The bustle of downtown Seoul could be overpowering at times. Some times you feel like you just need to escape society. Other people in Korea felt the same way as well. In olden days they would escape to Pimatgol. Pimatgol means "Horse Avoiding Alley," and these tiny back road streets protected the commoner's way of life through its 600-year-old history.

Pimatgol was initially created during the Joseon Dynasty by the laborer class, known as sangmin. As the most reduced class of Korean culture, they were liable to traditions and social obligations to the nobles, known as yangban. If the commoners were walking along the main streets and they encountered a noble, they would have to bow. To escape this stodgy custom, the sangmin developed a little back street that runs parallel to the main road of Jongno, so they wouldn't need to meet nobles during their excursions.

Here you can discover quaint little restaurants and bars down a series of little side alleys. There are even areas where buildings have very artistic designs such as a restaurant is embellished with a giant yangban mask, which was a satire of the nobility.

Through the alleys you can find famous restaurants such as Mijin which makes chilled buckwheat noodles and buckwheat crepes. Cheongjinok specializes in hangover soup or haejangguk. There is also Gamchon which makes spicy soft tofu stew called sundubu. There is a makgeolli restaurant you can find underneath of the batting cages which serves fried fish with alcohol. There is also a whole chicken soup restaurant in the alleys as well. Late at night there are many tent restaurants and bars that make crisp pancakes, grilled mackerel and more.

Pimatgol advanced and adjusted to the needs of the Korean individuals throughout time. With nobles on horseback no more a worry, the street was turned into a shelter from the hectic city life. Throughout the Imperial Japan period, leaders of the revolution of the Samil (March 1) Movement planned the revolution in Pimatgol in the storm cellar of Seungdong Church. They hid out there the night before declaring Korean Declaration of Independence. Throughout the politically unsteady 1980s it was a shelter for political demonstrators that needed to get away from the police.

Initially, Pimatgol was 2.5 kilometers long and travelers could secretly pass from Gwanghwamun to Dongdaemun. You can find the entrance by Gwanghwamun behind present-day Kyobo Building. The road stretches from there to go behind the Jongno Tower and behind the YMCA towards Tapgol park. If you have a sense of adventure, you should take a walk through these alleys. It's like taking time capsule to the past.