If you walked the Yongsan leg in our BTS Seoul pilgrimage Part 1, you have seen the official side of the story — the HYBE building, the photo walls, the merch. Part 2 is about the quieter BTS spots in Seoul, the kind fans pass to each other on annotated maps rather than billboards: a family-run restaurant in Gangnam that fed seven hungry trainees before the world knew their names, and a book-lined stretch of old railway near Hongdae that feels purpose-built for RM’s reading list. Neither requires a ticket. Both ask for a little respect.
Yoojung Sikdang – The Trainee-Days Table in Gangnam
Before the stadium tours and the Billboard records, BTS were seven trainees sharing dorm rooms and practice basements in Gangnam. Yoojung Sikdang (유정식당), a small home-style restaurant tucked into the district’s everyday backstreets near Big Hit Entertainment’s old headquarters, is where a lot of that era got fed. The members have spoken warmly about the place over the years, it turns up in early behind-the-scenes content, and the walls now carry signed albums and fan gifts from around the world. On a normal weekday you will likely share the room with two kinds of customers: office workers who just want lunch, and fans who flew eleven hours for a bowl of stew.
Calibrate your expectations and you will love it. This is a working neighborhood restaurant, not a museum — the menu is the home-style Korean genre of stews, grilled meat and set meals that trainees famously dream about, and the right move is to order a proper lunch, eat it happily, and keep your photos to the memorabilia wall and your own table. Never point a camera at the staff or other diners. Skip the weekday noon rush so you are not holding a seat someone’s lunch hour depends on, and check the hours on Naver Map (search 유정식당) before you cross town — small family places keep small family schedules.
Gyeongui Line Book Street – A Walk Through RM’s Kind of Seoul
North of the river, the Gyeongui Line Book Street (경의선 책거리) follows a stretch of disused railway beside Hongik University Station, converted in the mid-2010s into a walking path lined with book kiosks, reading corners and train-platform flourishes left over from its former life. It is the bookish gateway to the longer Gyeongui Line Forest Park — the ribbon of green that locals nicknamed “Yeontral Park” as it slides north into Yeonnam-dong’s cafe streets.
Here is the honest disclaimer: there is no official BTS plaque on this street. It earns its place on fan routes because of RM. The group’s leader is one of K-pop’s most famous readers, and the titles he mentions in interviews and livestreams have a well-documented habit of selling out in Korean bookstores within days. So fans come here for the gentlest kind of pilgrimage: browse the kiosks, pick up a Korean edition of something from his much-shared reading lists, and take a photo under the platform-style signage. Less “he stood here,” more “this is the Seoul he reads” — and honestly, that is the better souvenir.
Linking These BTS Spots in Seoul Into One Day
The geography works in your favor. Start in Gangnam with an early, unhurried lunch at Yoojung Sikdang — arriving before 11:30 beats both the office crowd and the fan crowd. From there, ride the subway across the city toward Hongik University Station; Line 2 does the job from most of Gangnam with one easy transfer at most. If you want a shopping interlude on the way, break the journey in Myeongdong, where the Olive Young Myeongdong flagship stocks the sheet masks and sunscreens your group chat will demand photos of. Then spend the golden-hour stretch on the book street, drift north into Yeonnam-dong for coffee, and finish where Seoul’s live-music heart actually beats — Hongdae Street, where the weekend busking runs late and every third performer is covering a song you already know.
Fan Etiquette, Briefly
Everything on this route is public-facing, which is exactly why it stays open and friendly to fans. Keep it that way: do not loiter outside company buildings or anywhere residential, do not try to track members’ current whereabouts, and treat the restaurant as a restaurant — order food, thank the owners, and leave the table in decent shape (no tipping needed; Korea does not tip). The book street borders quiet residential Yeonnam, so keep evening noise low. The whole ethos of a good pilgrimage is that a place should be slightly better, not worse, for your having visited.
Good to Know
- Yoojung Sikdang is a small working restaurant — hours vary, so check Naver Map on the day, and avoid the weekday noon rush.
- Gyeongui Line Book Street is free and open-air; the walk never closes, but the book kiosks keep shop hours — roughly late morning to early evening.
- Hongik University Station sits on Line 2, the AREX airport line and the Gyeongui–Jungang line; the book street begins right beside it.
- Cards are accepted virtually everywhere on this route — you will not need cash.
- New to the trail? Do the HYBE-and-Yongsan leg first, then treat this as day two.
BTS Spots in Seoul FAQ
Can you order at Yoojung Sikdang without speaking Korean?
Yes. Menus at home-style restaurants are short, pointing is universal, and a translation app handles the rest. Go at an off-peak hour so nobody is rushed, and the experience tends to be warm rather than awkward.
Is Gyeongui Line Book Street worth it if you are not a BTS fan?
Completely. It is one of the nicest free walks in western Seoul even with zero K-pop attachment — an old rail line turned reading garden that flows straight into the cafes of Yeonnam-dong. The fandom angle is a bonus layer, not the foundation.
Do you need reservations or tickets for this route?
No. Everything here is walk-in and mostly free; the only money you are likely to spend is on lunch, books and coffee. The one caveat is restaurant hours, which can change without much notice — a thirty-second Naver Map check saves a wasted trip.
Part 2 is the slower, warmer half of the pilgrimage — food, books and busking instead of glass towers. Take it at walking pace and let the city supply the soundtrack.