Seoul Subway Line 5 Guide: 11 Stops Worth Getting Off

Line 5 is the subway that crosses Seoul from side to side. It starts beside Gimpo Airport, runs under the Han River twice, cuts through the old city below Gwanghwamun and ends past the eastern city line in Hanam. Seoul city puts it at 59.8 km, and with about 953,000 riders a day in 2025 it is the city’s second-busiest line after Line 2.

What makes it useful for visitors is the middle stretch. One train takes you from a domestic or Japan-bound flight to Yeouido’s riverside park, Mapo’s grill alleys, the palace square, and two markets most guides leave out: the wholesale meat market at Majang and Korea’s largest antique market at Dapsimni. The catch is at the eastern end, where the line splits in two at Gangdong.

Where does Line 5 go?

From Banghwa in Gangseo-gu to Hanam Geomdansan, with a fork at Gangdong. Its quirk is that it has two eastern ends: the main line continues through Gil-dong and Sangil-dong into Hanam, and the Macheon branch turns south through Olympic Park to Macheon.

🚇 Line 5 at a glance (Seoul city, Seoul Metro; October 2026)

Item	Line 5
Termini	Banghwa (510) – Hanam Geomdansan (558); branch Gangdong (548) – Macheon (P555)
Stations	56
Route length	59.8 km
Operator	Seoul Metro, including the Hanam extension
First opened	November 15, 1995 (Wangsimni–Sangil-dong)
Main transfers	Gimpo Int’l Airport (Line 9, AREX, Gimpo Goldline, Seohae Line), Gongdeok (Line 6, AREX, Gyeongui-Jungang), Jongno 3-ga (Lines 1, 3), Dongdaemun History & Culture Park (Lines 2, 4), Wangsimni (Line 2, Gyeongui-Jungang, Suin-Bundang)
Other transfers	Kkachisan, Yeongdeungpo-gu Office, Chungjeongno, Euljiro 4-ga (Line 2), Singil (Line 1), Gunja (Line 7), Yeouido and Olympic Park (Line 9), Cheonho (Line 8), Ogeum (Line 3)

The line was built in stages between 1995 and 1996, ending with the section under the old city from Yeouido to Wangsimni at the close of 1996. The Hanam extension came much later: Misa and Hanam Pungsan opened in August 2020, and Gangil, Hanam City Hall and Hanam Geomdansan on March 27, 2021. Gimpo Airport became Korea’s first five-line transfer station when the Seohae Line arrived in 2023.

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Which Line 5 stations are worth getting off at?

Eleven, from the airport in the west to Olympic Park in the east. The list follows the Seoul section in line order; Hanam gets a short paragraph at the end.

📍 11 Line 5 stops worth the exit (exits: VisitSeoul, Olympic Park; transfers and numbers: Seoul Metro)

Station (No.)	Exit	Why get off	Local eat nearby	Transfer
Gimpo Int’l Airport (512)	Inside the terminals	Domestic and Japan/China flights, tourist information centre	Gohyang Janchi Guksu (noodles; Balsan, 3 stops east)	Line 9, AREX, Gimpo Goldline, Seohae
Omokgyo (521)	3	Mokdong Ice Rink, the 1980s Mokdong New Town	Rakhuian (Hwagyo Chinese)	—
Yeouido (526)	3	Yeouido Park, The Hyundai Seoul by moving walkway	Jinjujip (kongguksu)	Line 9
Yeouinaru (527)	3	Yeouido Hangang Park, Korea’s lowest platform	Huijeong Sikdang (budae-jjigae)	—
Gongdeok (529)	5	Gongdeok Market’s jeon and jokbal alleys	Mapo Jinjja Wonjo Choedaepo (pork)	Line 6, AREX, Gyeongui-Jungang
Gwanghwamun (533)	2	Gwanghwamun Square; Gyeonghuigung one stop west	Gwanghwamunjip (kimchi-jjigae)	—
Euljiro 4-ga (535)	3	Sewoon arcades and the workshop lanes	Wuraeok (Pyongyang naengmyeon)	Line 2
Majang (541)	2	Majang Livestock Market, Cheonggyecheon	Hanwoo Gohyang (butcher-restaurant)	—
Dapsimni (542)	2	Dapsimni Antique Market	Gunmandu-ui Dalin (fried dumplings)	—
Achasan (545)	2	Achasan hike, Goguryeo fort sites	Giwajip Neungi Baeksuk (chicken)	—
Olympic Park (P550)	3, 4	Olympic Park, KSPO Dome, Olympic Hall	Wonjo Mapo Sogeumgui (Bangi-dong)	Line 9

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What is there to do at each Line 5 stop?

West to east, here is why each stop earns its exit, plus one place to eat. The restaurants come from our neighbourhood guides, which go into more detail.

Gimpo Int’l Airport (512) — the five-line hub

Gimpo handles domestic flights and short hops to Japan, China and Taiwan, and the station under it serves Line 5, Line 9, AREX, the Gimpo Goldline and the Seohae Line. VisitSeoul notes that Line 5 lets you out on the international-terminal side, where the Seoul tourist information centre is open daily 09:00–18:00. Line 5 is slower than AREX to Seoul Station, but it is the one-seat ride to Yeouido and Gwanghwamun. With an hour to spare, ride one stop on AREX or Line 9 to Magongnaru: Exit 3 is about 520 m from the Seoul Botanic Park, where the open forest, lake and wetland zones are free; the greenhouse and theme gardens charge adults 5,000 won and close on Mondays. Our Magok guide covers it.

The airport station has no long-running local restaurant we could verify, so for a sit-down meal ride three stops east to Balsan Station: Gohyang Janchi Guksu (Ujangsan-ro 12, about five minutes from Exit 6) serves anchovy-broth noodles for 7,000 won and closes on Sundays. More in our Balsan and Deungchon guide.

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Omokgyo (521) — Mokdong’s 1980s new town

Seoul Metro gives the station the sub-name “Mokdong Stadium”. Around it is Mokdong New Town, about 26,000 flats built in the 1980s, partly so that visitors arriving from Gimpo would not see shacks from the airport road, and now heading for redevelopment. VisitSeoul puts the Mokdong Ice Rink 845 m from Exit 3; public skating is weekday afternoons and from midday at weekends, and adult entry is 4,000 won on weekdays and 5,200 won at weekends. Our Mokdong guide has the story. Rakhuian (Omok-ro 330), 30 m from Exit 8, is run by a third-generation Hwagyo (ethnic Chinese) family; the weekday lunch set is 16,900 won. Closed Mondays.

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Yeouido (526) — the park and the moving walkway

Exit 3 is your door to the island’s working side. Yeouido Park, a long green strip open 24 hours, is about 650 m away, and VisitSeoul notes that The Hyundai Seoul department store is 500 m from Exit 3 along an underground moving walkway, which keeps you dry in the rain. For lunch, join the office queue at Jinjujip, in the basement of Yeouido Department Store since 1974, for thick, nutty 콩국수 kongguksu, cold soybean noodles, and a plate of mandu. It is open 10:00–20:00 (Saturdays to 19:00) and closed on Sundays. See Yeouido after dark and our Yeouido food guide.

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Yeouinaru (527) — the Han River from the deepest platform

This is the stop for Yeouido Hangang Park, about 210 m from Exit 3 by VisitSeoul’s count and the busiest of Seoul’s 11 riverside parks. The station itself is worth a look: Line 5 was the first Seoul line to go under the Han, and the platform here sits 27.55 m below sea level, the lowest on the Seoul subway in Seoul city’s media hub records, with a Runner Station of lockers and showers for riverside joggers. In the park, do what Seoulites do: buy 한강라면 Hangang ramyeon at a convenience store and cook it on the ramyeon machine, or order fried chicken to one of the three official delivery zones, since couriers are not allowed onto the lawns; our Hangang parks comparison and food delivery guide explain both. For a proper meal, Huijeong Sikdang (Yeouinaru-ro 117), about 150 m from the station, is the island’s best-known 부대찌개 budae-jjigae house: army-base stew with ham and sausage in a clear, garlicky broth that Yeouido office workers queue for. A listing from September 2025 gives 13,000 won a portion and Monday–Saturday 11:30–23:00; it is closed on Sundays, as our Yeouido after dark guide notes.

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Gongdeok (529) — the jeon alley and Mapo’s pork grills

Two stops north, on the far side of the river, Gongdeok is a four-line interchange that most people only change trains at. Go up instead. VisitSeoul puts Gongdeok Market’s jeon alley about 200 m from Exit 5 and the jokbal (braised trotters) alley about 130 m; buy a mixed plate of savoury pancakes and a bottle of makgeolli and eat at the stall. Hours vary by shop.

The other reason to stop is meat. The Gongdeok–Dohwa-dong area is known as the home of 마포 소금구이 Mapo sogeum-gui, pork grilled with nothing but salt, a habit said to date from the workers at the old Mapo ferry docks. Mapo Jinjja Wonjo Choedaepo (Saechang-ro 17), a minute from Exit 5, has grilled pork ribs, skirt and pork rind on the same alley since 1956; it is open daily 11:00–23:00. More in our Gongdeok walk.

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Gwanghwamun (533) — the square, and a palace one stop west

Seoul Metro’s full name for the station is Gwanghwamun (Sejong Center). Exit 2 is about 235 m from Gwanghwamun Square, with the statues of King Sejong and Admiral Yi Sun-sin and the palace gate at the far end; the square sits on the old Six Ministries Street, whose buried layers are described in our guide to stations built on history. The palace itself is better from Line 3, so on Line 5 look west instead: Gyeonghuigung, the quiet “western palace”, is 639 m from Exit 4 of Seodaemun, the next stop, and the Donuimun Museum Village 400 m from the same exit, according to VisitSeoul.

The government offices around the square eat in basements and back alleys. Gwanghwamunjip (Saemunan-ro 5-gil 12), 52 m from Exit 8, serves pork 김치찌개 kimchi-jjigae and rolled omelette, open daily 09:00–21:00, weekends included. Our Gwanghwamun basement food map has 17 more.

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Euljiro 4-ga (535) — Sewoon and the workshop lanes

VisitSeoul puts the Sewoon–Cheonggye arcade 320 m from Exit 3. Sewoon Sangga, completed in 1968, was Korea’s first mixed residential and commercial block, and the chain of electronics arcades it anchors still runs north to south through the city’s machine-shop district, now with cafés tucked into upper floors. Walk the elevated deck for a view over the lanes. For food, Wuraeok (Changgyeonggung-ro 62-29), open since 1946, is the Pyongyang naengmyeon house closest to this stop: a clear, cold beef broth that tastes faint at first and grows on you. A bowl was 18,000 won in May 2026, according to Herald Corporation. Closed Mondays. See our Euljiro 8-hour course.

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Majang (541) — buy your beef at the counter

One stop past Wangsimni, Majang is where Seoul’s meat comes from. VisitSeoul’s walking course puts the Majang Livestock Market 520 m from Exit 2, on the Cheonggyecheon side; the city slaughterhouse that once stood here closed in 1998, but the butchers, cutters and wholesalers stayed. Eat the local way, at a 정육식당 jeongyuk sikdang: buy beef at a butcher’s counter, then pay a per-person table charge, typically 4,000–8,000 won, to grill it in the dining room. Hanwoo Gohyang, inside the market since 1978, sells 1++ grade beef with a charcoal dining room attached. Our butcher-restaurant guide explains the two-receipt system. Exit 1, the same course notes, is about 520 m from Wangsimni’s gopchang alley, covered in our Wangsimni guide.

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Dapsimni (542) — the antique market

The next stop east is the one most visitors skip, and the dealers’ own answer to “where do you buy antiques in Seoul?” Behind a row of faded 1980s arcade buildings, 97 m from Exit 2 according to VisitSeoul, is what Seoul city calls the largest antique market in Korea: hundreds of rooms of celadon, brass bowls, scholars’ chests and rice-cake stamps. It is open Monday to Saturday, roughly 09:30–19:00; Saturday is the day the newer boutiques open too. If you buy something that could pass for cultural heritage, have it appraised at the airport before you fly; our Dapsimni guide explains how. Then go to Gunmandu-ui Dalin, a one-griddle room in the alley to the right of the Hyundai Market entrance, where eight shatteringly crisp fried dumplings were 2,000 won in September 2026. Closed Sundays, and it shuts early when the dough runs out.

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Achasan (545) — a short hike with a view of the river

The station’s sub-name is Children’s Grand Park Rear Gate, but the reason to stop is the mountain. Achasan is only about 295 m high, and VisitSeoul puts the trail entrance on Yeonghwasa-ro about 1 km from Exit 2. The ridge looks down on the Han and holds the remains of Goguryeo lookout forts from the Three Kingdoms period. Afterwards, Giwajip Neungi Baeksuk (Myeonmok-ro 32), open since 1993 and named a Seoul 오래가게 Oraegage (long-running shop) in September 2026, simmers whole chickens with neungi mushrooms; call ahead before the hike, because baeksuk takes time. See our Achasan and Guui guide. One stop on, Gwangnaru is the stop for the old ferry neighbourhood in our Gwangjang-dong guide.

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Olympic Park (P550) — on the Macheon branch

You need a Macheon-bound train for this one: Olympic Park is four minutes past Gangdong on the branch, and about 35 minutes from Gwanghwamun. The park’s own guide sends Line 5 and Line 9 passengers to Exits 3 and 4. Inside are the 1988 Olympic venues, the earthen walls of Baekje’s Mongchontoseong and the concert halls, KSPO Dome and Olympic Hall, where K-pop tours stop. Across the road to the south is Bangi-dong’s food alley, which grew out of the athletes’ village. Wonjo Mapo Sogeumgui (Bangi-dong 58), despite the name, has been in Bangi-dong for more than 30 years; order the cut called 묻지마 mudjima, “don’t ask”, 18,000 won for 170 g. Open 11:00–21:50. See our Bangi-dong and Olympic Park guide, which also covers concert nights.

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And the Hanam section?

On a Hanam Geomdansan train, the main line runs on through Gil-dong, Godeok and Gangil, the last Seoul stop, then crosses into Hanam at Misa, Hanam Pungsan, Hanam City Hall and Hanam Geomdansan. Gwanghwamun to Hanam City Hall takes about 50 minutes. Misa is the stop for the 1988 Olympic rowing course, and the Starfield Hanam mall is near Hanam Pungsan; both are in our Hanam day-trip guide.

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How do you ride Line 5 without getting lost?

Check the destination before you board anywhere east of the centre. The Gangdong fork is the only real trap on this line; the rest is about timing.

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One-day route along Line 5

Start at the river in the morning, work east through the old city and finish at a butcher’s grill. Go Monday to Saturday: the antique market and the dumpling shop are closed on Sundays.

• 09:00 — Yeouinaru, Exit 3. A walk along Yeouido Hangang Park before the crowds; look at the deep platform on the way out.
• 10:30 — Gongdeok, Exit 5. Two stops north: a plate of jeon and a cup of makgeolli in the market alley.
• 12:00 — Gwanghwamun, Exit 2. The square and King Sejong, then kimchi-jjigae at Gwanghwamunjip by Exit 8.
• 14:00 — Euljiro 4-ga, Exit 3. Four minutes east: the Sewoon deck and the workshop lanes below it.
• 15:30 — Dapsimni, Exit 2. The antique arcades until they close around 19:00, with fried dumplings from the Hyundai Market alley.
• 18:30 — Majang, Exit 2. One stop back west: choose beef at a counter and grill it in a jeongyuk sikdang.
• Option — Olympic Park, Exits 3 and 4, if you have concert tickets: take a Macheon-bound train, about 20 minutes from Majang.