Back to picks

Namdaemun Market

Namdaemun Market: what to buy, what to eat, and where to try a Korean body scrub

Young Seoulites now come to Namdaemun Market for bath goods — scrub towels, bath baskets, sauna caps, many of them ₩2,000–7,000. Right by Hoehyeon Station (Line 4); most shops close on Sundays. Plus a private body scrub one or two stops away.

Places you can book

More places
Namdaemun Market: what to buy, what to eat, and where to try a Korean body scrubNamdaemun Market: what to buy, what to eat, and where to try a Korean body scrub — photo 2Namdaemun Market: what to buy, what to eat, and where to try a Korean body scrub — photo 3Namdaemun Market: what to buy, what to eat, and where to try a Korean body scrub — photo 4

Namdaemun Market streets, photographed 2010–2024 (Wikimedia Commons). Shops and signs may have changed. photo 1: Sgroey · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · photo 2: Sakaori · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · photo 3: CaliforniaAliBaba · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · photo 4: Sgroey · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Namdaemun Market drew about 30,000 foreign visitors a day in 2025 — over nine times as many as Gwangjang Market — and their Google Maps reviews are more about shopping than food (Hankyung, September 20, 2026).

There are more than 10,000 shops, each with its own hours (Visit Seoul). Start at Hoehyeon Station Exit 5 — the tourist information center 80 m away helps in English, Chinese and Japanese (10:00–19:00).

  1. 01Scrub towels: the one thing everyone leaves withThe coarse towel Koreans call the Italy towel comes in different materials, grits and sizes, from about ₩1,000 to ₩7,000 (Asia Business Daily). One merchant throws one in free with a purchase (Money Today). Bath-goods shops cluster in the basement of Building E (Korea JoongAng Daily).
  2. 02Then the rest of the kit: bath basket, sauna cap, gua shaShower puffs, scrub soap, colorful sauna caps and gua sha — many bath goods cost ₩2,000–7,000, and 2026’s new hit is a bath cushion to sit on (Woman Economy). One seller says young customers spend ₩10,000–50,000. Daiso is often cheaper, but people come for the range and to see things in person before buying (Korea JoongAng Daily).
  3. 03After the market: a private body scrub one or two stops awayScrub therapists use the same kind of towel. Myeongdong and Chungmuro are one and two stops from Hoehyeon on Line 4, and one private scrub shop near Myeongdong told Money Today that 9 in 10 of its customers are foreigners. On millio: La:Hin, 1 minute from Chungmuro Station Exit 1 or 2 — Classic Body Scrub ₩99,000 (60 min), women only, staff speak English, Chinese and Japanese. Myeongdong Mud, 3 minutes from Myeongdong Station Exit 6, is women-only too: the Basic scrub uses a shared tub (₩80,000, 60 min); Premium comes with a private tub (₩120,000, 70 min).
  4. 04Or go further: an enzyme bath across townTerren Wangsimni, by Wangsimni Station, is a cypress enzyme bath warmed by natural fermentation — ₩50,000 (60 min). Dodam Enzyme Spa, 3 minutes from Hapjeong Station Exit 8, is one-on-one and welcomes men too: 15 minutes in the bath, then a shower, time on a massage mat and a grain pack, about an hour for ₩60,000. Pregnant or receiving medical treatment? Ask your doctor first.
  5. 05Gim (roasted seaweed) by the bagSeaweed is the other thing visitors take home — two travelers from Japan bought nine bags at a shop they had seen on TikTok (Hankyung).
  6. 06Plates and teacups from the tableware streetOn the wholesale tableware street, Chinese and Japanese visitors stop to browse plates and teacups (Hankyung).
  7. 07Kids’ clothes, by the armfulOn the kids’ clothing street, the biggest groups of foreign shoppers come from Hong Kong and Taiwan, with more now from the Middle East; one parent bought 26 pieces for ₩60,000. Since spring 2026 the kids’ shops close at 18:00, an hour later than before (Asia Business Daily, November 3, 2026).
  8. 08Eat: braised cutlassfish, kalguksu, hotteokGalchi-jorim — cutlassfish braised in gochujang with radish and potato — has its own alley: from Hoehyeon Exit 5 turn right and walk straight, across from the Sungnyemun import arcade (Seoul Metropolitan Government). The kalguksu noodle alley is 36 m from Exit 5 (Visit Seoul). For a snack, the market is known for vegetable hotteok, a savory stuffed pancake.

Sources

Written by millio from the reporting linked below. Follow the links for the originals.

Book this in Seoul

Make a scrub your next stop

Book a private body scrub near the market in English — ahead of time, or today if a place has an opening.

Find a private body scrub

Next pick

Private Korean body scrub: what to expect in a one-person room

8 things to know2026.10.09

Private Korean body scrub: what to expect in a one-person room

A private Korean body scrub in Seoul costs ₩77,000–205,000 for 55–120 minutes at the two Seoul places on millio compared here (Hapjeong and Ujangsan), as of October 20, 2026; the one in Ujangsan is women-only. It is a one-on-one soak, scrub and rinse in a room of your own, booked ahead, unlike the ₩20,000–40,000 bathhouse scrub.

What is a Korean enzyme bath? 8 things to know before your first visit

8 things to know2026.10.09

What is a Korean enzyme bath? 8 things to know before your first visit

A Korean enzyme bath is a hot soak in fermenting sawdust or rice bran — you lie buried to the neck for about 15 minutes. What a first visit is like, what to wear, what it costs and how to book it in English.

Half a day in Myeongdong, built around a salon appointment

6 moves2026.08.14

Half a day in Myeongdong, built around a salon appointment

Most visitors treat a hair or nail appointment as the thing that eats the afternoon. In Myeongdong it works better the other way round: book the chair first, then let the six blocks around it fill the gaps.