63 Building
The second-tallest gold-clad skyscraper on earth, surpassed only by Macau's Grand Lisboa, rising 249.6 m above the Han River.
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Built at a cost of 180 billion won as the centrepiece of Seoul's 1988 Olympics bid, it was the world's tallest building outside North America when it opened in July 1985. Its frame is quietly shaped on the Hanja character 人 — person — a reference by the designers to the insurance company that commissioned it. The Olympic flame rested at the Bonghwadae forecourt on the eve of the 1988 opening ceremony.
What to look for
- The all-over gold cladding — the 63 Building is the second-tallest gold-clad building in the world, behind only Grand Lisboa in Macau.
- The building's silhouette, derived from the Hanja character 人 (person/human being)
- The Bonghwadae forecourt where the 1988 Olympic flame spent its last night before the Games opened
On Yeouido island overlooking the Han River; signage uses the current name 63 SQUARE, so look for that when navigating.
63 Building is one of 28 sights worth the detour in Seoul, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Seoul pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Seoul
- ChangdeokgungThe kings kept skipping the official palace to live here instead — and they had centuries to prove the point.
- Seoul Metropolitan SubwayLine 1 launched in 1974 tracing Tokyo's blueprint; today 24 lines stretch over 100 km beyond the capital into rural Chungnam and Gangwon provinces.
- JongmyoSpirit tablets of Joseon kings still receive ritual offerings here, exactly as they have since 1394.
- Blue House (Cheong Wa Dae)South Korea's seat of presidential power since 1948 — a 62-acre compound so secure it was once called one of Asia's most protected official residences, until the gates briefly opened to everyone.
- Namdaemun (Sungnyemun)Built in 1398, burned by an arsonist in 2008, and painstakingly restored by 2013 — Seoul's southern gate has a complicated relationship with fire.
- National Museum of KoreaDuring the Korean War, staff packed 20,000 objects and moved them to Busan — that collection now fills the flagship museum of Korean history and art in South Korea.