Heunginjimun Gate

Heunginjimun - the gate of rising benevolence, and Dongdaemun in everyday speech - was one of the four great gates of the Joseon capital, first built in 1398 and rebuilt in 1869, and it is the only one that keeps its ongseong, the curved barbican wall wrapped round the outside of the gate. That was necessary here because the ground on the eastern side is low and soft and the position was the weakest in the circuit, so the extra wall compensated. The gate is a two-storey wooden pavilion on a stone base with painted brackets, and it sits in the middle of a road junction, surrounded by traffic with a small park at its edge - the wall it belonged to was removed either side of it under Japanese rule and in the modern rebuilding of the city, though stretches survive climbing the hills north and south. It cannot be entered; the visit is a walk round the outside, twenty minutes, best in the evening when it is lit.

What to look for

• The barbican wall - the curved ongseong, unique among the gates.
• The two-storey pavilion - painted brackets on the stone base.
• The traffic island setting - the gate marooned in the junction.
• The wall stretches - surviving rampart climbing the hills nearby.

When to go

Year-round; evenings when it is floodlit are best. Twenty to thirty minutes covers it, and it works alongside DDP and the markets.

What to expect

The gate is not open to enter and is surrounded by heavy traffic and noise. The setting is a junction, not a park. It is a short stop rather than a destination.

Nearby

Dongdaemun Design Plaza is a few minutes away; the Naksan wall trail climbs north.

Key facts