Deoksugung Stone Wall Road

You're on Deoksugung-gil, the road that runs along the palace's stone wall, known to locals as doldam-gil, "the stone wall road". It's one of the loveliest walks in central Seoul, especially in autumn when the ginkgo trees turn yellow. And yet many couples avoid it.

1The superstition

They say lovers who stroll here together end up splitting up. It's one of Seoul's best-known urban legends and turns up in songs, TV dramas and bar-room chat.

The most common explanation is a very prosaic one: for years the Seoul Family Court stood at the end of this road, and couples on their way to a divorce walked past here.

The court moved south of the river in the 1990s, but the reputation stuck. To make up for it, many say the spell is broken if you reach the end without letting go of each other's hand. Take your pick.

2A neighbourhood of legations

In the late 19th century, Jeong-dong was the capital's diplomatic quarter. The United States, Britain and Russia set up their legations here, along with the first modern schools and the first Protestant churches. That's why, among the trees, you'll spot Western-style brick buildings that are rare in the rest of the centre.

The song "Gwanghwamun yeonga", made famous by Lee Moon-sae in 1988, turned this road into a place of nostalgia: it sings of how everything changes except the memory that lingers by the Deoksugung wall.

3What to look for

• The stone wall, with its tiled coping.
• The brick buildings of the old diplomatic quarter.
• The couples: count how many dare.