Seokgwan-dong & Uireung: A Royal Tomb the KCIA Hid

Most visitors to Seoul’s Joseon royal tombs go to Seolleung in Gangnam or Donggureung in Guri. Almost nobody makes the trip to Seokgwan-dong, a quiet residential district in Seongbuk-gu, two stops past Korea University on Line 6. That is a shame, because Uireung has the strangest modern history of any royal tomb in Korea. For more than three decades, the grounds of a 1720s king’s tomb sat inside the headquarters of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency. The agency’s auditorium is still standing on the lawn.

When you come back out of the tomb gate, you are in a neighborhood that still eats like it did before the art students arrived: a 34-year-old tteokbokki stall that sells out by mid-afternoon, a Chinese restaurant where jajangmyeon costs about the price of a subway ride, and the grill where the students of the national arts university go after class.

Why come all the way to Seokgwan-dong?

Because it is the only place in Seoul where you can stand between a royal burial mound and a Cold War intelligence building in the same frame. Plenty of Seoul neighborhoods have a palace or an old market. Seokgwan-dong has a story that runs from Joseon court politics to the Park Chung-hee era, and almost no one walks it.

It also helps that the neighborhood is cheap and unhurried. There are no tour buses, no souvenir shops, and no English menus. What you get is a weekday market, a run of sundaeguk (blood-sausage soup) shops, and the after-class food scene of 한예종 (Hanyejong), the nickname for the Korea National University of Arts, Korea’s national conservatory for film, theater, dance, music and fine art.

The neighborhood name itself is old. According to Seongbuk-gu Office, the hill east of the village, Cheonjangsan, had black stones jutting out of it like rice cakes threaded on a skewer. Villagers called the place 돌곶이 (Dolgoji, “stone skewer”), and the Chinese-character spelling of that name, 石串, is read Seokgwan. Both names are still in use: the subway station is Dolgoji, the district is Seokgwan-dong.

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What was the KCIA doing inside a royal tomb?

It moved in in 1962 and took the whole site. According to Seoul city’s media hub, the newly created Korean Central Intelligence Agency (중앙정보부, Jungang Jeongbobu) chose the Uireung grounds for its headquarters in 1962 and closed them to the public. The agency put up offices, an auditorium and sports grounds around the tomb, and in 1972 added a Japanese-style garden with an artificial pond, which still survives inside the tomb grounds.

When exactly ordinary people could walk in again is less clear-cut. Seoul city sources give 1996 for the opening of the tomb area, while a 2005 Kyunghyang Shinmun report and a later Seoul city article describe the Cheonjangsan forest trail behind the tomb opening that year “after 43 years.” The fairest summary is that the site reopened in stages from the mid-1990s, and the hill trail only in 2005.

Today the most useful stop inside is the Uireung History and Culture Center, opened in 2023 according to Seoul city, which covers both the Joseon tomb and the KCIA years, including photographs from the 1972 announcement. The auditorium itself is a low, plain 1960s building. Whether you can go inside depends on the day; ask at the ticket office (02-964-0579).

Is Uireung open on Mondays, and how much does it cost?

No, it is closed on Mondays, and adult admission is ₩1,000. If a Monday falls on a public holiday, the tomb opens that day and closes the following weekday instead. Hours follow the standard royal-tomb schedule.

🕰️ Uireung opening hours and admission (Royal Palaces and Tombs Center)

Season	Hours	Last entry
February–May, September–October	09:00–18:00	17:00
June–August	09:00–18:30	17:30
November–January	09:00–17:30	16:30
Admission	Adults ₩1,000 (Koreans 25–64, foreigners 19–64)	Closed Mondays

Getting there: Dolgoji Station (Line 6) Exit 7 or Sinimun Station (Line 1) Exit 1, both about a 15-minute walk from the gate, per Seoul city. From Dolgoji you walk up Hwarang-ro 32-gil, past the cafés listed below.

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Where do locals eat in Seokgwan-dong?

Around three hubs: Dolgoji Station Exit 7 for soup and noodles, Dolgoji Market for snacks, and the Seokgye food alley for dinner and drinks. One thing confuses even Seoul residents: Dolgoji Market (formerly Seokgwan Hwanggeum Market, near Exit 6) and Seokgwan Market are two different markets a few minutes apart. The famous tteokbokki stall is at Seokgwan Market.

Seokgwan Sijang Tteokbokki (석관시장떡볶이): The stall has been running for about 34 years and appeared on SBS’s long-running craftsman show Saenghwal-ui Dalin in 2024. The sauce is the thick, sweet, deep-red kind that Koreans in their forties grew up with. A single ₩12,000 portion comes with glass noodles, four fried dumplings and four fish cakes, and realistically feeds three or four people. It is takeout only. Recent visitors put the hours at weekdays 10:00–15:00, closed weekends, and it often sells out earlier, so come before lunch. The signboard reads 시장 떡볶기 rather than the standard spelling. Dolgoji Station Exit 7, about 5 minutes.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Jaehallu (재한루): An old-school Chinese restaurant near the Seokgye side that has become a minor legend for its prices. A September 2026 visit recorded jajangmyeon at ₩2,000 and jaengban-jjajang (platter jajang) at ₩4,000, with a small tangsuyuk (sweet-and-sour pork) at about ₩7,000. Expect a plain room and fast service. Prices this low change, so treat them as a guide. Seokgye Station Exit 7, about 8 minutes.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Jayeon Sutbul Hwarogui (자연숯불화로구이): Charcoal braziers, plastic stools and a crowd of students from the arts university down the road. Hangjeongsal (pork jowl) is ₩12,900 and pork skin ₩8,900 on the current menu. It opens in the evening (17:00–01:00) and closes on Mondays. Dolgoji Station Exit 6, 2 minutes.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Hideaway (하이드어웨이): A small salt-bread bakery about three minutes from Dolgoji Exit 8, on the way up to the tomb. Salt bread is ₩2,800, the chewy rice-cake version ₩3,800 and egg tarts ₩4,000. Open Tuesday–Friday 12:00–20:00 and Saturday 12:00–17:00; closed Sundays and Mondays.

📍 Open in Naver Map

🍜 More Seokgwan-dong spots (prices from current menus or 2025–26 visits; check hours before you go)

Place	What to order	Price guide	Hours / closed	Nearest exit	Map
Jangsu Tojong Sundaeguk	Sundaeguk (blood-sausage soup)	₩9,000	Check on Naver	Dolgoji Exit 7, 3 min	📍 Naver Map
Doga Sundaeguk	Sundaeguk, whole-leaf kimchi	₩10,000	09:30–21:30, closed Tue	Dolgoji Exit 5, 8 min	📍 Naver Map
Baegam Tojong Sundae	Sundaeguk for early risers	Check on site	06:00–21:50 daily	Seokgye Exit 7, 10 min	📍 Naver Map
Gimhwaok Jangsu Guksu (main shop)	Anchovy-broth noodles	₩5,500	Check on Naver	Sinimun Exit 1, 12 min	📍 Naver Map
Suyuri Wonjo Makguksu Naengmyeon	Fiery “bul” naengmyeon, perilla makguksu	₩10,000	10:30–21:30, closed Mon	Dolgoji Exit 7, 2 min	📍 Naver Map
Seokgwandong Dakhanmari	Whole chicken in broth, then noodles	Small ₩26,000	11:00–23:00 daily	Seokgye Exit 5, 3 min	📍 Naver Map
Maetdol Jeukseok Bindaetteok	Stone-ground mung-bean pancake, makgeolli	₩17,000	15:00–03:00 daily	Seokgye Exit 7, 5 min	📍 Naver Map
Namhae Badamacha	Aged sashimi course (splurge)	₩76,000 for two	15:00–23:50, closed Sun	Seokgye Exit 5, 2 min	📍 Naver Map
Milton Hot Dog	Old-school market hot dogs	₩1,300–3,000	13:30–22:30 daily	Dolgoji Exit 6, 6 min	📍 Naver Map
Type Coffee	Americano, cheesecake	Americano ₩3,500	11:00–21:00 daily	Dolgoji Exit 8, 4 min	📍 Naver Map
Cafe Dissolve	Canelés, Basque cheesecake	₩3,300–8,000	10:00–23:00 (weekends from 11:00)	Seokgye Exit 7, 3 min	📍 Naver Map
Cafe Yeobaek	Quiet laptop café; einspänner	Latte ₩5,000	12:00–23:00 daily	Seokgye Exit 5, 2 min	📍 Naver Map

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Half-day route: Dolgoji to Seokgye

Go on a weekday between Tuesday and Friday, start late morning and finish with dinner. Allow about five hours.

• 11:00, Dolgoji Station Exit 8: salt bread at Hideaway or a coffee at Type Coffee. On the way out, look for the Dolgoji name marker between Exits 7 and 8.
• 11:30, walk up Hwarang-ro 32-gil to Uireung (about 15 minutes). Spend an hour on the tombs, the History and Culture Center and the old KCIA auditorium; add the Cheonjangsan trail if it's in season.
• 13:00, back to Dolgoji Exit 7 for lunch: sundaeguk at Jangsu Tojong Sundaeguk, or fiery naengmyeon at Suyuri Wonjo Makguksu.
• 14:00, Seokgwan Sijang Tteokbokki before it closes. Take a portion to share.
• 14:30, Dolgoji Market: walk the arcade and grab a ₩1,300 hot dog at Milton Hot Dog.
• 16:00, Seokgye side: coffee at Cafe Dissolve or Cafe Yeobaek, then dinner at Jaehallu (cheap), Maetdol Jeukseok Bindaetteok (pancakes and makgeolli) or Namhae Badamacha (splurge). Seokgye Station has Line 1 and Line 6 back into the city.

If you like Cold War Seoul, pair this walk with our guide to Seoul’s Cold War fortress architecture. For another Seongbuk-gu neighborhood a few stops south, see the Seongsin Women’s Univ. and Bomun-dong local guide.