If you have seen one photo of N Seoul Tower, you have probably seen the riot of colour wrapped around its railings. The Namsan love locks are those thousands of padlocks left by couples, friends, and travellers on the terraces below the tower, and this is the honest guide to finding them, adding your own, and deciding whether it is worth the bother. I grew up in Seoul, have lived in Sydney for twenty years, and I will be straight with you about the lovely bits and the slightly kitschy ones, drizzle and all.
What the Namsan Love Locks Are
The Namsan love locks are padlocks that visitors clip onto the railings and wire frames on the terraces around the base of N Seoul Tower. Each one is usually scribbled with names, a date, or a wish, and the idea is that locking it here seals a relationship or a promise. The tradition has been building for years, and the result is a dense, glittering blanket of metal in every colour you can imagine.
It is one of those customs that exists in many cities but has found an unusually happy home here. Rather than fighting the locks, the tower has leaned into them, providing dedicated frames, heart-shaped trees, and tiered railings specifically for the purpose. That curation is why the display looks so abundant rather than messy, and why it photographs so well even on a grey day.
Here is a Korea-versus-Australia contrast that always makes me smile. Back home, love locks tend to get cut off, because Australian councils worry about the weight on bridges and once stripped them from footbridges in both Sydney and Melbourne. In Seoul, the locks are embraced, organised, and turned into an attraction. Same little ritual, completely opposite official response.
I think that difference says something about how each city handles a bit of harmless sentiment. Sydney treats the locks as a maintenance problem to be solved, which, fair enough, is practical. Seoul treats them as a feature to be designed around, adding frames and structures so the ritual has somewhere to live. Neither is wrong, but as someone who straddles both cultures, I find the Korean instinct to build a home for the gesture rather genuinely lovely. It turns a small private act into a shared, growing thing that the next visitor adds to.
Where to Find the Locks
The locks are not in one single spot, which surprises first-timers. They are spread across several terraces and railings on the plaza level around the tower base, so you do not need an observatory ticket to see them. The moment you reach the top of the mountain, you are already among them.
The densest displays cluster on the railed terraces that face out over the city, where the frames are purpose-built to hold rows upon rows of padlocks. There are also locks clipped along ordinary railings, draped over heart-shaped sculptures, and tucked into corners you stumble on as you wander. Half the fun is rounding a corner and finding another wall of colour you did not expect.
Because the whole display sits on the free plaza, this is something every visitor can enjoy regardless of budget. If you want to know how the lock terraces fit into the wider visit, my Namsan Seoul Tower Guide maps out the whole mountain, and my honest N Seoul Tower Observatory verdict covers whether to also pay for the deck. To pair the tower with a downtown evening, see my guide to Myeongdong at night, or my Insadong guide for a traditional counterpoint nearby.
How to Add Your Own Lock
Adding your own lock is easy and does not require any advance planning, which is part of the charm. You buy a padlock right there at the small booths and shops near the terraces, scribble your message, clip it on, and you are done. The whole thing takes five minutes and a few thousand won.
The booths sell padlocks in a range of styles, from plain to heart-shaped to ones that come with a marker pen and a little card. Prices are modest, usually in the few-thousand-won range depending on the size and design. You can pay by card at most of them, though I would keep a little cash handy just in case a smaller stall prefers it.
One gentle, honest note. Resist the urge to throw your key off the terrace afterwards, even though the romantic version of the ritual says to. It is bad for the slope below and the staff would rather you did not. Clip the lock, keep or bin the key sensibly, and take your photo. The gesture is just as sweet without littering the mountainside.
The Pavilion and Plaza Around Them
The lock terraces do not exist in isolation, and the area around them is half the reason to linger. Right beside the busiest lock displays sits Palgakjeong, the traditional octagonal pavilion, with its painted eaves and tiled roof. It is a lovely, photogenic contrast to all that modern coloured metal.
The plaza itself steps down in tiers around the pavilion, with stone seating where people rest, eat a snack, or simply wait out a rain shower as I did. On my visit a cluster of visitors had gathered under the pavilion roof, sheltering from the drizzle, which gave the whole scene a cosy, communal feel you do not get on a sunny, rushed day.
This mix is what makes the lock terraces more than a gimmick. You get the playful padlocks, the dignified old pavilion, and the wide views all in one small, walkable plaza. It rewards slow wandering, so give yourself half an hour up here rather than treating the locks as a quick photo stop. The combination is genuinely charming, even in poor weather.
It is also a surprisingly good spot to simply sit and rest. After the cable car or the climb, the stepped seating around the pavilion is where I parked myself with a coffee and watched the rain blow across the terraces. Couples posed for photos, a few people hunted for a clear spot to clip their lock, and the whole scene had an easy, unhurried rhythm. That pause, as much as the locks themselves, is what I remember most about the plaza.
Namsan Love Locks at a Glance
Here is the quick reference for the lock terraces, so you know what to expect before you go. Treat the costs as rough 2026 guidance, since stall prices vary by design.
| Detail | What to Expect |
|---|---|
| Location | Free plaza terraces around the tower base |
| Entry cost | Free, no observatory ticket needed |
| Padlock price | A few thousand won at the booths |
| Time needed | 20 to 40 minutes to wander and add one |
| Nearby | Palgakjeong pavilion, viewpoints, café |
| Good in rain | Yes, the colour pops and crowds thin |
Is It Worth Doing? My Honest Take
I will not pretend the love locks are high culture, because they are not. They are a cheerful, slightly cheesy modern ritual, and whether they are worth your time depends on how you feel about that kind of thing. But here is why I still send people up to see them.
For couples and for anyone travelling with a bit of romance in mind, adding a lock is a sweet, cheap, five-minute memory that you can revisit in photos for years. Even if you are not the locking type, the sheer scale of the display is a sight in itself, a wall of thousands of tiny private promises in one place. It is people-watching and colour and a good story all at once.
And because it is completely free and sits on the plaza you reach anyway, there is almost no downside to wandering through. You do not have to buy a lock to enjoy it. On my grey, drizzly visit, the wet metal actually looked more vivid than it does in harsh sun, so do not let bad weather put you off this particular spot.
If I am honest, the part I enjoy most is reading the locks rather than adding them. People write all sorts of things, in a dozen languages, from giddy declarations to quiet little dates that clearly meant something. There is a whole world of strangers’ lives clipped onto those railings, and standing there in the drizzle, slowly working along a frame, felt unexpectedly moving. It is the closest thing the tower has to a diary, written by everyone who ever came up the mountain hoping for something.
Tips for the Best Visit
A few small tips make the lock terraces nicer and your photos better. None are essential, but they smooth out the experience, especially if the plaza is busy or wet.
Go earlier in the day or on a weekday if you want space to photograph the displays without a crowd in every shot. Bring a marker if you are fussy about writing neatly, though the booths sell pens too. And if it is raining, embrace it, because the soaked, saturated colour is genuinely better than the washed-out look of midday sun.
One more practical thought. Combine the locks with a downtown plan so the trip flows, and my Myeongdong travel guide shows how to build that around a tower visit. For seasonal events and any plaza closures, the Visit Seoul site is worth a glance, and the official N Seoul Tower site covers current opening details. A little planning means you arrive when the terraces are at their best.
FAQ
Where are the love locks at N Seoul Tower?
They are spread across the free plaza terraces around the base of the tower, especially on the railed viewpoints that face the city. You do not need an observatory ticket to see them, since they sit on the open plaza you reach as soon as you arrive at the top of the mountain.
How much does a love lock cost at Namsan?
Padlocks are sold at small booths near the terraces for a few thousand won, with the price depending on size and design. Many come with a marker pen, and most stalls accept card, though it is wise to carry a little cash. Adding your own takes about five minutes.
Do you need a ticket to see the Namsan love locks?
No. The lock terraces are on the free plaza around the tower base, so anyone who comes up the mountain can enjoy them without paying. You only need a ticket if you also want to go up the separate observatory deck inside the tower.
Are the Namsan love locks worth it?
If you enjoy a sweet, slightly kitschy ritual, yes, adding a lock is a cheap and memorable five minutes. Even if you do not add one, the scale and colour of the display are a genuine sight, and it costs nothing to wander through. The wet weather actually makes the colours pop, so it is worth it rain or shine.
Can I leave a lock without buying a key throw?
Yes, and you should. The romantic version of the ritual says to throw the key away, but that litters the slope and the staff discourage it. Clip your lock, keep or dispose of the key sensibly, and take your photo. The gesture is just as meaningful without tossing anything off the mountain.
My Thoughts
The Namsan love locks are exactly the kind of thing a jaded local might roll their eyes at, and yet I always end up smiling when I pass them. There is something genuinely lovely about thousands of strangers all leaving the same small hopeful gesture in one place, layered up over years.
My honest advice is to treat them as a free, fun part of the plaza rather than a must-do mission. Wander through, read a few of the messages, add your own if the mood takes you, and enjoy the contrast with the old pavilion right beside them. It is a five-minute pleasure, not a grand attraction, and that is precisely its charm.
And if you go in the rain like I did, you might find, as I did, that the soaked terraces glow more than they ever do in the sun. Seoul has a way of rewarding the people who show up on the grey days.
Planning Your Tower Visit?
Fold the lock terraces into a slow half-hour at the plaza rather than a quick photo dash, and read this alongside the rest of the Namsan series to plan the whole mountain. If you want the best photos, come on a weekday or in light rain when the colours pop and the crowds thin. The terraces are free, so they are the easiest yes of the whole visit.