Seoul
Seoul is two cities at every scale — the medieval grain of Jongno and Insadong, with hanok lanes narrow enough to shade themselves, and the post-war grid of Gangnam, where the noon sun rules a wide-block boulevard most of the afternoon. Seoul summers reach 90°F at 70% humidity and the UV index pins at 9 — the kind of heat the locals call jjim (the steamer). Routing reads OSM building heights from active OSM-KR mapathons; the VWorld CityGML pipeline is queued for a Tier-A upgrade.
Stay Cool routes around shade in Seoul, KR. The app picks the cooler side of every street using real building heights and live sun position — peak summer UV here is 9, average July high is 84°F, and tree canopy covers 20% of the city. Below: the most reliably-shaded walking routes we've found, plus deeper neighborhood field notes when available.
Highlights · 3
- 01Bukchon Hanok Village to Insadong
Hanok eaves and three-meter lanes do the work the towers can’t — Bukchon’s wooden roofs throw the cleanest medieval shadow we model in APAC.
Shade78%Walk14 minBest at1 pm - 02Gangnam Station to Apgujeong Rodeo
Wide post-war blocks with corporate tower canyons — Gangnam-daero’s east sidewalk holds shade through 2 p.m. before the boulevard quits.
Shade64%Walk32 minBest at2:30 pm - 03Yeouido Park to the 63 Building
Han River breeze does what the canopy can’t — we route the riverside cherry-and-zelkova line and skip the exposed concrete approach.
Shade58%Walk18 minBest at4 pm
More from Seoul
- Neighborhood guideBukchon, where the eaves do it.
- Neighborhood guideSeoul, in the lee of the towers.
- Neighborhood guideBukchon, between the tile roofs.