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Mapo District, Seoul — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Mapo District is a western district of Seoul along the Han River, home ground of the Seoul World Cup Stadium and Jeoldu-san.
About Mapo District
Where to stay in Mapo District
Where you base yourself shapes the visit — here's the character of each area.
Mapo District spreads along the north bank of the Han River in Seoul, a mix of riverside parks and stadium grounds rather than a dense hotel quarter. Rooms cluster where the district meets the river and the arena. Stay near the Seoul World Cup Stadium for match days and easy transit.
Riverside stays suit walkers. Mangwon Hangang Park and Yanghwa Hangang Park draw joggers to the water each morning, and beds thin out fast in the quieter lanes above them.
About Mapo District
What are the main landmarks in Mapo District?
The Seoul World Cup Stadium anchors the district. Its arena and the neighbouring pitches host football above the old Nanji flats, a short walk from the Han River. Cinema has a home here too.
The Korean Film Archive and the Korean Film Museum keep reels and exhibits together, while Jeoldu-san rises on a bluff over the water as a solemn martyrs' shrine. Yanghwa Hangang Park lines the bank below it.
What is the history of Mapo District?
Mapo District carries a layered past on the Han River. Jeoldu-san marks its gravest chapter, a riverside bluff where Catholic martyrs were executed and later honoured with a shrine above the water. The river shaped everything.
In the modern era the Nanji lowlands upstream turned from a rubbish tip into parkland and stadium ground, and the Seoul World Cup Stadium rose there for the tournament Seoul co-hosted. Cinema arrived with the Korean Film Archive.
Where is Mapo District?
Mapo District covers a strip of western Seoul on the north bank of the Han River, its riverside edged by Mangwon Hangang Park and Yanghwa Hangang Park.
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More areas in Seoul
Updated July 2026