Going dating in Seoul and looking for other date places besides the usual restaurants, cafes, and movie theatres? Seoul is a big city with lots of places to go, but if you’re stuck for date ideas, we’ve put together a list of indoor date places in Seoul that have won architectural awards, so your date won’t just be a coffee and a bite to eat, but you’ll be able to admire the architecture and enjoy something different.
1. Seoul Botanic Park
Park meets botanical garden at Seoul’s first urban botanical garden. The large greenhouses feature plants from 12 different cities around the world. Forests, gardens, lakes, and wetlands are all present, as well as plants from the tropics and the Mediterranean. Seoul Botanic Park was selected for the 2019 Seoul Architecture Award for Excellence. Offering an indoor date in a botanical garden full of greenery, Seoul Botanical Garden is a pretty place to go dating!
🕒 Open 9:30am – 6pm (closed every Monday)
📍161 Magok-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul
2. The Forest Post Bookstore
Up on Inwangsan Mountain, you’ll find The Forest Post, a small bookstore that won the 2021 Seoul Architecture Award for Excellence. Located at the foot of the mountain, it is also called the most scenic library in Seoul. The bookstore, which focuses on books about the environment, is located in a former police guardhouse that has been transformed into a library. Sitting on the terrace of The Forest Post, you’ll have a panoramic view of Namsan Tower and downtown Seoul. If you want to read a book, grab a bite to eat at a café, and enjoy a great view all at once, The Forest Post is one of our favourite date places in Seoul.
🕒 Open daily 8am-10pm.
📍 172, Inwangsan-ro, Jongno-gu
3. Yeodamjae Library
Yeodamjae Library, also known as the Seoul Herstory House, runs a library centred around the project of illuminating the lives of individual women from all walks of life. From the outside, it looks like a traditional pavilion, but when you look inside, you can see a modern landscape with colourful glass boxes. In particular – and unlike the exterior – the main focus here is on the first hundred years of modernity and the last fifty years of recent history. This exquisite meeting of tradition and modernity, as well as its in-depth coverage of women’s lives, won the Excellence Award at the 2021 Seoul Architecture Awards.
🕒 10am-6pm daily.
📍 202-15 Naksan-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul
4. Brick Well
Brick Well is a beautiful building in Tongyeong-dong made of bricks, with only a few large columns supporting the upper floors, and a garden on ground floor. Since the structure is supported only by pillars instead of walls, anyone can enter the garden from any direction. The centrepiece of the ground floor, the courtyard, runs through the entire building, and when viewed from the top floor of the building, the courtyard looks like a well made of bricks. It won the top prize at the 2020 Seoul Architecture Awards, and is currently operating as an exhibition centre: Ground Seesaw Seochon. It’s a great indoor date spot where you can admire the beauty of the architecture and the various artworks from GroundSeesaw.
🕒 For business hours, please visit GroundSeesaw’s official website.
📍 18-8, Jahamun-ro 6-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul
5. Songpa Book Museum
Songpa Book Museum is the first public museum in Korea founded on the theme of books. The main exhibition is organized around the theme of books and reading culture. From the outside, it looks like a bookshelf with books lined up and ready to be read, creating a desire to read before you step inside. Depending on the time of day and location, the daytime appearance is different from the night-time appearance. The book museum is also a mecca for Instagram shots to remember your date here. It has a lot to offer, including a kinetic artwork of papers being stacked on a bookshelf. The Songpa Book Museum won the Grand Prize in the 2020 Seoul Architecture Awards.
🕒 Open 10am – 6pm, but closed on Mondays.
📍 77, Songpa-daero 37-gil, Songpa-gu
6. Maxim Plant
Maxim Plant is an experience space for the Maxim coffee brand, but it also won the 2020 Seoul Architecture Award for Excellence. Based on the concept of an urban garden and a coffee factory in the forest, the exquisite combination of factory and botanical interiors is very eye-catching. The Maxim Plant is a great place for an indoor date, where you can enjoy the great coffee flavours of the brand and the relaxing atmosphere of feeling like you’re in the woods without leaving the city!
🕒 Open 10am – 10pm daily.
📍 250, Itaewon-ro, Yongsan-gu
7. Nodeul Island
Nodeul Island, an oval-shaped island in the middle of the Han River Bridge, is accessed via an upper deck leading from the Hangang Bridge, and consists of an old-growth forest and a cultural centre. As a multicultural base focused on music, Nodeul Island hosts a variety of art exhibitions and music concerts throughout the year. Even if you’re not attending any events, it is a great place to enjoy the sunset and the Han River in Seoul, with outdoor spaces accessible 24 hours a day. Nodeul Island won the 2020 Seoul Architecture Prize for Excellence, so head here to spend quality time indoors or out!
🕒 Closed Mondays, open 10am-9pm from Tuesday to Friday, and from 10am-10pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
📍 445, Yangnyeong-ro, Yongsan-gu
8. Seosomun Shrine History Museum
If you go to the third floor of the basement of the Seosomun Shrine History Museum, you will find the red-walled Sky Plaza. Most sky plazas are located on the highest level, but this one is located on the third level of the basement. With walls surrounding you on all sides, your head will naturally be turned toward the sky. It was designed to honour those who have died here in the past. Winner of the 2019 Seoul Architecture Prize, there are a variety of exhibitions here, so it’s one of the city’s great date places to go where you can enjoy both exhibitions and architecture!
🕒 Open 9:30am – 5:30pm (closed on Mondays)
📍 Jung-gu Chilpae-ro 5
9. Peace Culture Bunker
The Peace Culture Bunker was originally the site of an anti-tank defence facility. In its new life, the bunker has been divided into wings, each with a space for artists to create and a space for residents to enjoy performances and exhibitions. From the observation deck, you can see the foothills of Changpo Garden, Suraksan Mountain, and Dobongsan Mountain. It’s also home to a section of the Berlin Wall that was actually donated by the city of Berlin, Germany. The Peace Culture Bunker won the 2018 Seoul Architecture Award for Excellence.
🕒 10:00 – 18:00 (closed every month)
📍 932 Maduro, Dobong-gu
10. National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Seoul
The Seoul branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art is located in the Gwanghwamun neighbourhood and focuses on contemporary art. Winner of the Grand Prize in the Social Public Space category at the 2014 Korea Architecture and Culture Awards, it is also home to the Lee Kun-hee Collection. To find out what’s currently on display at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Seoul, visit the official website.
🕒 Open 10am-6pm daily (it stays open until 9pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays)
📍 30 Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu