Euljiro
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Why go
Alleys of downtown Seoul's industries, packed with print shops, lighting stores and tool dealers. By day it is a working street, but when the workday ends people gather with glasses of beer at the outdoor tables of Nogari Alley.
17.4%Share of foreign travelers to Seoul who visited the Euljiro alleys — 2025 Seoul Tourism Survey (foreign visitors), places visited, multiple answers allowed
Highlights
History
Between Euljiro 1-ga and 2-ga there was a hill of bare yellow clay called 'Gurigae'. Under Japanese rule the name was rendered in Chinese characters as 'Hwanggeumjeong', and on October 1, 1946, the street became Euljiro (乙支路), after the surname of the Goguryeo general Eulji Mundeok. After a royal office for casting metal printing type was set up in the area in 1403, the printing trade took root here.
After the Korean War (6·25), as the ruined city was rebuilt, lumber, hardware, tool, tile and lighting stores gathered in Euljiro and grew fast. The lighting arcades were at their peak in the 1970s–80s. In 1980 a beer hall opened, similar places followed one after another, and 'Nogari Alley' was born.
Tile and ceramics shops are still clustered around Euljiro 3-ga Station, and furniture and sewing machine stores around Euljiro 4-ga. Young artists' galleries and studios have moved in among the old signboards, so factory alleys and new shops share the same block.
Getting there
Where next
In these lists
Tips
- Each place in Nogari Alley has its own hours and days off. On weekday evenings and weekends, seats fill up fast.
- The Euljiro alleys are quiet during the day and get busy when the workday ends.
- There is nowhere to park, so come by subway.
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