Yulgok-ro

About this place

Yulgok-ro is a road where the stone walls of the old palaces harmonize with roadside trees. Originally, Changgyeonggung Palace and Jongmyo Shrine were adjoined, but in 1931, during the Japanese colonial period, Japan divided Changgyeonggung and Jongmyo as part of its policy to erase the Korean nation and built a road between them—that road is Yulgok-ro. Bearing this painful history, Yulgok-ro today exudes a serene atmosphere as its antique stone walls harmonize with the trees lining the road. Because the place where Yulgok Yi I, a leading Confucian scholar of Joseon, lived is located in Gwanhun-dong, through which this road passes, the road was named Yulgok-ro after his pen name. It is a major arterial road connecting east and west—30 m wide and 3 km long—running from Dongsipjagak through the Ihwa-dong intersection to Dongdaemun, and it is admired for its beauty.