About the Hannam-dong Neighborhood

Hannam-dong is an old Korean residential neighborhood in Seoul next to Itaewon, a neighborhood that became an international trade zone and tourist attraction because of its proximity of the US Army base in Yongsan.  As a result many embassies are nearby too, and many businesses in the area are particularly foreigner-friendly.

Now, that stream has been paved over. The school in the background (upper left corner of the 1967 photograph) is still there but everything else has changed.

Hannam-dong is transforming into a stylish, “hip” neighborhood, with old souvenir and craft shops and family-style barbecues slowly being replaced by nice multinational restaurants and cafés, coffee shops and roasters, bakeries, ice cream shops, chocolatiers, all kinds of clothing stores and boutiques, art galleries, book stores, photo booths, clubs and bars, and more.

Some residential buildings are changing to mixed-use to ride the wave of new businesses eager to come into the neighborhood.  This is the home of the Samsung family, BTS, and more, and has always been the home of high-ranking government officials and well-to-do business owners.

There are several museums here, one owned and run by the Samsung family just up the hill.  Blue Square performing arts center is about a six-minute walk from us, offering concerts, plays and musicals (including traveling Broadway troupes) all year round.

Some people now refer to Hannam-dong as the new Gangnam, a neighborhood just a few minutes drive away which was popularized in the K-pop song Gangnam Style, a song having to do with people treating Gangnam like Beverly Hills.

Next-door to our villa is Korea’s most expensive housing yet (as of 2021) – the Nine One Apartments – a gated community where performers like G-Dragon and Lee Jong-suk have purchased units.  Before Nine One, that land was housing for the 8^th Army, US Forces Korea.  Now it is not unusual to see Lamborghinis, Ferraris, McLarens, Aston-Martins, Maybachs and the occasional Rolls or Bentley being driven here.  Toward the east side of Hannam-dong are the Hannam The Hill apartments – the second most expensive in Korea and the home of K-pop group BTS and others.

We have two major roads (Itaewon-ro and Hannam-daero) within a two- to four-minute walk from our villa where taxicabs, buses and subways are in easy reach.  Our quiet one-way street has residential villas, a 24-hour convenience store with an excellent beer selection, a barber, a couple of restaurants and coffee shops, a wine & liquor store, two boutiques, a real estate agent and a dry cleaner.

Like many places off the main roads here, there are no sidewalks on our street and people on foot and e-scooters get along fine with the cars, occasional small trucks and many delivery motorbikes.  The neighborhood is very walkable with many small shops but like most of Seoul and much of Korea, this neighborhood at the foot of Namsan (literally: Han Mountain) is hilly.  For the elderly and/or infirm it can be challenging to walk in parts of Hannam-dong, though you would never guess by watching the locals.  For people who like hiking, a major park trailhead is a few minutes away.

Hannam-dong has an amazing amount of shopping and other businesses.  There are also many churches, a shul (Chabad of Korea), and the Seoul Central Mosque.  A major hospital with an international clinic is walking distance (~15 minutes) and dental clinics are nearby.  The post office is next door to the hospital.  Every major Korean bank (Shinhan, Woori, Hana, KEB, IBK, NH, etc.) has a full-service branch close to our villa.  The highly regarded Yongsan International School of Seoul (YISS) is less than ten minutes walking time from us, door to door.  The Itaewon Global Village Center – an invaluable resource for foreigners – is actually in Hannam-dong.

All varieties of Korean food are here of course, also American and regional American, Japanese, Czech, Russian, Mexican and Tex-Mex, Indian, Malaysian, Mediterranean, Middle-Eastern, Spanish, Italian, French, African, South African, Ethiopian, German, Vietnamese, varieties of Chinese and more.  The most amazing donuts (Old Ferry!) are around the corner a few blocks away from us.  A highly respected omakase sushi restaurant called Sushi Joe is half a block away. There are 24-hour restaurants a few blocks away too.

There are options here for organic, vegetarian and gluten-free foods, also halal and kosher foods!  For folks who need to quarantine on arrival (thanks COVID), Shuttle Delivery can bring almost all of this to your door, and basic groceries too.  SSG/Emart and Gmarket also deliver here routinely.  There are even some quite passable pizza options for American expats such as Jackson Blvd Pizza.  Popular western fast foods here include KFC, Pizza Hut, Dominoes and Subway.  McDonald’s is at the far end of Itaewon but delivers here too.  We love Pipit Burger which is just two blocks away.  There is an excellent food court and a supermarket three minutes away from us at Gourmet 494.

There are nearby wine and liquor stores, grocery and fruit/vegetable markets, a Japanese grocery, butchers, delis, gyms/pilates/yoga, a virtual golf range and pro shops, a fencing academy, a music academy, pool/billiards, bowling alleys, camping outfitters, bait and tackle shops, cellphone and calling card stores, appliance showrooms, office supplies, printers, hardware stores, furniture, housewares, dinnerware, clothing, sportswear, footwear and accessory boutiques, millineries, jewelry sales and repair, arts & crafts, a shoe repair, eyewear stores, health & beauty, record stores (vinyl!), karaoke rooms, PC cafés, bicycle shops, motorcycle and scooter sales and repair, saunas and massage services, acupuncture and dermatology clinics, catering/wedding halls, more guest houses and four- and five-star hotels.

When exploring our neighborhood don’t forget to peer into alleys and to look up! Many storefronts for great businesses here are not on the ground floor or even facing onto main roads.

Gucci recently established a brand store where Hannam-dong and Itaewon meet, and brands like Valentino are opening up pop-up stores here.  Itaewon is where you can also find Korean souvenirs, antique shops with lots of Americana, suit and shirt makers, leather outerwear and accessories, adult stores, more markets, clubs, bars and restaurants, and more of the old Seoul flavor.

Automobile dealers in Hannam-dong seem to reflect the neighborhood’s changes with showrooms for AMG Mercedes, BMW, Maserati, Volkswagen, Polestar, Jaguar / Land Rover and of course Hyundai.  Aston-Martin / McLaren Service is down the hill.  Motorcycle afficionados may appreciate the Harley-Davidson dealership across the main road.  BMW Motorrad and KTM have stores and service shops down the hill, along with Vespa Piaggio.  Specialized Bicycles has a dealer and full-service shop here too.

Adjacent walking-distance neighborhoods with much in the way of restaurants, entertainment and interesting small shops include Itaewon, as mentioned, also “HBC” (Haebangchon), Kyungridan and Bogwang-dong.  If you wander off the main roads to explore these neighborhoods, be prepared for hills, some very steep the further you venture.

Of course there’s more to life in South Korea than the Hannam-dong area.  The subway and many buses here give you easy access to Seoul’s tourist attractions and to the rest of the country via Seoul Station / KTX, the Seoul Express Bus Terminal and airport buses to Gimpo and Incheon.  Korea’s mass transit is fairly easy to navigate, especially with the help of smartphone apps like Naver Maps and Kakao Maps.  Most navigation signs here are in Korean and English.  From here it’s a snap to reach Gangnam, Myeong-dong, Insa-dong, Gwanghwamun, Cheonggyecheon, Cheongwadae (Blue House presidential palace), COEX Mall, palaces, temples, shrines, city gates and popular markets like Namdaemun, Dongdaemun, etc.

Come stay with us at Hannam BnB Seoul and enjoy all that South Korea has to offer!