A Rainbow of Colors in Seoul’s “Green” Spaces

With a population density twice that of New York City, you might picture Seoul as an urban jungle packed with tall buildings. While there is no shortage of cityscape, one of the greatest aspects of Seoul is its many parks. From ancient mountain trails to re-claimed industrial land, there are endless places to enjoy the outdoors. Before we arrived, all I could picture were city streets with neon signs and futuristic architecture. Now I realize what I will probably remember most about Seoul is the green space.

We have visited many parks here, but this post will be dedicated to two of the largest and most interesting parks we have enjoyed: Seoul Forest and Olympic Park.

Seoul Forest

Seoul Forest is actually five parks spread out over a large area of land adjacent to the Han River: Culture & Art Park, Educational Experience Park, Eco-forest Park, Marsh Plants Garden, and Riverside Park.

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It originally was a royal hunting ground, and in more recent years parts of the land had been used for a water treatment facility, a golf course, a horse racing track, and a sports park. Since 2005, however, it has been a city park operated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Peter and I first visited together on a muggy day in August, and then I was able to return more recently to enjoy crisp autumn days, once on my own and once with a friend.

One of the most famous spots in the Culture & Art Park is the ginkgo forest, which turns glowing yellow in the autumn. Here you can see the summer leaves and then the autumn leaves.

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Though the park in summer had plenty to recommend it, I admit I was partial to my autumn visits! The public artwork, however, would be delightful to view in any season.

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I spent some time with a large family of engaging rabbits in the Educational Experience Park on my way to the Gallery Garden, which was a fairytale setting with its autumn colors and remaining colorful blooms. This garden utilizes an old concrete industrial structure repurposed as a peaceful place to wander or sit for a few minutes.

If you want to see more animals, you’re in luck! Just before passing over the bridge to the Riverside Park, you can see a herd of deer (cared for by the park), a nod to the land’s history as a royal hunting ground.

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What a difference a few months makes when summer changes into autumn on the river…

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You can see more photos of our Seoul Forest adventure on our Flickr page.

Olympic Park

As you might have guessed, Olympic Park originally was built for the 1988 Olympic games held in Seoul. It is very large, covering more than 350 acres, and takes hours to explore on foot if you want to see the whole park. It is loosely divided into four “zones”: arts and culture, recreation and sport, environment, and history.

Though you can enter the park in any number of places, the most recognizable entrance is at the Olympic World Peace Gate. The gate and the eternal flame underneath it symbolize the Olympics’ spirit of harmony. Murals on the gate’s wing-like structures portray a phoenix, a turtle, a tiger, and a dragon ascending towards heaven, representing the strength and freedom of Korea.

We actually entered the park next to the sports arena, built for the Olympics but still in use to host professional sporting events in Seoul. In the spacious plaza around the arena, families were enjoying riding bikes and playing games together.

This park really does feel like many parks in one. Though we began in the sports and recreation area, we originally had determined we wanted to go to Olympic Park in the autumn to see the fields of flowers and wild grasses for which its environment zone is famous. Most unusual for us was viewing the aptly named Pink Muhly Grass. I don’t think I’ve ever seen pink grass before. Of course, in this area began the theme that recurred around the rest of the park’s famous fields: selfie spot! It was as fun to see all the couples having personal photo shoots as it was to see the fields, so we joined in the throngs and started photographing.

Not to be outdone by the Muhly Grass, the equally famous fields of Cosmos were also in full bloom. If it’s possible, there seemed to be even more visitors having photo shoots in these areas! Once again, we joined in the fun with the rest of the crowd.

We could breathe more freely when we reached the history zone of the park, expansive fields surrounded by a wide walking path. There is a small museum in this section that explains the history of this land, once the Mongchontoseong Fortress during the early Baekje Period (18 BCE to 660 CE). The park has rebuilt some remnants of the old fortress to help visitors visualize how the land was used by some of Seoul’s earliest settlers. This is also a popular area of the park for families picnicking and playing games.

As we walked throughout the park, we were able to view many public artworks. Some pay tribute to Korea’s long history and culture, and others feel quite contemporary.

We can recommend Olympic Park as well worth a visit. We could visit many times and I’m sure would always see something new. For now, we’re off to find more places to enjoy beautiful autumn in Seoul!

You can see more photos of our Olympic Park adventure on our Flickr page.