Haebangchon Village, Seoul: 108 Steps, Sinheung Market and How to Get There
Haebangchon on the southern slope of Namsan, with N Seoul Tower above and the Namsan 3 Tunnel portal at the bottom of the frame. Photo by 이정우 / Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The division and war behind this refugee village, in one short book: Bruce Cumings, The Korean War: A History, on AmazonAffiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, EpicKor earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
Last updated: 11 October 2026. History is checked against Seoul Metropolitan Government press releases and Korean newspaper reporting. Bus and subway fares are Seoul's card fares as of October 2026. Sources are listed at the end.
Haebangchon (해방촌) means "Liberation Village." It is a steep residential neighbourhood on the southern slope of Namsan in Yongsan-gu, directly above Itaewon. People settled it after Korea's liberation in 1945, and the name dates from then.
Most English pages call it "near Itaewon, good for craft beer and rooftop cafés." True, but they leave out four things you need on the day:
- The famous staircase was built for a Japanese war shrine. The 108 steps (108계단) were laid in 1943 as the approach to the Gyeongseong Hoguk Shrine (경성호국신사). The shrine was torn down after liberation. The steps stayed.
- There is a free lift. A 15-person inclined elevator (경사형 승강기) has run beside the steps since November 2018.
- The easiest way up is a ₩1,200 green village bus, not the walk.
- The market's date depends on who you ask. The arch says 1953; Seoul City has said 1969.
Haebangchon Quick Guide
| As of October 2026 | |
|---|---|
| Korean | 해방촌 (Haebangchon), officially part of 용산2가동 (Yongsan 2-ga-dong), Yongsan-gu |
| Means | Liberation Village, after Korea's liberation in 1945 |
| Nearest subway | Noksapyeong (녹사평), Line 6: walk 10–15 minutes uphill, or ride bus 용산02. Sookmyung Women's Univ. (숙대입구), Line 4: ride 용산02 from the stop named 숙대역5번출구 |
| Easiest way up | Green village bus 용산02 (Yongsan 02) to 해방촌오거리 (Haebangchon Five-way Junction). ₩1,200 by card |
| From central Seoul | Blue bus 402 to 용산2가동주민센터.보성여중고 on Sowol-ro, then walk downhill. ₩1,500 by card |
| What to do | The 108 steps and lift, Sinheung Market (신흥시장) under its new canopy, rooftop views toward the Han River, international food |
| Time needed | 1.5–2 hours for a walk. Half a day if you add dinner and a sunset view, or continue up Namsan |
| Cost | The walk, steps and lift are free. Coffee roughly ₩5,000–9,000 and casual dishes about ₩7,500–12,000 (reported 2024–2025 menus plus an EpicKor estimate for coffee) |
| The catch | It is properly steep. The alleys turn into staircases and there is no flat route. Avoid it when icy |
Getting to Haebangchon: Bus, Subway, or the Climb
The problem is height, not distance. Choose by how much climbing you want.
Option 1: Village bus 용산02 (recommended). This green 마을버스 (village bus) runs a one-way loop between Noksapyeong Station (녹사평역.용산구청 stop) and Namyeong Station (남영역). From Noksapyeong it climbs to 해방촌오거리, Haebangchon's five-way junction, then continues past 신흥교회앞 and 후암동종점 down to Sookmyung Women's Univ. Station. Coming from Line 4, board at the stop named 숙대역5번출구 (outside Exit 5), which is on the uphill leg back to the village; the 숙대역7번출구 stop is on the outbound leg and takes the long way round. Get off at 해방촌오거리. Route data lists the first bus at 05:50 from the depot; the interval varies by day and hour and is not published as a timetable, so check the live arrival time in Naver Map or Kakao Map. Fare: ₩1,200 by T-money card as of October 2026.
A change to watch: Seoul's village bus operators held vehicle protests from 9 to 11 September 2026 to demand a minimum fare of ₩1,700 from January 2027. Seoul City said nothing had been decided. If you are reading this in 2027, check the fare.
Option 2: Bus 402 from City Hall or Gangnam. The blue trunk bus 402 runs along Sowol-ro (소월로), the road above the village on the Namsan side. Get off at 용산2가동주민센터.보성여중고 (Yongsan 2-ga-dong Community Center / Boseong Girls' Middle & High School), then walk downhill into the village. Seen from the top, the whole neighbourhood slopes away below you. Fare: ₩1,500 by card.
Option 3: Walk up from Noksapyeong (Line 6). From Exit 2, the old route follows the former US base wall uphill: roughly 10–15 minutes of real climbing (an EpicKor estimate).
Subway fare: ₩1,550 base fare by card on Seoul Metro as of October 2026.
Practical rule: bus up, walk down.
Why the Staircase Matters: The 108 Steps and a 1943 Shrine
The 108 steps (108계단) connect Haebangchon with Huam-dong (후암동) on the western side of the hill. The local tourist listing files them under Huam-dong.
In 1943, two years before Japan's defeat, the colonial authorities built the Gyeongseong Hoguk Shrine (경성호국신사) on this slope. It was a "nation-protecting" shrine to honour war dead, and the steps were its ceremonial approach. The Seoul Shinmun says it was built "to artificially raise a sense of victory" as the war was being lost.
After liberation the shrine was dismantled, and the first refugee shacks were reportedly built from its signboards and buildings. The steps stayed and became an ordinary path that residents of Yongsan 2-ga-dong and Huam-dong use to reach schools, the community centre and bus stops. Korean write-ups often link the number to the Buddhist idea of the 108 earthly afflictions (백팔번뇌); we found no record that the builders intended it.
What changed in 2018: Yongsan-gu put a 15-person inclined elevator down the middle of the staircase. The stair is 6 m wide and 53 m long, and the lift runs in a 2 m lane at its centre. It has four landings, and the trip from bottom to top takes about one minute. The project cost ₩2.8 billion and opened with a ceremony on 19 November 2018. It was the first inclined lift built in a Seoul residential neighbourhood.
Cost and hours: the steps are listed as open at all times, every day, and both the steps and the lift are free. Yongsan-gu does not publish separate operating hours for the lift. Treat late-night service as unconfirmed, and walk if it is stopped for an inspection.
How to use it: ride up, walk down. Locals use the lift daily; it is not cheating.
Yaktrax Walk traction cleats: coils that stretch over ordinary shoes From December to February, Haebangchon's stair-alleys and the 108 steps can ice over, and the narrow lanes between houses stay shaded long after a snowfall. These slip over the trainers you already packed and come off when you step into a café. Skip them if you are visiting from April to October. As an Amazon Associate, EpicKor earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
See Yaktrax Walk on AmazonWho Built Haebangchon, and Why on This Slope
The short version you will read everywhere is "refugees after 1945." The Korean record is more specific.
Before the village. In the Joseon era this ground held 전생서 (Jeonsaengseo), the royal office that kept cattle, sheep and pigs for state rituals. Under Japanese rule part of it became a firing range for the Japanese Army's 20th Division, which was garrisoned in Yongsan.
1945–1947. Right after liberation, about 50 households of people from the North had been squatting in former Japanese army quarters in Yongsan-dong 4-ga. When US troops arrived, they handed the quarters over and were driven here in US Army trucks. In 1947, around 400 households from Seoncheon County (선천군) in North Pyongan Province relocated here as a group. That same year they founded Haebang Church (해방교회) as a shelter for refugees. According to the Seoul Shinmun's 2018 "Seoul Future Heritage" series, the church worked almost like an informal office of the northern provinces for displaced families. Newspapers of the time reported five or six households sharing a large tent on the shrine site before each household was allotted about 5–6 pyeong (roughly 17–20 m²). The houses were 하꼬방 (hakobang), shacks of planks and US Army ration boxes.
1949. Residents had the area renamed 해방동, "Liberation-dong." The word Haebangchon stuck.
1950s–1980s. The Korean War added more refugees. Most first-generation residents did manual labour at Namdaemun Market or made illegal cigarettes. From the 1960s, knitting became the local industry: 요꼬 (yokko) knitting machines ran in homes and small workshops, and from the 1960s to the 1980s Haebangchon was a sweater district.
1990s. Production moved to China; the workshops closed and the market declined.
Read the hillside with this in mind: the narrowest plots and most improvised stairs, far from any road, are the oldest fabric.
Sinheung Market: 1953 or 1969, and the New Roof
The arch reads "1953 신흥시장 HAEBANGCHON." Beyond it, the old market lane is now cafés and restaurants. Photo by 이정우 / Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, CC BY-SA 4.0.
신흥시장 (Sinheung Market) is at 신흥로 95-9 일대, about 60 m down Sinheung-ro from the five-way junction. Its name means "newly rising market."
The date is genuinely disputed, and we would rather tell you that than pick one. The arch says 1953, and citizen-reporter articles on Seoul City's media hub (2021, 2023 and 2025) repeat that year, describing a daily-goods market for residents. Seoul City's 2016 regeneration announcement, as reported by Newstomato, says the market was "first built in December 1969." In a 2016 Seoul city magazine piece, a merchant who had traded there from the start remembered an open lot where people bartered goods from baskets, and said the present market, several cement buildings with their roofs joined, came after the 1961 military coup. Both versions can be true: there was probably trading here in the 1950s, and the covered market building came later. That reading is ours; no source settles it.
The regeneration timeline:
- December 2015: Haebangchon designated an urban regeneration area (도시재생활성화지역)
- 2016: Seoul sets aside ₩1 billion for the market and plans to remove the old slate roof
- 2018: design competition for a new arcade roof
- December 2019: construction begins, then stops after some merchants ask for the columns to be moved; about 8 months of meetings follow, and work restarts in March 2021
- 2021–2022: the roof is completed (sources differ on the year). It is an ETFE air-cushion canopy on slim steel columns, nicknamed 서울챙 ("Seoul brim") after the brim of a hat
- 2024: the canopy, titled CLOUD (by UIA Architects and Q&Partners), wins the Grand Prize of the Seoul Architecture Award
What it is like now: a short, bright covered lane of small cafés, bars, international restaurants, a retro arcade and a few older shops. About 15 minutes to walk through.
Why Haebangchon Became International
Haebangchon sits directly above Itaewon, which grew up beside the US Army's Yongsan Garrison. Foreign residents who wanted Itaewon without Itaewon rents moved up the hill, and cooks and small owners followed: Mexican, Thai, Middle Eastern and Western places beside Korean pubs. The drama Itaewon Class (이태원 클라쓰, 2020) filmed around Noksapyeong, Haebangchon and Huam-dong, bringing Korean visitors too.
What has changed around it since 2023: the US base land below has started opening as Yongsan Park. The Yongsan Children's Garden opened in 2023, and the area around Noksapyeong is slowly turning from military fence to park edge. For the park and the War Memorial, see our Yongsan Seoul guide.
What It Costs (As of October 2026)
| Item | Korean | Price | Source / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 108 steps and inclined lift | 108계단 · 경사형 승강기 | Free | Korea tourism listing |
| Village bus 용산02 | 마을버스 | ₩1,200 card | Seoul fare, October 2026 |
| Blue bus 402 | 간선버스 | ₩1,500 card | Seoul fare, October 2026 |
| Subway base fare | 지하철 | ₩1,550 card | Seoul fare, October 2026 |
| Americano at a local café | 아메리카노 | about ₩5,000–5,500 | EpicKor estimate, not from a dated menu |
| Signature latte | DG라떼 | ₩9,000 | Di Haebang (디해방), reported May 2025 |
| Street tacos | 타코 | ₩3,300–4,800 each | Taco Stand, reported October 2024 |
| Thai rice plate / burger | — | ₩7,500–12,000 | Patkapao, Nostress Burger, reported October 2024 |
| Restaurant dishes, arancini to Iberico pork rack | — | ₩29,000–79,000 | Di Haebang, reported May 2025 |
| Seoul walking tour (Haebangchon–Huam-dong) | 서울도보해설관광 | Free | Book 3 days ahead; minimum 3 people |
Restaurant prices come from Korean food guides published in October 2024 and May 2025; treat them as ranges and expect some to have risen.
The honest counter-advice: come for the walk, not the bar tab. The slope, the 1943 steps, the canopy and the views cost ₩1,200 for the bus. A rooftop dinner costs what it costs anywhere in Seoul. On a budget, walk it in the late afternoon and eat in Itaewon.
Pair it with Itaewon after dark (10–15 minutes downhill): see our Hongdae vs Itaewon vs Gangnam guide. For a similar neighbourhood walk, try Mullae.
Free guided option: Seoul's free walking tour programme (서울도보해설관광) runs a Haebangchon–Huam-dong route. It covers about 4 km in 2 hours and starts from Noksapyeong Station, passing the 108 steps, Sinheung Market, Haebang Church's area and the site associated with independence activist Kim Sang-ok (김상옥, 1889–1923). Book on Visit Seoul's walking tour site at least three days ahead; a tour runs only if at least three people book. Check which languages the date offers.
The Night View: Where to Stand
Haebangchon faces south and west, away from Namsan. That gives it a view across Yongsan toward the Han River while the tower stands behind you.
- Sinheung-ro 20-gil (신흥로20길), the lane from the five-way junction toward Huam-dong, is lined with cafés and bars that have rooftop terraces. This is where most of the "Haebangchon rooftop" photos come from.
- The gaps between houses. Any alley opening downhill frames the city, free and unsignposted.
- Sowol-ro (소월로) above the village, along the 402 route, gives a wider, higher view. From there you can continue on foot past Namsan Library toward the Namsan trails and N Seoul Tower. Allow roughly 30–50 minutes on foot to the tower plaza (an EpicKor estimate). See our N Seoul Tower and Namsan guide for the cable car and what is free at the top.
Timing: arrive 30–45 minutes before sunset.
Joby GripTight GorillaPod PRO 2: a phone tripod with legs that wrap around a railing Haebangchon's best night views are from railings, stair landings and rooftop parapets, not flat ledges. A phone held still for a 2–3 second night exposure gives you the city lights without blur. If you only shoot in daylight, you do not need it. As an Amazon Associate, EpicKor earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
See the GorillaPod on Amazon
A 해방촌 sign and the Sinheung Market sign beside a wooden stair deck from the regeneration work, with N Seoul Tower above. Photo by 이정우 / Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, CC BY-SA 4.0.
You might like: Yeonnam-dong Seoul Guide: The Park Built on a Buried Railway
A Two-Hour Route
Bus 용산02 to 해방촌오거리 → Sinheung Market (5 minutes' walk) → about 300 m toward Huam-dong to the 108 steps: lift up, walk down → back along Sinheung-ro 20-gil for a rooftop coffee → walk down to Noksapyeong and Itaewon, or climb to Sowol-ro and continue up Namsan after dark.
When to Skip Haebangchon
- If stairs are a problem. The lift covers the 108 steps only. The rest of the village has no flat version
- In ice or heavy rain. Steep, shaded alleys plus bad footing is a poor combination
- If you want landmarks. Apart from the steps and the market, the neighbourhood itself is the attraction
- For one particular bar. Businesses turn over fast; check Naver Map first
- Late at night, loudly. People live in the houses you are photographing
FAQ About Haebangchon
Q: What does Haebangchon mean?
A: "Liberation Village." People settled the slope after Korea's liberation in 1945, including about 400 households from Seoncheon County in North Pyongan Province who relocated in 1947, and Korean War refugees later. The area was renamed 해방동 in 1949, and the name Haebangchon stuck.
Q: How do I get to Haebangchon?
A: The easiest way is green village bus 용산02 (₩1,200 by card) from Noksapyeong Station (Line 6) or the 숙대역5번출구 stop at Sookmyung Women's Univ. Station (Line 4) to the 해방촌오거리 stop. From central Seoul, blue bus 402 (₩1,500) stops at 용산2가동주민센터.보성여중고 on Sowol-ro, and from there you walk downhill. Walking up from Noksapyeong takes roughly 10–15 minutes, all of it uphill.
Q: What are the 108 steps?
A: The 1943 approach stairway of the Gyeongseong Hoguk Shrine, a Japanese colonial war shrine that was dismantled after liberation. A free 15-person inclined lift with four landings has run alongside the steps since November 2018.
Q: Is Sinheung Market from 1953?
A: The arch says so, and articles on Seoul City's media hub repeat it. Seoul City's 2016 regeneration release says the market was first built in December 1969. The most likely reading is that trading began in the 1950s and the covered market building came later. The current ETFE canopy won the 2024 Seoul Architecture Award Grand Prize.
Q: How long do I need?
A: About 1.5–2 hours to walk the market, the steps and a few viewpoints. Allow half a day if you add a sunset rooftop dinner or continue up to N Seoul Tower.
Q: Is Haebangchon worth it on a short trip?
A: Yes if you like walking neighbourhoods and views more than landmarks, and it fits easily between Namsan and Itaewon. On a three-day first trip, put it after the palaces.
The One Thing to Remember
A village named for liberation grew up around the staircase of a shrine that liberation pulled down. Take the ₩1,200 bus up, ride the free lift, walk down the 1943 steps, and look at what is under your feet.
Sources
- 108 steps, shrine (1943), lift (₩2.8 billion, 15 people, 53 m, four landings, about one minute, opened 19 November 2018): Seoul Shinmun, "가파른 해방촌 108계단… 승강기로 1분 만에 올라요", 21 November 2018.
- 108 steps open at all hours, free, first inclined lift in a residential area: 후암동108계단 tourist listing, read 11 October 2026.
- Pre-village land use (전생서, Japanese 20th Division firing range), 50 households, 400 households from Seoncheon (1947), 5–6 pyeong plots, 1949 renaming, Haebang Church's role, shacks built from the shrine, tent life: Seoul Shinmun, 2018 서울미래유산 그랜드투어: 해방촌, 15 November 2018.
- Haebang Church founded 1947, walking tour (4 km, 2 hours, from Noksapyeong), Kim Sang-ok site: Seoul City media hub, 도보해설관광에서 만난 해방촌·후암동 이야기, 10 April 2025. Booking rule (free, 3 days ahead, minimum 3 people): Seoul Tourism Organization walking-tour programme, Visit Seoul (dobo.visitseoul.net).
- Knitting industry, cigarettes, Namdaemun work, market built after 1961: Seoul City media hub, 남산 아래 가파른 언덕, 해방촌의 변화, 6 September 2016.
- Market "first built December 1969", ₩1 billion improvement plan: Newstomato on Seoul City's announcement, 25 July 2016.
- Market "since 1953", 60 m from the five-way junction, 108 steps 300 m from the market, village bus to 해방촌 오거리: Seoul City media hub, 6 May 2021 and 21 July 2023.
- Regeneration timeline (December 2015 designation, 2018 competition, December 2019 start, 8-month pause): Seoul City housing news, 29 March 2021. Canopy, ETFE and architects: Design magazine. "서울챙" and address 신흥로 95-9: Hankyung Magazine, 13 February 2023. 2024 Seoul Architecture Award Grand Prize (CLOUD, UIA Architects and Q&Partners): Seoul City housing news, 29 July 2024; 2025 citizen-reporter piece repeating 1953: Seoul City media hub, 1 August 2025.
- Village bus 용산02 stops (one-way loop, 숙대역5번출구 on the uphill leg) and first bus: route listing. Bus 402 stop names: route listing. Directions via 402 and from Noksapyeong Exit 2: Bizhankook, 11 October 2018.
- Fares: subway ₩1,550 (since 28 June 2025) and trunk/branch bus ₩1,500 (since 12 August 2023), adult card, Seoul City transport fare page. Village bus ₩1,200 (unchanged since 2023), the September 2026 fare protest and Seoul City's "nothing decided": The Fact, 9 September 2026.
- Prices: Di Haebang menu, Hot Place Hunter, 20 May 2025. Taco Stand, Patkapao, Nostress Burger menus: Hot Place Hunter, 해방촌 맛집 BEST5, 24 October 2024. The americano range is an EpicKor estimate.
- Itaewon Class locations: Seoul City media hub, 18 March 2021.
- Image sources and licences are documented in this post's
image-sources.md.
Small businesses in Haebangchon change often. Confirm anything specific before you travel for it.
Haebangchon is one of the neighbourhoods compared in EpicKor's Seoul neighbourhood guide, which covers each area's character, nearest station, whether it is worth staying in, and how long a visit actually takes.
Next in the series: Mullae and Seongsu & Hannam.
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