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South Korea, Travelinds

Seoul Forest

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6 December 2013

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This weekend, we went to Seoul Forest (서울 숲 pronounced “soh-ool soop”) for a picnic with some Korean friends.  It is a large green area set along the northern side of the Han River (한강) and surprisingly, right in the center of the bustling metropolis of Seoul; although surrounded by trees and twittering birds, it certainly doesn’t feel like you are in the middle of this massive city.

History

tumblr_mxc1f1OH1A1s64282o2_400Seoul Forest was opened in 2005 by Korea’s controversial tenth president, Lee Myung-bak, while he was still the Mayor of Seoul.  The Seoul Forest consists of five “themed” parks (sculpture, ecological etc) and it covers over approximately 1.16 million square metres.  Lee Myung-bak also created the beautiful Cheonggyecheon stream (one of my favourite places in Seoul!) and he is also accredited with having introduced the rapid transit buses to the city’s transportation system.

Our Visit

It was truly amazing to find this little piece of heaven in the middle of the craziness that is Seoul and we thoroughly enjoyed exploring the park and forest during the peaceful afternoon.

We managed to get to the sculpture park, a couple of open grassy patches, an educational greenhouse, a butterfly farm, a deer enclosure, waterfalls and quiet benches; as well as plenty of place to picnic, ride bikes, walk and enjoy the sunshine.  There is is also a bridge near the deer enclosure, which leads over the wide Han River to the other side.  The south side of the Han River is mainly sports parks, walking areas and bicycle tracks.tumblr_mxc1f1OH1A1s64282o6_400tumblr_mxc1f1OH1A1s64282o5_250

Armed with our silver picnic mat and gimbap (as the Koreans do), we found a shady spot near the grassy patch that was also hosting a children’s festival that day called “Treasure Island”; near the convenience store and coffee shop, which are also, obviously, available in the middle of the forest (because, it would be unacceptable to escape to a forest if there wasn’t a convenience store and a coffee shop available).  Only in Korea I tell you!

Getting there

As with anywhere is Seoul, you can get easily get to the park in several different ways.

Car: We drove here using the GPS and paid about 8,000won for (outside) parking for the afternoon.tumblr_mxc1f1OH1A1s64282o7_400

Bus: Front entrance (2014, 2412, 2413 or 2224, and get off at Seoul Forest), or Back entrance (141, 145, 148 or 410, and get off at the back gate of Seoul Forest).

Subway: Seoul Forest Station (Subway Bundang Line), Exit 3.  or
Ttukseom Station (Seoul Subway Line 2), Exit 8.tumblr_mxc1f1OH1A1s64282o3_250

Make the trip

It was certainly worth the trip and we hope to visit here again soon.  What a lovely retreat for Seoulites who need to escape the madness of the city for while!

South Korea, Travelinds

Picnic. Sunshine. Jellybellys. Love.

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06 June 2013

A little afternoon picnic was on our minds as we headed out today, not too far down the road from our place.

What You’ll Find in Sapgyoho

Sapgyoho is referred to as a ‘beach resort.’ It’s more like a fishing village. There are quite a few fish restaurants, a ferry, some little curio shops, a mini funfair, a park to sit under trees and a wooden walkway. If you are feeling energetic, you can follow this path right across the seawall (a couple of kilometres long). You’ll do so with some bicycles, motorized wheelchairs and even a few walkers.

We didn’t do the sea wall on this particular day, but we ambled around and tried some street food. We also marvelled at the endless supply of live sea creatures in buckets and tanks. You might have to dodge some cut-throat business ladies trying to lure you into their restaurants for lunch, but otherwise, it’s a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere.

Just Have a Picnic and Look Out at the Sea

When we were tired of exploring the little village, we headed to the park. This area overlooks the bay and the seawall. There were quite a few families eating their picnic food, like gimbap (seaweed rice rolls). We settled down to our own picnic on the grass (on our genuine Korean silver picnic mat that looks like one of those shiny windscreen car shades).

It was nice to rest under some shady trees for a while and take in the scene. In fact, the most active thing we managed after that was a simple jellybelly tasting competition — guess the flavour! This is a surprisingly captivating (and delicious) game. It’s also a lot more difficult than it sounds with flavours like toasted marshmallow, crush pineapple and pina colada!

A great spot for future summer picnics to be sure!