Namsan
Seoul is a fascinating city to see. However, most rarely get a good look of the vastness. As part of an ongoing series of blog posts. I am documenting all of the great locations to photograph a good cityscape of Seoul. In these posts, there should be enough information to know what to expect and if it is worth the journey.
Seoul is a fascinating city to see. However, most rarely get a good look of the vastness. As part of an ongoing series of blog posts. I am documenting all of the great locations to photograph a good cityscape of Seoul. In these posts, there should be enough information to know what to expect and if it is worth the journey.
Namsan mountain is a popular choice to shoot cityscapes. Personally, I think that there are many other places that offer a better view of the city for photography. There are two good shots to be had in my opinion. The first is from the top shooting north towards Myeongdong with Bukhansan National Park in the background. The second is getting a medium shot of the tower itself from a viewpoint along the road to the top.
I haven't been lucky with the air quality and weather to get a nice photo looking north so I have no example to show. However, there is a 24 hour live webcam stream looking north from the tower that I often use as a gauge to judge how sunsets will look. You can find the stream here.
Gangbyeon Station Techno Mart
Seoul is a fascinating city to see. However, most rarely get a good look of the vastness. As part of an ongoing series of blog posts. I am documenting all of the great locations to photograph a good cityscape of Seoul. In these posts, there should be enough information to know what to expect and if it is worth the journey.
Seoul is a fascinating city to see. However, most rarely get a good look of the vastness. As part of an ongoing series of blog posts. I am documenting all of the great locations to photograph a good cityscape of Seoul. In these posts, there should be enough information to know what to expect and if it is worth the journey.
On the 9th floor of the Techno Mart is a large outdoor terrace that is accessible to the public. From this point, there is a great view of both Lotte Tower and the Peace Bridge. I really appreciate that this is an area that is open to the public, free, and has a great view. No sneaking required.
The subway bridge that spans the Han acts as a good leading line. There is a higher platform on the left side of the terrace. While it does give a slightly better view, there is safety wire all around that is quite high. Towards the middle is a shorter platform that provides the easiest and safest view. From the middle platform, I found that the relationship between the tower and bridge to be less than ideal. In search of a better composition, I found that putting my camera on the ledge under the railing towards the right side of the area was an improvement. Don't do this unless you have a very stable tabletop tripod and a firm grip. Note that there are bright lights lower on the building and they can cause lens flare.
The area closes at 9pm which might be a little early if you go in the summer.
I would recommend lenses between 16mm and 85mm. 16mm is wide enough to get a lot of the freeway below in a photo with the tower while 50 or 85mm nicely frames the tower with the bridge.
Achasan - Seoul Photo Location
Seoul is a fascinating city to see. However, most rarely get a good look of the vastness. As part of an ongoing series of blog posts. I am documenting all of the great locations to photograph a good cityscape of Seoul. In these posts, there should be enough information to know what to expect and if it is worth the journey.
Seoul is a fascinating city to see. However, most rarely get a good look of the vastness. As part of an ongoing series of blog posts. I am documenting all of the great locations to photograph a good cityscape of Seoul. In these posts, there should be enough information to know what to expect and if it is worth the journey.
This mountain has a special place in my heart as it was the first good night view that I had of the city. My co-teacher took me up one Saturday and I was really happy with the sprawling views all around. At the time, I was living in Suwon and getting to the Mountain was quite the mission but, living in Seoul, it became more accessible.
Starting from Achasan station on line 5 exit 2, it's about 40-50 minutes up to a good spot to shoot. The pavilion is a great location to grab a shot like the one above. Farther up, the path becomes a bit wider and you can enjoy a view of Lotte Tower without trees or power lines getting in the way. Farther still, you can look west to Namsan Tower and most of Seoul.
For this location, I would recommend bringing focal lengths between 50 and 200mm. When shooting Lotte Tower with the Peace Bridge in the frame, I found 135mm to be the ideal focal length.
Umyeonsan - Seoul Photo Location
Seoul is a fascinating city to see. However, most rarely get a good look of the vastness. As part of an ongoing series of blog posts. I am documenting all of the great locations to photograph a good cityscape of Seoul. In these posts, there should be enough information to know what to expect and if it is worth the journey.
Seoul is a fascinating city to see. However, most rarely get a good look of the vastness. As part of an ongoing series of blog posts. I am documenting all of the great locations to photograph a good cityscape of Seoul. In these posts, there should be enough information to know what to expect and if it is worth the journey.
This is a new favorite location for me and I love racing to the top after work in time for sunset.. Getting to the "photo island" at the top takes about an hour from Nambu Bus Terminal. Be prepared for close to 300 meters of elevation gain. In the summer heat, it was brutal. The nearest subway station is Nambu Bus Terminal. Head toward the Seoul Arts Center. From there, various trails head to the top
I would recommend 50mm and 85mm. These two focal lengths seem to work best with this location to use the large road as a leading line up towards Namsan Tower. Stitching photos together with a 50mm makes for great panoramas.
Below is the map location of the beginning of the trail I use. It is a pedestrian bridge with a large waterfall on the mountain side.
Lotte Tower - Seoul Photo Location
Seoul is a fascinating city to see. However, most rarely get a good look of the vastness. As part of an ongoing series of blog posts. I am documenting all of the great locations to photograph a good cityscape of Seoul. In these posts, there should be enough information to know what to expect and if it is worth the journey.
Seoul is a fascinating city to see. However, most rarely get a good look of the vastness. As part of an ongoing series of blog posts. I am documenting all of the great locations to photograph a good cityscape of Seoul. In these posts, there should be enough information to know what to expect and if it is worth the journey.
Lotte Tower in Jamsil shouldn't be written off just because it is a busy tourist attraction. On a clear day, the tower gives you a panoramic view of the city in every direction. There are three floors and enough space to find an area of the windows to shoot from yourself. Because you are shooting out of the windows of a busy attraction, bring something to wipe the windows and well as a jacket to cover your camera. Cleaning the handprints and blocking stray light and reflections will give the best chance of a clean image.
I recommend going on a weekday. While there are normally long lines on Saturday and Sunday, there were only a few people there on the weekday I went. Keep in mind that it is 28,000 won per person to go to the top.
I would recommend focal lengths above 24mm. There are a lot of opportunity to be creative here. Bring something to cover the window around your lens when you shoot to cut out reflections. As a side note, large lenses are not allowed. I saw a 70-200 at the top but my own 100-400 was refused.
Namhansanseong - Seoul Photo Location
Seoul is a fascinating city to see. However, most rarely get a good look of the vastness. As part of an ongoing series of blog posts. I am documenting all of the great locations to photograph a good cityscape of Seoul. In these posts, there should be enough information to know what to expect and if it is worth the journey.
This is one of the more difficult locations to get to before sunset if you get off at 6, like I do. I have taken two paths to the top. The first is to go to Macheon station and head towards Seongbulsa temple. From there, you have an hour-long hike for 2km that includes 370 meters of elevation gain. While it takes a bit of effort, it did make the view from the top all the better. The easier and faster way is to take the subway to Sanseong Station and then catch bus number 9-1 to Sanseong-ri. From there, it's about a 20-minute walk to the gate but there is still around 100m of elevation gain.
The reason I love this location so much is that you get Lotte Tower, Namsan Tower, and Bukhansan in one easy shot. In July, the sun sets between Lotte Tower and Namsan Tower for a few days.
There is a road that goes right up to the gate. Due to the ease of access with a car, do not expect to be alone. On a mediocre day, there were still 10 people but on a nice night when I went there were closer to 50, so many that there wasn't enough room for everyone to set up where there is a clear view.
