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Kaesong
Special city in North Korea

Kaesong

Kaesong is a special city in the southern part of North Korea, and the capital of Korea during the Taebong kingdom and subsequent Goryeo dynasty.

Plan a trip to Kaesong→From Seoul

The city is near the Kaesong Industrial Region close to the border with South Korea and contains the remains of the Manwoldae palace. Called Songdo while it was the ancient capital of Goryeo, the city prospered as a trade centre that produced Korean ginseng. Kaesong now functions as North Korea's light industry centre.

Get in

Getting to Kaesong

The only realistic way to visit Kaesong is from Pyongyang, (which you can reach from Beijing as a part of an organized tour) by highway, about 2½ hours away. This is often combined with a North Korean DMZ visit. There are connections to South Korea via road and rail through the DMZ, although these routes are heavily restricted and limited to business and diplomatic traffic only.

  1. 01
    Kaesong Station
See

Worth seeing

  1. 01
    Nam Gate

    Built between 1391 and 1393, at the same time as the inner citadel of the walled city.

  2. 02
    Students and Children's Palace

    A smaller version of the Children's Palace in Pyongyang.

  3. 03
    Sonjuk Bridge

    A small stone bridge dating back to 1216.

  4. 04
    Tomb of King Kongmin

    On a hill 13 km outside Kaesong are the tombs of King Kongmin and his queen; from the tombs there is a nice view of the surrounding scenery.

  5. 05
    Tomb of King Wanggon

    King Wanggon was the founder of the Goryeo Dynasty and died in 943.

  6. 06
    Kaesong Old Town

    The old town is one of the best preserved in all of Korea, and traditional Korean-style buildings dating back from the Joseon period can still be seen.

Eat

Where to eat

The Kaesong Folk Hotel also has a restaurant, as do the Foreigner Hotel at Puk Gate by the Pakyon Falls and the Janamsan Hotel near the Sonjuk Bridge.

How locals move

Getting around Kaesong the local way

  • Get inMost tours include a day trip to the DMZ from Pyongyang or Kaesong.

From Wikivoyage: Panmunjeom, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-03.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.