[One Day Walk] Old Memories Encountered While Walking... Aeogae Station

Editor's NoteThe subway is a transportation method that anyone can easily access and travel safely, and it is also an important part of daily walking. We introduce pleasant walking spots around subway stations.

Today's walking course takes us to Aeogae Station on Line 5. Aeogae is the old name of the hill connecting Chungjeongno and Ahyeon-dong in Mapo-gu. The origin of the name is unclear; some say it was called 'Aigogae' because in the past, when a child died in the city, they were buried outside this hill, and others say the name Aeogae came from the difficulty of crossing the hill while saying "aigo" (an exclamation of hardship). Another theory is that it was originally called 'Agigogae' because it is a small hill between two large hills, Mallijae and Daehyeon, and eventually became Aeogae. The nearby place name Ahyeon also derives from the Chinese characters of Aeogae.

The course starts at Exit 4 of Aeogae Station and heads toward the nearby St. Nicholas Cathedral. St. Nicholas Cathedral is the headquarters of the Orthodox Church in Korea. It was originally built in Jeong-dong on land granted by King Gojong in 1903 and was relocated and rebuilt in Ahyeon-dong in 1968. St. Nicholas Cathedral is significant both religiously and architecturally as the only Byzantine-style Orthodox cathedral in Korea. It features Byzantine architectural elements and a beautiful interior sanctuary.

Next, the route leads to Malli Market. Opened in 1968, Malli Market boasts over 50 years of tradition and is a three-story comprehensive shopping complex. Although it has become much smaller compared to the past and now functions as a neighborhood market, it still serves as a useful local market for residents. It retains the appearance of a traditional market frozen in time and was designated as a 'Seoul Future Heritage' site in 2016.

Following that, the course proceeds to Malli Reservoir Park, which transformed the Malli Reservoir into a park. The reservoir served as a water source for Ahyeon-dong in Mapo-gu and Jungnim-dong in Jung-gu and was opened to the public through a park development project. From the park, visitors can enjoy panoramic views of Namsan Tower and the cityscape.

Finally, heading toward Ahyeon-dong Furniture Alley and Ahyeon Market concludes today's course. Ahyeon-dong Furniture Alley is a furniture street in Seoul densely populated with furniture shops, offering a variety of furniture types. Ahyeon Market, which took its current form after street vendors originally centered around Gurebang Bridge in Bukahyeon-dong, Seodaemun-gu in the early 1930s moved to a vacant lot by Ahyeoncheon in the 1960s, is known for its many food options throughout the alleys.