N Seoul Tower
N서울타워(남산)
Today
Why go
N Seoul Tower is the landmark tower of Seoul, standing on the summit of Namsan. From its observatory, 400m above sea level, you can look down over Seoul in 360 degrees. It is open all year round, and you can watch the night view until late.
22.2%Visited by 22.2% of foreign tourists in Seoul — 2025 Seoul Tourism Survey (foreign visitors), places visited, multiple answers allowed
Admission
₩23,000–₩29,000Adults (13 and over) ₩29,000 · children (3–12) and visitors 65 and over ₩23,000
Ways in free
- Free for children under 36 months — up to 1 per accompanying adult
Buy at the gate — no booking needed.
Highlights
History
The original name of Namsan (南山, Namsan) was Ingyeongsan. After Joseon moved its capital to Hanyang in 1394, it was called Namsan, “South Mountain”, because it was the mountain south of the city walls. When a shrine was built to the mountain spirit honoured as the Great King of Mokmyeoksan, to pray for the peace of the nation, it also took the name Mokmyeoksan.
After the capital moved to Hanyang, a beacon station was set up on this mountain. Signals sent by torch and smoke from all over the country arrived here, and it was in use for about 500 years.
Namsan was designated a park in 1940 and opened as a park in 1968. Earlier, in 1962, Korea’s first passenger cable car began linking the foot of the mountain with the summit.
Work on the tower began in 1969 as Korea’s first general-purpose broadcasting tower, sending TV and radio to the capital region. The observatory was added in 1975, and when it opened to the public in October 1980 it became a place for citizens to relax and a sight for foreign visitors.
After a full renovation in 2005, it reopened under its current name, N Seoul Tower. In 2018 it was selected by the Seoul city government as a Seoul Future Heritage.
The mountain changed too. From 1991, over 8 years, the city moved 89 buildings off the mountain and brought back Namsan’s old look. Since May 2005, ordinary cars have been barred from driving to the summit to protect the natural environment.
The 236.7m tower stands at a point 270m above sea level, so its top is 506.7m above sea level. It is still a working broadcasting tower, carrying TV and FM transmission antennas for KBS, MBC and SBS.
You buy tickets on the 1st floor and go up to the observatories on the 4th and 5th floors. There is a roof terrace on the 2nd floor and restaurants on the 2nd, 3rd and 7th floors. At night LED lighting changes the colour of the tower, and since 2011 the lighting on the tower body has been used to show fine-dust levels.
Ordinary cars cannot drive up Namsan. Take the circular bus or the cable car, or walk up. The tower gift shop keeps the same hours as the observatory, and the restaurants in the tower take last orders between 20:00 and 21:00.
Getting there
- Line 4 Myeong-dong Station · Exit 3
- Line 3 Dongguk Univ. Station · Exit 6
- Lines 3/4 Chungmuro Station · Exit 2
서울특별시 용산구 남산공원길 105
Eat nearby
- HANCOOK (Tower 3F)
- Durumi Bunsik (Tower 1F)
- N Burger (Tower 1F)
Where next
In these lists
Photos
- Best month
- Oct · Mar
Couple's padlock wall foreground, glowing skyline behind.
Tips
- The observatory is open 10:00–22:30 on weekdays and 10:00–23:00 at weekends and on public holidays. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing. Hours may change with the weather.
- Circular buses 01A and 01B leave from Chungmuro Station and Dongguk Univ. Station. Bus 01A also passes Gyeongbokgung and Insadong, which makes it handy for linking up a day’s route.
- Visitors aged 65 and over, foreigners included, pay the child fare (₩23,000).
- HANCOOK, the Korean restaurant on the 3rd floor, runs fixed seatings that start at set times — lunch at 12:00 and 14:00, dinner at 17:30 and 20:00.
Show details
- Address
- 서울특별시 용산구 남산공원길 105
- Hours
- Weekdays 10:00–22:30Weekends & holidays 10:00–23:00
- Last entry
- Weekdays 22:00Weekends & holidays 22:30
- Admission
- ₩23,000–₩29,000