Dongdaemun Design Plaza

Dongdaemun Design Plaza is the most striking modern building in Seoul, and one of the most extraordinary anywhere. Designed by the late Zaha Hadid and opened in 2014 on the site of the old Dongdaemun Stadium, it is a vast, flowing form clad in tens of thousands of aluminum panels, each slightly different in shape, with no straight facades and barely a right angle in sight. It looks like it has landed rather than been built. The name reflects its mission as a hub for design and fashion in a district that has been the center of Korea's clothing trade for generations: the surrounding streets are lined with wholesale malls, fabric markets and fashion towers, some of which trade far into the night. The complex combines galleries for design and art exhibitions, a museum, conference halls, a design store and shops, and the open spaces around and on top of the building, including grassy roof slopes and a sunken plaza, are free for anyone to explore. On the east side, the Dongdaemun History and Culture Park preserves sections of the Joseon-era city wall and the foundations of a military camp uncovered during construction, set out in the landscaping, so a walk here moves from the fifteenth century to the twenty-first in a few hundred meters. After dark, the curved facade comes alive with the SeouLight media-art shows projected across its silver skin, and the building becomes one of the most photographed night scenes in the city. Spring and autumn bring Seoul Fashion Week to its halls, with street-style photographers crowding the plazas.

What you will find inside changes constantly. DDP stages more than a hundred exhibitions and events a year, from blockbuster design and art shows to brand pop-ups, character exhibitions and markets, and the most popular ones charge admission while many smaller displays are free. The building is open from morning until evening, with some spaces keeping flexible hours depending on the program, and it closes only on New Year's Day, Lunar New Year and Chuseok. Check what is on before you go if you want to see a particular exhibition; otherwise, simply walk the flowing interior ramps and stairways, which are an architectural experience in themselves, and climb onto the roof paths.

Photography is the main activity for many visitors, and the building rewards a slow loop. The best angles are from the sunken plaza, from the Dongdaemun History and Culture Park looking back toward the curves, and from the footbridges and streets around it at blue hour, when the facade lighting begins. The light shows have been staged on a regular schedule in recent seasons, typically after sunset, but times vary, so check the official program; even without them the building glows beautifully at night.

Make a night of Dongdaemun. The area has long been known for late-night shopping, with fashion malls such as Doota and the wholesale towers nearby, and the nearby streets hold Central Asian and Mongolian restaurants serving lamb skewers and dumplings, a legacy of decades of trade. Heunginjimun, the great East Gate of the old city wall, is a short walk away, and from there the Naksan section of the wall climbs north to Ihwa Mural Village with superb night views. Gwangjang Market's food alleys are ten minutes west. Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station on Lines 2, 4 and 5 connects directly to the plaza.