Seoul Subway Line 2 Guide: 12 Stops Worth Getting Off

Most subway lines go from one end to another. Line 2 has no ends. It is a 48.8 km ring of 43 stations that never leaves Seoul, and in one lap it passes the old downtown around City Hall, the warehouse district of Seongsu, Lotte World in Jamsil, Gangnam and COEX, the university quarter of Sinchon and Hongdae, and two crossings of the Han River above ground. Two short branch lines hang off the ring, and Seoul Metro runs all of it.

That makes it the line visitors use most and plan least. Station numbers start at 201 for City Hall and climb clockwise to 243 at Chungjeongno, the station next door. The real skill on Line 2 is not knowing where to get off but which way round to ride, because the wrong direction can turn a five-stop trip into a 38-stop one.

Where does Line 2 go?

Around central Seoul in a loop, with a branch off the east side and another off the west. The first section opened on October 31, 1980, between Sinseol-dong and Sports Complex, and the ring was closed on May 22, 1984. The inner circle runs clockwise and the outer circle counter-clockwise, because Line 2 trains keep to the right on its double track. Seoul Metro operates the whole line, so there is no change of operator anywhere on it.

🚇 Line 2 at a glance (Seoul city, Seoul Metro; as of 2025–2026)

Item	Line 2
Type	Loop line plus two branches
Operator	Seoul Metro, whole line
Route length	60.2 km: loop 48.8 km, Seongsu branch 5.4 km, Sinjeong branch 6.0 km
Stations	43 on the loop, 4 on each branch
Station numbers	201 City Hall to 243 Chungjeongno (clockwise); branches 211-1 to 211-4 and 234-1 to 234-4
Opened	1980 (first section); loop completed May 22, 1984
Full lap	About 90 minutes (Seoul Metro operations data, 2026)
Main transfers	City Hall (Line 1), Euljiro 3-ga (3), Dongdaemun History & Culture Park (4, 5), Wangsimni (5, Gyeongui-Jungang, Suin-Bundang), Konkuk Univ. (7), Jamsil (8), Seolleung (Suin-Bundang), Gangnam (Sinbundang), Seoul Nat’l Univ. of Education (3), Sadang (4), Sillim (Sillim Line), Sindorim (1), Dangsan (9), Hapjeong (6), Hongik Univ. (Gyeongui-Jungang, AREX)

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Which Line 2 stations are worth getting off at?

Twelve, listed clockwise from City Hall. Each has a reason to get off within a few minutes of a named exit, and a place to eat that locals use. Exit numbers come from VisitSeoul, the Seoul Hangang Parks office or the neighbourhood guides linked below.

📍 12 Line 2 stops in inner-loop (clockwise) order, October 2026

Station (No.)	Exit	Why get off	Local eat nearby	Transfer
City Hall (201)	2	Deoksugung Palace, royal guard ceremony, Jeongdong	Jinju Hoegwan, kongguksu (Exit 9)	Line 1
Euljiro 3-ga (203)	3	Nogari Alley, Hipjiro upstairs bars and cafés	Andongjang, oyster jjamppong	Line 3
Seongsu (211)	1, 3	Handmade shoe street, Daelim Changgo	Sobunnan Seongsu Gamjatang, open 24 hours (Exit 4)	Seongsu branch
Konkuk Univ. (212)	6	Common Ground container mall, Yang-kkochi Street	Songhwa Yangkkochi, lamb skewers	Line 7
Jamsil (216)	2, 3	Lotte World, Seoul Sky, Seokchon Lake	Hanguk-jip, Jeonju bibimbap (Lotte World Mall 5F)	Line 8
Samseong (219)	5	COEX, Starfield Library	Inamjang Samseong, seolleongtang	—
Seoul Nat’l Univ. (228)	2	Sharosu-gil	Gijeolchopung Wangsundae, makchang sundae	—
Mullae (235)	1, 7	Ironworks alleys, Mullae Art Village	Yeongil Bunsik, kal-bibim-guksu	—
Dangsan (237)	4	Han River bridge crossing, Yanghwa Hangang Park	Gichatgil Yeontanbul Saenggogi, briquette pork	Line 9
Hapjeong (238)	7	Jeoldusan Martyrs’ Shrine	Hapjeongok, gomtang	Line 6
Hongik Univ. (239)	3	Gyeongui Line Forest Park, Yeonnam-dong	Gamnamujip Gisa Sikdang, open 24 hours	Gyeongui-Jungang, AREX
Sinchon (240)	2	Yonsei University; Ewha is one stop on	Wanchai, old-school Korean-Chinese	—

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Line 2, station by station

City Hall (201) — Deoksugung and the guard ceremony

Take Exit 2 for Daehanmun, the main gate of Deoksugung Palace. The royal guard changing ceremony takes place in front of it at 11:00, 14:00 and 15:30, except on Mondays and in rain or extreme heat or cold, and watching is free. The palace itself costs 1,000 won and closes on Mondays. Outside the walls, Jeongdong’s legation-era buildings make a good hour on foot; our Jeongdong walk starts at Exit 2 and loops back to it.

Eat: Jinju Hoegwan, three minutes from Exit 9 in Seosomun, has been serving its thick soybean-broth kongguksu since moving here in 1965. It sells kongguksu only from March 1 to November 15, so go before mid-November (kongguksu guide). Outside that season, try the Bukchang-dong food alley, City Hall’s office-lunch quarter.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Euljiro 3-ga (203) — Nogari Alley and Hipjiro

By day the blocks around Exit 3 are print shops, lighting wholesalers and tool stores. After dark the alleys behind them turn into 힙지로 Hipjiro, Seoul’s nickname for the bars and cafés that took over the upper floors without putting up signs. Nogari Alley, the strip of outdoor tables serving dried pollack and draft beer, is about 90 metres from Exit 3.

Eat: Andongjang (Eulji-ro 124) opened in 1948 and is credited with putting oysters into jjamppong, the spicy seafood noodle soup. Order the oyster jjamppong. For the full afternoon-to-night route, see our Euljiro guide.

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Seongsu (211) — shoe workshops and warehouses

Seongsu’s shoe factories and warehouses now share their blocks with shops and cafés. Exit 1 puts you about 100 metres from the Seongsu Handmade Shoe Street, which VisitSeoul describes as home to 70% of Korea’s handmade shoe makers. Exit 3 leads to Daelim Changgo, a warehouse of around 50 years that now holds a Musinsa store and pop-ups. The café streets fill the blocks in between, and Seoul Forest is one stop back at Ttukseom (Seoul Forest & Ttukseom guide).

Eat: Sobunnan Seongsu Gamjatang has held the same corner since 1983 and is open 24 hours, every day. Order gamjatang (pork-bone stew) and add sujebi, hand-torn dough. It is five minutes from Exit 4. More in our Seongsu meal guide.

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Konkuk Univ. (212) — containers and lamb skewers

Exit 6 is about 200 metres from Common Ground, a mall built from some 200 shipping containers (11:00–22:00 daily). A few minutes the other way, Dongil-ro 18-gil is Yang-kkochi Street, an alley of Chinese and Korean-Chinese restaurants with archways at each end.

Eat: Songhwa Yangkkochi is widely believed to be the first lamb-skewer restaurant on the street, opening in the early 2000s. Order the lamb skewers and the fried eggplant. It is open until 01:30. See our Konkuk Yang-kkochi Street guide.

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Jamsil (216) — Lotte World and Seokchon Lake

Just before Jamsil, the train crosses the Han River above ground between Gangbyeon and Jamsillaru. Jamsil was Seoul’s busiest subway station in 2025, with about 157,600 people a day getting on or off, according to Seoul Metro figures (crowding guide). Exit 3 leads to Lotte World Adventure. Exit 2 is for Seoul Sky, the observation deck on floors 117–123 of Lotte World Tower, and for Seokchon Lake, which is lit up at night. Jamsil Baseball Stadium, two stops on at Sports Complex, is hosting its last season in 2026 (KBO guide).

Eat: Hanguk-jip on the 5th floor of Lotte World Mall is the Seoul branch of a Jeonju bibimbap house. VisitSeoul (June 2026) lists Jeonju bibimbap at ₩15,000 and yukhoe bibimbap at ₩17,000, 10:30–22:00 (last order 21:00). It is an easy meal under one roof rather than a local secret. For the neighbourhood places, ride one stop on to Jamsilsaenae (Jamsilsaenae food guide), or see our Jamsil and Songridan-gil cafés.

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Samseong (219) — COEX and Starfield Library

Exit 5 is about 350 metres from Starfield Library, the open reading space in the middle of COEX Mall with close to 600 magazines (10:30–22:00 daily, free). Bongeunsa, the temple across the road from COEX, is closer to Bongeunsa Station on Line 9. Our Samseong-dong guide covers the temple, the Seonjeongneung royal tombs and the mall.

Eat: Inamjang Samseong (Bongeunsa-ro 108-gil 21) is a seolleongtang house that simmers its beef broth for two days and appears in Korean round-ups of old-school seolleongtang places in 2026. Order the regular seolleongtang, or the special with ox tongue. Open daily (weekdays 10:00–22:00, weekends to 21:00). It also appears in our TV-famous restaurants list.

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Seoul Nat’l Univ. (228) — Sharosu-gil

The name misleads: the campus is a bus ride away. What the station does have is Sharosu-gil, a pedestrian-priority lane of small restaurants and cafés on the site of an old market, reached from Exit 2. The name plays on Sinsa-dong’s Garosu-gil, with “Sha” from the students’ nickname for the sculpture at the SNU main gate.

Eat: Gijeolchopung Wangsundae, at the Nakseongdae end of the lane, opens at 08:00. Skip the usual sundae-guk and order the makchang sundae, blood sausage stuffed into pork large intestine. Prices and the full list are in our Sharosu-gil guide.

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Mullae (235) — ironworks on weekdays, murals at weekends

Mullae-dong’s steel fabricators are still working, which is the point. Come on a weekday afternoon to hear the grinders; come at the weekend, when most shutters are down, to see the murals painted on them. Exit 1 is the way to Mullae Art Village, and Exit 7 leads into the workshop lanes around Dorim-ro 128-gil.

Eat: Yeongil Bunsik is an old noodle shop with a steaming cast-iron pot at the door. Order kal-bibim-guksu, thick knife-cut noodles rinsed cold and tossed in a spicy sauce, served with anchovy broth. Closed Mondays. See our Mullae guide.

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Dangsan (237) — the bridge and the river park

Dangsan’s Line 2 platforms are above ground, and the next stretch to Hapjeong crosses the Han on the Dangsan Railway Bridge, rebuilt in the 1990s. Get a window spot before the train leaves the platform. From Exit 4, an elevator and footbridge take you straight into Yanghwa Hangang Park, with Seonyudo island just beyond.

Eat: Gichatgil Yeontanbul Saenggogi faces the elevated Line 2 tracks on Dangsan-ro. Staff grill pork neck, jowl and skin over coal briquettes; it is loud and busy in the evening, which is the appeal. More in our Dangsan guide.

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Hapjeong (238) — Jeoldusan above the river

Exit 7 is about 500 metres from Jeoldusan, the riverside bluff where Catholics were executed in the Byeongin Persecution of 1866. It is now a shrine with the Korean Catholic Martyrs’ Museum (09:30–17:00, closed Mondays), and its edge looks out over the Han.

Eat: Hapjeongok is a gomtang (beef soup) house on the 2026 Michelin Bib Gourmand list. It makes around 100 bowls a day and closes early when they run out. Closed Sundays. See our Hapjeong guide.

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Hongik Univ. (239) — the forest park to Yeonnam-dong

This is a three-way interchange with the Gyeongui-Jungang Line and AREX, the airport railroad, so it is also where many visitors arrive. Exit 3 leads to the Gyeongui Line Forest Park, a walking path built on an old railway line that runs north into Yeonnam-dong’s cafés. Hongdae’s streets and clubs are on the other side of the station.

Eat: Gamnamujip Gisa Sikdang in Yeonnam-dong is a drivers’ canteen open 24 hours, every day. Order the spicy pork bulgogi; you pay at a kiosk first and help yourself to side dishes and water. See our Hongdae late-night eats, or half a day in Hongdae before a flight.

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Sinchon (240) — Yonsei, with Ewha one stop on

Exit 2 puts you on Yonsei-ro, and the Yonsei University campus is about 560 metres away. One stop clockwise, Ewha Womans Univ. Station’s Exit 3 is about 340 metres from the ECC, Dominique Perrault’s sloping campus building cut into the old sports ground.

Eat: Wanchai is an old Korean-Chinese restaurant on Sinchon’s Myeongmul-geori that sticks to jjajangmyeon, jjamppong and sweet-and-sour pork, with a steady student and office lunch crowd. See our Sinchon & Ewha guide.

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How do you ride Line 2 without going the long way round?

Count the stops both ways before you tap in. Korean signs say 내선순환 (inner circle, clockwise) and 외선순환 (outer circle, counter-clockwise). Platform signs and screens also list the next few stations in English, so match those with your route.

⏱️ Which way round? Stops each way, counted from Seoul Metro station numbers (roughly 2 minutes a stop)

Trip	Inner circle (clockwise)	Outer circle (counter-clockwise)	Take
City Hall → Hongik Univ.	38 stops	5 stops	Outer
Hongik Univ. → Gangnam	26 stops	17 stops	Outer
Hongik Univ. → Jamsil	20 stops	23 stops	Inner
City Hall → Jamsil	15 stops	28 stops	Inner

What does a one-day route along Line 2 look like?

Ride clockwise on the inner circle from the palace to the river. Avoid Mondays, when Deoksugung and the Jeoldusan museum are closed.

• 10:00 — City Hall, Exit 2. Deoksugung, then the guard ceremony at 11:00 at Daehanmun.
• 12:00 — Euljiro 3-ga. Oyster jjamppong at Andongjang, then a look at the print-shop alleys.
• 14:00 — Seongsu, Exits 1 and 3. The shoe street and Daelim Changgo, with coffee in between.
• 16:30 — Jamsil, Exit 2. Seokchon Lake, then Seoul Sky for the view as it gets dark.
• 19:30 — Dangsan, Exit 4. Briquette-grilled pork under the tracks, and a walk out to Yanghwa Hangang Park.
• 21:30 — Hongik Univ. Cross the river by train in the dark, then walk the Gyeongui Line Forest Park into Yeonnam-dong.