Goyang Day Trip: Ilsan Lake Park, Royal Tombs & Kalguksu

Goyang is one of the largest cities in Korea, with just over a million people, yet most visitors only see it from a concert queue at KINTEX. The name goes back to 1413, when the Joseon court merged two counties, Gobong and Deogyang, into one. For most of the Joseon era the area was farmland and a burial ground for the royal family, and two of its tomb clusters are now on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Then, in the 1990s, Ilsan New Town was laid out on the rice fields as a planned city, with a 1 km² lake park at its centre. The result is a city of two halves: grid-plan apartment blocks and exhibition halls in the west, and hills, fortress walls and royal tombs in the east, toward Seoul.

How do you get to Goyang from Seoul?

GTX-A from Seoul Station is fastest; Line 3 is the simplest; the Gyeongui-Jungang Line covers old Ilsan. All of them take a T-money card.

🚇 Seoul to Goyang by rail (Seoul city, operators; Oct 2026)

Destination	From Seoul	Line	Approx. time	Notes
KINTEX	Seoul Station	GTX-A	About 17 min	Platforms 40–50 m underground; allow a few extra minutes
Daegok (transfer hub)	Seoul Station	GTX-A	Under 17 min	Transfer to Line 3, Gyeongui-Jungang, Seohae Line and the Gyooe Line
Ilsan Lake Park	Central Seoul on Line 3	Line 3 to Jeongbalsan	Check Naver Map	Juyeop and Madu stations are also close
Old Ilsan / Ilsan Kalguksu	Hongik Univ. or Seoul Station	Gyeongui-Jungang Line to Ilsan or Pungsan	Check Naver Map	The Seohae Line has also run to Ilsan Station since August 2023

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What is Goyang known for?

Ilsan New Town, KINTEX, and Joseon history. Goyang had 1,056,532 residents in September 2026, the second city in Gyeonggi-do to pass one million after Suwon. To most Koreans, “Ilsan” means broadcast studios, the lake park and KINTEX, Korea’s largest exhibition centre, which drew about 5.85 million visitors in 2024. Older Goyang is where the Joseon army won the 행주대첩 Haengju Daecheop, the Battle of Haengju, and where the royal family buried kings, queens and crown princes in two tomb groups.

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What should you see in Goyang?

Ilsan Lake Park in the new town, then Haengjusanseong and Seooreung on the Seoul side. The two halves are a taxi ride apart, so pick one per half day.

Ilsan Lake Park. The new town’s centrepiece opened on May 4, 1996. The park covers 1,034,000 m², nearly a third of it lake, and the full loop of about 4.8 km takes around an hour and a half at a stroll. There’s a musical fountain completed in 2004 and a cactus exhibition hall, and in spring the park hosts the Goyang International Flower Festival. Entry is free. Get off at Jeongbalsan Station on Line 3; Juyeop and Madu are also within walking distance.

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Seooreung. The “Five Western Tombs” sit on the eastern edge of Goyang, just over the city line from Seoul’s Eunpyeong-gu. The cluster is best known for Myeongneung, where King Sukjong lies beside his second queen, Inhyeon, with his third queen, Inwon, in a separate mound. His first queen, Ingyeong, is in Ingneung nearby. The cluster also holds Daebinmyo, the tomb of Jang Hui-bin, Sukjong’s consort and the mother of King Gyeongjong, whose rivalry with Queen Inhyeon has been told in K-drama after K-drama. Add Changneung (King Yejong), Gyeongneung (Deokjong and Queen Insu) and Hongneung (Yeongjo’s first queen), and Seooreung is one of the largest Joseon tomb groups. It drew about 330,000 visitors in 2024. Like the other royal tombs it costs 1,000 won and closes on Mondays; it is free on the last Wednesday of the month and for anyone in 한복 hanbok.

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Haengjusanseong. On a hill above the Han River, this fortress is where General Gwon Yul and about 2,300 troops beat back roughly 30,000 Japanese soldiers on March 14, 1593, one of the three great Korean victories of the Imjin War. Koreans grow up with the story that the women of Haengju carried stones to the walls in their aprons, which is why an apron is called a 행주치마 haengju-chima; the word is actually older than the battle, but the story stuck. Today there is a battle memorial hall with a large battle painting and a section on Joseon weapons, two walking trails, and views down the lower Han. It is a national historic site, free to enter and closed on Mondays. Nearby are Haengju Naru, the old ferry landing, and Haengju Catholic Church.

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KINTEX. Korea’s largest exhibition centre is Goyang’s most-visited attraction by far, with about 5.85 million visitors in 2024, who come for trade fairs, conventions and K-pop concerts. If you have a ticket, GTX-A’s KINTEX Station makes it 17 minutes from Seoul Station. For year-end shows, see our K-pop award shows guide.

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Starfield Goyang. A Shinsegae mega-mall in Deogyang-gu with shops, a food court and the Aquafield spa and pool, open daily. It is a rainy-day fallback rather than a reason to come.

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Old Ilsan Station. Before the new town, Ilsan was a market village on the Gyeongui railway, which opened a station here in 1904. The 1933 station building still stands beside the modern one and was registered as national heritage in 2008. Ilsan’s traditional market is a few minutes’ walk north.

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🎫 Goyang visitor information (Goyang City, Korea Heritage Service, Seoul city)

Place	Fee	Closed	Getting there
Ilsan Lake Park	Free	—	Line 3 Jeongbalsan Station
Seooreung	1,000 won (free in hanbok and on the last Wednesday)	Mondays	Bus or taxi from Seoul’s Eunpyeong-gu side
Haengjusanseong	Free	Mondays	Bus or taxi from Line 3 / Gyeongui-Jungang stations
KINTEX	Depends on the event	Depends on the event	GTX-A KINTEX Station
Starfield Goyang	Free entry; Aquafield extra	Open daily	Bus or taxi; check Naver Map

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Where do locals eat in Goyang?

For a meal with local history, go to Ilsan Kalguksu, to Munsan Sundaeguk by the old Ilsan Market, or to the noodle house below Haengjusanseong. For an evening out, Ilsan heads to La Festa and Western Dome, two open-air streets of restaurants, bars and shops a short walk from the lake park. Individual restaurants there come and go, so below we name only places with a 2025–2026 tourism-board listing.

Ilsan Kalguksu (Gyeongui-ro 467, Jeongbalsan-dong) — This noodle shop serves essentially one thing: 닭칼국수 dak-kalguksu, hand-cut noodles in chicken broth, with clams added, which is what sets it apart. The family business began at the entrance to Ilsan Market, north of Ilsan Station, and moved to its current site in 2003 when the station was rebuilt for the new Gyeongui Line; it is now run by the founder’s son. Other shops use the same name, so look for the main shop (본점). It is across the road from Pungsan Station Exit 1 on the Gyeongui-Jungang Line. It closes only for New Year’s Day, the Seollal and Chuseok holidays and a summer break.

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Munsan Sundaeguk (Goyang-daero 667-5, Ilsan-dong) — A sundae-soup house by Ilsan Market and the old Ilsan Station, chosen for the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization’s 2024 “Gyeonggi Nopo” book of long-running local shops. It opened in 1976 and is now run by the second generation, who still simmer the pork-bone broth over coal briquettes for a full day with nothing added; the owner says gas burners never matched the taste. Order the 순대국 sundaeguk; if you don’t like fatty cuts, the sunsal-tang uses lean cheek meat. Closed Tuesdays (the next day instead when a Tuesday is a market day), and expect a queue at dinner time.

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Haengjusanseong Wonjo Guksu (Haengju-ro 17beon-gil 10, Haengnae-dong) — The noodle house at the foot of Haengjusanseong, open for more than 30 years according to its Korea Tourism Organization listing (updated April 2026). Order 잔치국수 janchi-guksu, noodles in a deep anchovy broth with a spoonful of scallion sauce, or spicy bibim-guksu; in summer there is kongguksu made with Paju Jangdan soybeans. Portions are big, and they add noodles if you ask. Weekends are busy, especially with cyclists from the Han River path. 08:00–19:30 (last order 19:20); closed Mondays, like the fortress.

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La Festa and Western Dome (Jeongbalsan / Madu stations, Line 3) — Ilsan’s two outdoor shopping streets, close to each other near the lake park. Come here after your walk for dinner and a drink, and pick whatever is busy that night.

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🍽️ Goyang local eats at a glance (Gyeonggi Tourism Organization listings, 2026; KTO listing, 2026; Gyeonggi Nopo book, 2024)

Place	Area	Order	Pair with
Ilsan Kalguksu	Jeongbalsan-dong, Pungsan Station	Chicken-and-clam kalguksu	Ilsan Lake Park
Munsan Sundaeguk	Ilsan-dong	Sundaeguk	Old Ilsan Station, Ilsan Market
Haengjusanseong Wonjo Guksu	Haengnae-dong	Janchi-guksu	Haengjusanseong

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What does a one-day Goyang route look like?

History in the morning on the Seoul side, the lake and Ilsan in the afternoon. Avoid Mondays, when both Seooreung and Haengjusanseong are closed.

• 09:00 — Seooreung. Walk the loop past Myeongneung and Daebinmyo. Take a taxi from the Yeonsinnae area of Seoul.
• 11:00 — Haengjusanseong. Taxi across the city; climb to the memorial and the river view.
• 13:00 — Lunch: noodles at Haengjusanseong Wonjo Guksu, at the foot of the fortress, or Ilsan Kalguksu, by taxi or Gyeongui-Jungang Line to Pungsan.
• 15:00 — Ilsan Lake Park. Walk part of the 4.8 km loop; the cactus hall is a good warm-up in winter.
• 18:00 — KINTEX or Starfield if you have a show or want the spa, then GTX-A back to Seoul Station in about 17 minutes.