Planning a visit to N Seoul Tower? The likelihood is that you are planning to take the N Seoul Tower Cable Car up Namsan mountain. While there are other ways to go up the mountain and reach the iconic tower that is a symbol of South Korea’s capital, the N Seoul Tower Cable Car is the best and most scenic way.
The Namsan Cable Car has been running since May 12, 1962. Here are five things that you need to know if you are planning a trip on the N Seoul Tower Cable Car up the mountain.
5 Useful Things to Know about the N Seoul Tower Cable Car
1. How to Get to the N Seoul Tower Cable Car Station
The first thing you should know is how to get to the N Seoul Tower Cable Car station at the bottom of the mountain.
Many visitors heading to the N Seoul Tower will arrive via the subway at Myeongdong Station.
Exit Myeongdong Station from Exit 3 or Exit 4. This will take you to Toegye-ro street. Once you exit the subway station, you just need to keep on walking west (the direction that you exit the station). You should head past a McDonald’s on your left.
Keep walking around 0.15 miles or 250 meters until you arrive at a major road junction where Toegye-ro intersects with Sogong-ro. Make a left turn on to Sogong-ro.
It is around another 0.3 miles or 500 meters to reach a free elevator that will take you up the slope to reach the N Seoul Tower Cable Car station. It located next to the Namsam road tunnel.
Known as Namsan Orumi, this slanted outdoor elevator connects the bottom of the slope to the station above.
The walk from Myeongdong subway station to Namsan Orumi should take you around 10 to 15 minutes.
While you can choose to take the lift, if you would rather walk, or the queue for the lift is too long, there are also stairs that you can use to reach the cable car station.
The distance from the base of the Namsan Orumi lift to the cable car station is only 164 feet or 50 meters. However, if you are taking the stairs, you will need to account for the elevation.
For those who are driving or taking a taxi to the N Seoul Tower Cable Car station, there is a car park and drop off point just in front of the station.
2. N Seoul Tower Cable Car Operating Hours
Those who are planning to take the N Seoul Tower Cable Car should take note that it operates from 10 am till 11 pm in the evening.
If you plan to come any earlier, you will need to find another way to reach the top of Namsam.
3. Buying Tickets for the N Seoul Tower Cable Car
You can purchase your tickets for the N Seoul Tower Cable Car from the ticket office at the front of the cable car building.
Choose from either a return or a one-way ticket.
An adult return ticket costs 14,000 won while a one-way ticket costs 11,000 won.
A child return ticket costs 10,500 won and a one-way ticket costs 8,000 won.
The child rates also apply to the elderly.
Clearly, it makes sense to purchase return tickets unless you are planning to take the cable car up the mountain and walk back down or take the bus.
Once inside the building, you will have to make your way up the stairs and go to the waiting area to get ready to board the cable car.
There is a retail shop and a refreshment shop where you can pick up a coffee on the ground floor. Restrooms and a nursing room can also be found on the second floor.
4. Distance and Duration of the N Seoul Tower Cable Car
The distance that the N Seoul Tower Cable Car covers is 600 meters or 0.3 miles from the platform at the bottom of Namsan Mountain to the platform at the top of the mountain.
The cable car moves at the speed of 3.2 meters per second so the entire duration of a one-way trip up the mountain is just 3 minutes. As one cable car goes up the mountain, another comes down.
5. Views from the N Seoul Tower Cable Car
The cable car will take you up an elevation of 138 meters or 452 feet. As it goes up, you can expect some panoramic views of South Korea’s capital city.
The capacity of each cable car is 48 people. At peak times, you can expect the cable car to be fully packed with visitors. This means that you may not have a choice where to stand within the cable car cabin.
If you end up standing on the left hand side of the cable car cabin as it goes up the mountain, you will be able to get an amazing view of Seoul unfolding below you as you ascend the cable car. Try spotting landmarks such as the Dongdaemun area in the distance.
If you stand on the right hand side of cable car going up the mountain, you will be able to see the Namdaemun area below.
For more information, you can visit the Namsan Cable Car website.
If you found this story useful, you may also enjoy reading about things to know before visiting the War Memorial of Korea.
