If you want to see some real local culture in Korea, stop by any Hangang Parks. One thing I like about Seoul is the long wide Han River which runs through Seoul especially. This river has brought live to all the land along the river! It's such a peaceful sight to the eyes when you just sit there on any random day, and observe the people along the banks of the river. They are either walking, cycling, jogging, skating or having a picnic with their dates or families.
One day on my way to Yeouido church, I decided to drop by Yeouido Hangang park (
han-gang gong-won 한강공원) after church and chill out there. The weather that time was hot in the summer! To the extend that some ahjummas will say "
ddeu geo! 뜨거!" which actually means hot/boiling; instead of "
tteo-weo 더워" which means just hot.
Yeouido Hangang Park is one of the 12 district's citizen parks along the majestic Han River, and it's one the most popular ones because the Yeouido area is where all major TV stations are located.
A day at Yeouido Hangang park showed me quite some stuffs! :)
A place to play water for free!
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| Free public pools for people to enjoy! |
It's amazing to see that they have a few public pools (
I'm not sure is 'pool' the right term), which are rather huge, for people to deep themselves into to cool off the heat! Best thing is it's for free! Kids love it and parents are satisfied with it because they are not deep at all. I personally sat in this pool (
the one above) and watch the kids splashing water among themselves. What a joy, to just splash water and laugh it off without any worries!
"Gosh, I so want to be a kid again!" - That was my thought.
A place for family bonding time!
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| Mom and her precious one |
What's nice about this kind of recreation area is that I saw many parents playing along with their kids ranging from 1 year old to young teens. I think this is just so wonderful! Weekends shouldn't be spent at home in our individual rooms, should it? Well the Koreans showed me that you should hit the roads, bring your family and friends outdoors and dwell in nature while you
bond with each other!
A place to grow up!
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| Kids having their time in their own lala-land |
These 4 kids were just spending their own sweet time filling their toys with water and then with some weird stuff which I guessed might be flour. They didn't care what's happening around them and they just talked and laughed and talked and splashed and talked and laughed and laughed and...
laughed. How many children grow up like this now in the city of KL? Some of them roam in shopping malls or stay at home with their iPads. Well I guessed although it's hot during summer, the cool chilly streams and the awesome companion just drew them to get out of the house and get themselves all soaked up here feeling awesome!
A place to be less self-aware, lie down, and chat!
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| There's more than just an empty space under the bridge |
Under the bridge which surprisingly seemed to be more cooling, is the place where the older people rested. They either just lie on a mat or a towel or even in their own tent. Some of them will order
Ja Jang Myeon 자장면 and it gets delivered ...
under the bridge! Some old grandpa or so called
ha-ra-beo-ji 할아버지would play some traditional chest game which I forgot what's it called (
aigoo...). But the best part is no one really cared how you lie, or how you sleep, or even how you snore. They were engrossed in talking with one another which is what the modern era is increasingly lacking now -
human communication. And the scene under the bridge just reminded me again how important it is to communicate with humans via human,
not via gadgets.
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| Me cooling my feet. Too bad I can't take off my jeans. :P |
A day in Yeouido Hangang Park really reminded me to be
thankful for most of the simplest things in life - your growing up, your family, your friends, your time with precious ones, your stories with them. If you would like to experience what I experienced, take the subway down to Yeouinaru station and spend about an evening there (not afternoon 12pm!
an-dwae 안돼!) during the summer. I've been to 2 Hangang Park for 4 times and I didn't see any tour groups at all. So that makes it an even more obvious reason for anyone to pop by here and mingle with the locals. :) It's free, anyway! Except for your subway tickets!
TIPS FOR TRAVELERS
Who should go?
Local culture lover. Observation fanatics. Anyone who wants to relive their childhood by playing with the kids in the public pools.
Subway:
Line 5. Exit #2 or #3 at Yeouinaru Station
Opening hours:
24 hours!
If you want to see some real local culture in Korea, stop by any Hangang Parks. One thing I like about Seoul is the long wide Han River which runs through Seoul especially. This river has brought live to all the land along the river! It's such a peaceful sight to the eyes when you just sit there on any random day, and observe the people along the banks of the river. They are either walking, cycling, jogging, skating or having a picnic with their dates or families.
