 9-gil serving Indian-style curries and chai. Recent reviews say it has a Tibetan feel, and the money goes to support Tibetan refugees. The 2023 menu lists curries at ₩12,000–14,000 and chai at ₩4,000; expect small increases. Open 11:30–20:00, closed Mondays. Gyeongbokgung Station Exit 1, about 7 minutes; Sajikdan is two minutes away.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Dongnip Milbang (독립밀방): The newest place on this walk and the best for a proper sit-down meal. The menu changes with the seasons; in September 2026 it had a fig and burrata margherita and soft-shell crab bisque risotto (both ₩27,000). Open daily 11:00–22:00, with a 15:00–17:00 break on weekdays. Dongnimmun Station Exit 3, about 3 minutes.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Okba (옥바 카페&바): A tiny hanok café in the alley locals call okbaraji golmok, a short walk from Seodaemun Prison (okbaraji means looking after someone in prison). Inside there are vintage objects and low tables. Order the restorative ssanghwa-cha (herbal tea, ₩7,000) or Mungyeong omija tea (₩6,000). It also sells bottled beer. Open 12:00–18:00, closed Mondays. Dongnimmun Station, about 3 minutes.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Coffeest (커피스트): Behind Gyeonghuigung on Gyeonghuigung-gil, this hand-drip café has been open since 2003 and looks it, in a good way. Drip coffee was listed at ₩6,500 (a 2022 menu), and one 2026 reviewer insists the iced chocolate is the thing to order. Open Monday to Saturday 09:00–21:00 and Sunday 12:00–18:00.

📍 Open in Naver Map

☕ More places on the walk (prices from current map menus or 2025–26 visits; check hours before you go)

Place	What to order	Price guide	Hours / closed	Area	Map
Cafe Dilkusha (카페딜쿠샤)	Green tea latte, rest stop by the wall	Check on Naver	11:00–17:30 daily	Haengchon-dong, by the wall	📍 Naver Map
Cafe Haengchon 7-1 (카페행촌7-1)	Hazelnut ice-cream latte	Americano ₩4,500	10:00–22:00 daily	Between Dilkusha and Hong Nanpa House	📍 Naver Map
Dongyeong Sutbul Galbi (동영숯불갈비)	Marinated pork galbi, naengmyeon	Pork galbi ₩19,000 (250 g)	09:00–21:00, closed Tue	Dongnimmun Exit 3, 2 min	📍 Naver Map
Sajik Coffee (사직커피)	Croffle, house signature iced lattes	Croffle ₩8,500	11:30–22:00 (Mon to 16:00)	Sajik-ro, near Sajik Tunnel	📍 Naver Map
Coffee Hanjan (커피한잔)	Charcoal-roasted hand drip, LP music	Drip ₩8,000	12:00–21:00 daily	Sajik-ro 9-gil, next to Geu Gage	📍 Naver Map
Daejeop Gwanghwamun Mandu (대접광화문만두)	Seoul-style mandu soup with beef shank	₩18,000	11:00–21:00 (break 15:00–17:00), closed Sat	Behind Gyeonghuigung	📍 Naver Map
Sabal (사발)	Gamtae perilla-oil bibim-guksu, chicken noodles	₩16,000–17,000	11:30–20:50 (weekends to 19:50), afternoon break	Behind Gyeonghuigung	📍 Naver Map
Jaha (자하)	Handmade rice cakes with Ethiopian coffee	Latte ₩5,000	11:00–18:00, closed Mon	Behind Gyeonghuigung (4th floor)	📍 Naver Map
Dawis Roastery (다위스로스터리)	Geisha hand drip, house teas	Check on Naver	08:00–19:00 (weekends 09:00–20:00)	Behind Gyeonghuigung (2nd floor)	📍 Naver Map
Cafe EMU (카페 에무)	Coffee or a glass of wine among the books	Americano ₩4,500	10:00–21:00 daily	Gyeonghuigung, in the EMU arts complex	📍 Naver Map

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Half-day walk: Dongnimmun to Gyeonghuigung

Pick a day from Tuesday to Sunday and start mid-morning. Allow about four hours, including lunch. The walking times below are approximate, and there is one steep climb near the start.

• 10:00, Dongnimmun Station Exit 3: head toward Dongnimmun and turn left toward Sajik Tunnel. A quick tea at Okba is an option first, if it is open. Then walk up the lane beside Yeongnak Deaf Presbyterian Church (about 10 minutes).
• 10:15, Dilkusha: 40–60 minutes inside. On the way out, the ginkgo is a minute's walk away, right in front of the house.
• 11:15, up to the wall: about 5–10 minutes uphill through the Haengchon Fortress Village. Stop at Cafe Dilkusha by the wall, or detour 200 m to Hong Nanpa House on a weekday.
• 11:45, along the wall and down to Sajikdan: about 15–20 minutes via Inwangsan-ro into Sajik Park. Look at the altars and the Treasure-listed main gate.
• 12:30, lunch on Sajik-ro 9-gil: curry at Sajikdong Geu Gage (2–3 minutes from the altar), then hand drip next door at Coffee Hanjan.
• 14:00, behind Gyeonghuigung: walk about 10 minutes south for rice cakes at Jaha or geisha coffee at Dawis Roastery. For dinner, try Dongnip Milbang back at Dongnimmun or Sabal. Gyeongbokgung Station Exit 1 is about 410 m from Sajikdan.

If you would rather see more modern-history sites than restaurants, our Jeongdong modern history walk starts just south of Gyeonghuigung and makes a good afternoon after this one.