Penguin Village, Yangnim-dong

Neoalpha This photo was taken with Samsung Galaxy J5 (2015) · CC0

Lanes covered in dead clocks, old fans and cassette radios — a museum of discarded things the neighbourhood built itself.

The name comes from something quite ordinary: after a fire, the elderly residents cleaning up walked stooped because their legs hurt, looking like penguins, so people called it that as a joke. Then they began hanging what they found on the walls — dead wall clocks, rusted desk fans, cassette radios, old shop signs, broken flowerpots. More and more, until several lanes were covered in the objects of forty years of Korean life, arranged by no principle other than the instinct of whoever hung them. Nobody charges, nobody curates. It may be the most honest museum of the 20th century in Korea.

Visitor information

When is the best time to visit Penguin Village, Yangnim-dong?

Year-round

How long do you need at Penguin Village, Yangnim-dong?

1 hour

What are the opening hours of Penguin Village, Yangnim-dong?

All day

Did you know

The village name comes from how the elderly residents walked.
The lane walls are covered in old household objects collected and hung by the residents themselves.
There is no admission charge and no official management.
It sits within Yangnim-dong, beside the missionary houses and old red-brick buildings.

Travel tips

Combine it with the Yangnim-dong missionary quarter next door.
These are residential lanes — keep quiet and don't touch the displays.
Morning light reaching into the lanes is best for photographs.

Source: https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/

Updated: 2026-08-05