Namsan Cable Car, Seoul, Korea: ₩15,000, a 1–2 Hour Weekend Line, Three Cheaper Ways Up, and Why the Myeongdong Gondola Isn't Running

Last updated: September 2026. Fares, hours and ticket rules are from the Namsan Cable Car's official website (read 16 September 2026); the observatory price is from N Seoul Tower's official site; bus routes and the forest trail are from the Seoul Metropolitan Government's media hub; the gondola's specification is from the Seoul mayor's office (September 2024); the court case, waiting times and ridership are from Korean press reports named in the sources.

The Namsan Cable Car is the ride most visitors picture when they plan N Seoul Tower: a three-minute climb from just above Myeongdong to the top of the hill. It has also become Seoul's most reliable queue. The line runs two cabins for up to 48 passengers each that pass each other on one span, which Korean press estimates put at roughly 400 to 640 people an hour, and it carried 1.74 million riders in 2024. The result, reported by four Korean newspapers between August and September 2026: one to two hours of waiting on weekends and in peak season.

Seoul's answer was a gondola from Myeongdong Station with 25 cabins, due to open in spring 2026. It is not running. Construction stopped at about 15 percent after the cable car's operator sued, and the city lost in the first court round. Several English guides still say it opens this year.

This guide covers what the cable car costs and when to ride it, the three other ways up (a free incline elevator, a 954-step forest stair and two buses), and where the gondola case stands.

A cabin leaves the lower station with N Seoul Tower above. Two cabins, each for up to 48 people, run the whole line. Photo: Jean & Nathalie, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (2014).

The cable car stops when the wind is strong, and the walk or the bus stop at the top is exposed: the Repel windproof travel umbrella is built to flex back instead of snapping in a gust. As an Amazon Associate, EpicKor earns from qualifying purchases.

Quick Guide: getting up Namsan in 2026

The cable car: fares, hours and tickets

The fares below are the ones the official website displays (read 16 September 2026):

• Hours: 10:00 to 23:00, every day. Round-trip tickets stop selling at 22:30, one-way tickets at 22:45.
• Tickets are sold at the station only. The official site says so in bold. Some travel platforms sell weekday vouchers that you exchange on site; the official site does not mention them, and nothing we read suggests they skip the line.
• Wind and maintenance stop it. The operator posts closures on its website; its notices include strong-wind stoppages, and it closed for maintenance from 23 February to 20 March 2026. It does not publish a wind threshold, so check the site on a gusty day.
• Strollers: on holidays and busy days, weekdays included, wagon-type and large or twin strollers are not allowed on board; dog strollers never are.
• Ride length: about 600 m and about three minutes each way.

The line opened on 12 May 1962, Korea's first passenger cable car. Cabin capacity grew from 20 to 38 passengers in 1984 and to 48 in 2005, and that is still the whole fleet.

An adult round-trip ticket from April 2015: ₩8,500. The same ticket is ₩15,000 in 2026. Photo: Wei-Te Wong, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (2015).

Getting to the lower station

The station is at 83 Sopa-ro, up the hill from Myeongdong. The official directions: leave Myeongdong Station (Line 4) by exit 3, turn into the lane with the 7-Eleven, and walk up the road between the Pacific Hotel and GS25 for about 7–8 minutes. It is uphill all the way; the Korean daily Sidae described it as about 20 minutes of hill walking.

The site also advertises a free shuttle between Myeongdong Station exit 1 and the cable car car park, running from about 12:00 to 20:30, but the same page gives both "every 10 minutes" and "every 30 minutes" and lists skipped departures, so do not plan around it.

Why the line is so long, and how to beat it

The official site's own tips are short: mornings are quieter than afternoons, weekend waits get long, and night rides give the best view. The arithmetic explains the rest. Namsan Park had about 11.92 million visitors in 2025, up 8.1 percent on 2024; tourist coaches that once carried an estimated 1.7 to 2 million people a year to the top have been barred from the summit road since August 2021; and the cable car has two cabins.

• Go when it opens at 10:00, on a weekday. The operator itself says mornings are quieter.
• Consider buying one way (₩12,000) and walking down, which is the easier direction on the stairs.
• If the line reaches the street, take the stairs. The Northern Forest Trail starts a few minutes from the station (below).

The free incline elevator: Namsan Oreumi

The Namsan Oreumi: a free, 20-person incline elevator that climbs to the cable car station, not to the summit. Photo: Wei-Te Wong, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (2015).

The Namsan Oreumi (남산오르미) is a glass incline elevator that Seoul opened on 30 June 2009. It is free, holds 20 people, runs about 70 m up a 25-degree slope and takes about two minutes. From Myeongdong Station exit 4, walk straight to the Hoehyeon intersection, turn left, and look for the Namsan Tunnel 3 completion monument (the one with an eagle on top); the elevator is beside it.

The catch, which Seoul's own park FAQ spells out: the Oreumi does not go to the summit. It takes you to the cable car station, which saves the uphill walk from Myeongdong but not the cable car line. If you use it to skip the walk and then find a two-hour line, the forest trail is next door.

The 954-step shortcut: the Northern Forest Trail

The start of the Northern Forest Trail. Seoul says the deck stair cuts the walk from the northern loop road to the summit from about an hour to about 20 minutes. Photo: Starfishprimo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (2026).

Seoul built the Northern Forest Trail (북측숲길), a 0.5 km stair of 954 wooden deck steps, to connect the Myeongdong side directly to the summit. The city says it cuts the walk from the northern loop road from about an hour to about 20 minutes, and its media hub describes the whole trip as "25 minutes on foot from Myeongdong Station to the summit".

Directions from a Seoul media hub report: from Myeongdong Station exit 3, walk through Myeongdong Jaemiro, cross Sopa-ro at the crossing near the cable car and its tonkatsu restaurants, and enter Namsan Park entrance 4. Follow Namsan Park road past the Jo Ji-hoon poetry stone and the Waryongmyo shrine to the trail entrance.

• It is a stair, not a slope. Nine hundred steps is a real climb in summer heat; take water.
• Coming down, a Seoul media hub report suggests the Namsan Haneul Forest Trail (남산 하늘숲길), opened on 25 October 2025: 1.63 km, of which 1.45 km is a gentle, step-free zigzag deck between the Namsan Library side and the fitness area in Huam-dong, Yongsan. It suits strollers and wheelchairs better than any other way down.
• The Korean daily Sidae reported that 5.37 million of Namsan Park's 2025 visitors walked up.

The buses: 01A and 01B

A route 01A bus in Seoul's pink Hechi livery. Buses of both routes come in different colours, so go by the number. Photo: Wikiwater2020, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (2025).

Two circular routes, 01A and 01B, are the only public buses that reach the Namsan Seoul Tower stop. Both run from 06:30 to 23:00 and start from the Namsan Yejang bus transfer car park near Myeongdong.

• Dongguk University Station exit 6 (Line 3) is where Seoul's park site tells visitors to catch 01B.
• Pay by transit card. Seoul's fare table sets its circular buses at ₩1,400 by card; N Seoul Tower's website lists ₩1,500. Either way, have T-money or a Climate Card loaded; our Korea payment guide covers both.
• At the top, 01A and 01B stop in separate bays, each with its own route sign. 01A heads on towards Namdaemun, City Hall and Gyeongbokgung; 01B heads back towards the Myeongdong side. 01A only gets back to the Myeongdong side after a long loop through Namdaemun, Gyeongbokgung and Insadong.
• It is not a way to skip crowds. A Seoul official told the Korean daily Sidae in September 2026 that the buses are "always full" at weekends and on weekday evenings, with 40–50 minute waits, and the stop is 350 m of uphill walking from the summit. Hankyung reported that circular-bus ridership rose from 2.55 million in 2019 to 4.6 million in 2025.

The 01B bay at the Namsan Seoul Tower stop, April 2026. Photo: Starfishprimo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (2026).

At the top: the observatory

The N Seoul Tower observatory costs ₩29,000 for adults and ₩23,000 for children (3–12) and seniors 65+; under-36-month-olds are free. It opens 10:00–22:30 on weekdays and 10:00–23:00 at weekends and on holidays, with last entry 30 minutes before closing. The tower's only official package with a cable car ticket is a group programme for six or more, booked a week ahead; we found no individual combo on either official site. For the free alternatives and how the view compares, see our N Seoul Tower guide and our Yongwangsan Skywalk comparison.

The gondola that isn't running

In September 2024, Seoul broke ground on the Namsan gondola. The city's announcement described:

• A lower station in Yejang Park, about 200 m from Myeongdong Station (exit 1), and an upper station at the summit, 832 m apart.
• 25 ten-person cabins running continuously, carrying up to 1,600 people an hour. More recent Korean press reports give about 2,000.
• A ride of under five minutes, cabins that take wheelchairs and strollers, and opening in spring 2026.
• A round-trip fare ₩5,000 cheaper than the cable car, according to Money Today (August 2026). No exact fare has been announced.

That timetable is gone. The cable car's operator, 한국삭도공업 (Hankook Sakdo Gongeop), and other plaintiffs sued in 2024 over the change to the park zoning that allowed the gondola's towers, and in autumn 2024 a court suspended the work. In December 2025 the Seoul Administrative Court ruled for the plaintiffs, finding that the zoning change did not meet the legal criteria. Seoul appealed at once. By then the project was about 15 percent complete, and by August 2026 the city had spent ₩10.9 billion of the ₩44 billion budget, with the stoppage adding an estimated ₩170 million a year. In December 2025 the city's new target was March 2027.

The Seoul High Court's appeal ruling was scheduled for 14:00 on 17 September 2026, after being moved from 20 August. Even a win for the city would not mean construction restarts the next day: the losing side can appeal to the Supreme Court, and the court order suspending the work was tied to the ruling in the main case.

The city has a second route. The enforcement decree of Korea's parks and green spaces act caps structures in urban natural park zones at 12 m, and the gondola's towers are about 35 m. In mid-2025 the land ministry pre-announced an amendment to the enforcement decree that would relax the height limit, which would let the towers stand without the zoning change. The ministry told Korean reporters in August and September 2026 that it had drawn opinions on both sides, that the amendment was on hold and that there was no set schedule.

Why the operator is fighting: Hankook Sakdo reported ₩22 billion in revenue and ₩9 billion in operating profit in 2024, according to Hankook Ilbo, which also reported that the fee it pays for the state forest land fell to the ₩50 million range from 2024.

For a visitor, the practical answer is simple: there is no gondola in 2026. The Korea Herald's September 2024 article and several English travel sites still say "spring 2026"; with work stopped at about 15 percent, that date cannot be met.

Which way up should you take?

• Weekday morning, want the ride: cable car at 10:00, one way, then walk down.
• Weekend afternoon: Northern Forest Trail up (25 minutes), Haneul Forest Trail or 01B down.
• Stroller: the cable car on a quiet weekday (the large-stroller ban applies on busy days), or bus 01A/01B, and the step-free Haneul Forest Trail for the way down.
• Night view: walk up before sunset, and check our Seoul subway last train guide before you come down.

FAQ

Q: How much is the Namsan Cable Car in 2026? ₩15,000 round trip and ₩12,000 one way for adults; ₩11,500 and ₩9,000 for children aged 36 months to 12 and for seniors 65+ with ID. Tickets are sold at the station only.

Q: How long is the wait for the Namsan Cable Car? Korean newspapers reported one to two hours on weekends and in peak season in August and September 2026. The official site says mornings are quieter than afternoons; the line opens at 10:00.

Q: Is the Namsan Oreumi elevator free, and does it go to N Seoul Tower? It is free, but it only goes to the cable car's lower station, about 70 m up the slope. You still need the cable car, the stairs or a bus to reach the summit.

Q: Can you walk up to N Seoul Tower from Myeongdong? Yes. Seoul's Northern Forest Trail, a stair of 954 deck steps, takes about 25 minutes from Myeongdong Station exit 3 to the summit, according to a Seoul media hub report.

Q: Which bus goes to N Seoul Tower? Routes 01A and 01B, both stopping at Namsan Seoul Tower from 06:30 to 23:00. Pay with a transit card. On the way down, 01A heads to Namdaemun, City Hall and Gyeongbokgung; 01B goes back past the cable car to the Yejang car park on the Myeongdong side.

Q: Is there a gondola to N Seoul Tower? Not yet. Seoul's gondola from Myeongdong was due in spring 2026, but construction stopped at about 15 percent during a lawsuit brought by the cable car's operator.

Sources

• Namsan Cable Car official website (namsancablecar.com): fares, hours, ticket rules, directions, history, notices on closures and strollers; read 16 September 2026.
• N Seoul Tower official website (nseoultower.co.kr): observatory prices and hours, bus information, group programme; read 16 September 2026.
• Seoul Metropolitan Government: mayor's office announcement on the Namsan gondola (5 September 2024); media hub articles on the Hechi buses 01A/01B (8 April 2024), the Northern Forest Trail and the Namsan Haneul Forest Trail (2025); Seoul Parks Namsan Park page and FAQ; Seoul bus fare table (adjusted 12 August 2023).
• Hankook Ilbo (29 June 2009): Namsan Oreumi opening; (8 January 2026): ridership, operator revenue and forest fee.
• Sidae (동행미디어 시대; 2 and 7 September 2026), Money Today (25 August 2026), Edaily (20 August 2026), Hankyung (15 September 2026): waiting times, capacity estimates, park visitors, gondola cost and schedule, zoning workaround.
• Asia Business Daily (17 December 2025), Kyunghyang Shinmun and Yonhap (19 December 2025), News1 (29 August 2026): gondola progress, first-instance ruling, appeal date.
• The Korea Herald (5 September 2024 and 3 December 2025); Seoul Economic Daily English (11 September 2026).