Hannam 3 District is one of the largest and most talked-about redevelopment zones in Seoul, and as demolition ramps up in 2025, Koreans are rushing to document what's left before it's gone. Posts capturing the final days of these old neighborhoods consistently go viral as urban nostalgia runs high.
Before one of Seoul's oldest hillside neighborhoods gets wiped off the map, one photographer made a point to visit and document what's left. The area in question is Hannam 3 District (한남3구역), a historic low-rise residential neighborhood in Yongsan-gu that has been slated for a massive redevelopment project. In early 2025, bulldozers were already closing in — so this person headed up the steep, winding alleyways to shoot the area before it becomes a construction site.
What makes this visit extra personal: the poster's grandmother used to live here when she was young. Walking those punishing uphill lanes, they couldn't help but think about how tough the daily climb must have been for her back in the day. It's the kind of moment that hits differently when a place carries family memory.
Interestingly, the poster wasn't alone. Quite a few other photographers had shown up too, all apparently drawn by the same impulse to preserve the neighborhood in images before it disappears. The area around Hannam Bridge (한남대교) is already well known as a photography spot, but it turns out the back alleys of Hannam 3 District have their own quiet reputation among urban photographers and nostalgia-seekers. Sometimes the most photogenic places are the ones that are about to vanish.