One of the best things about Seoul is the absolute plethora of parks that can be found in the city. More specifically, my two absolutely favourite types of park are those that are either up high, or right next to the river; the ones that make you instantly feel the open space around you.

I am not a city person. I never have been. But if someone was to force me to choose a city to live in, I could do much worse than to pick Seoul. Having said that, it still is a whopping mass of tall skyscraper buildings, and wherever you go you can’t but help feel at least a small amount of the overall sense of oppressive pressure from a constant view of never-ending structures and a lack of full open space.  

Although I visited smaller parks in the city during my first days in Seoul, and of course Bukhansan for my death climb, I never quite properly made it for a day out to a river front park.

Today that is about to change, I am bound for Yeoido Hangang.

Now, I’m not going to say this is my main reason for going, it really does just seem to be a little bit of a happy coincidence, but today is Chanyeol’s birthday and there just happens to be a silly little fan display that has been put up in the park. And yes, it’s an EXO thing again.

One of the things I find most intriguing and a smidge crazy about the ‘fan scene’ in Korea is the absolute worship that goes on specifically around times such as a celebrity’s birthday. I don’t know that there is any type of equivalent of this is the western world, but I don’t think this is just a Korean thing either, I think this also takes place in Japan, China, and India. But it appears quite a normal thing for fans to group together and put together things such as a ‘fan café’; pay for advertisements on billboards on buildings, in the subway, in shops, etc; put up displays in public spaces, and pay donations towards charities in the celebrity’s name.  

And today, I get to see one of these things in action…

Yup, this is just hanging around in Yeoido Hangang. Why this place specifically? Not a single clue. What is it supposed to represent? Why does it look like this? Again, absolutely no idea. But here it sits. And it was even visited by Chanyeol’s mum at some point, so I guess this really is a normal thing to do. I could not imagine this happening in England; I have never seen or heard of such a thing.

Anyway, like I said, a slight happy coincidence I get to see some fans in action, but that’s not the main draw here. This is…

I can fully appreciate why people come to hang out at the river. I think maybe I haven’t given it too much thought until now, but standing at the water’s edge and being able to keep the buildings at bay, to be able to push them just a little further away and see a large tract of sky; well, I can immediately feel the difference in my body and mind. Even though I don’t feel uptight or stressed or any of those negative things, there is obviously something or some effect the compressed city has on me, because standing here by the river I feel that something has disappeared or been lifted from me. 

I take the time to wander along the path here, I spot some rather interesting artwork and plonk myself down on a seating area to just sit and watch the world go by, something I don’t do often enough I decide.

In contrast to Yeoido Hangang at ground level, Haneul Sky Park is for those who to view the river and city from far above. You have to brave the 291 steps to get up there, though if you are like me and visit in winter with a wind chill factor of -8^oC, the hike up will be welcome to help you keep warm and your blood circulating.          

I arrive just at the turn of the season, the grasses which usually dominate the park’s hilltop are in the process of being chopped and harvested, but there are still enough standing to appreciate the effect of what it must be like in summer and autumn.

The walk around the park is…bracing. Not going to lie, in the shade it is fecking freezing, but in the sun, well you can just bask away. Which is exactly what I did. After a turn around the main section of the park I stopped at a handy swinging bench overlooking the river and sitting in the main rays of sunshine, and promptly sat down and closed my eyes for a short nap. I could have 100% fallen asleep there. It was very peaceful, the park is practically empty (people with sense being in warm buildings), and being up here on the hill top the city appears quiet and serene.  

Before I depart, I warm myself up with a hot chocolate and fishcake soup which the nice man in the tiny ‘shop’ heats up in the microwave.

I make my way back down the hill, looking out over where I am headed – down into the World Cup Stadium park and over to the metro station. I suddenly realise as I look out that this was the route I drove to get into Seoul the other day.

Today I slightly wish I had a car, because this was the state of the metro today as they are having a strike and have less trains than usual…

Oh, and just in case you are wondering exactly how cold Seoul is right now, it’s this cold…

Another day and another new adventure…this one featuring books and films!

In case I haven’t mentioned it before, the main reason that I have ended up in this part of Seoul for a week was that I wanted to visit Paju. If you recall the day I got kidnapped by the poetry group a couple weeks back, the majority of the people in the group were from the Paju area and were keen to know if I had visited it, they were very proud of its literary roots.

While I had originally planned to take in far more sights in Paju than just the one I am today, my plans slightly evolved when I realised just how many other things were in the wider area to visit – DMZ stuff, parks, cinema, shopping etc. So I opted for the most interesting site to me – The Forest of Wisdom.

For clarification, this is not a forest at all…it’s a library! And I love the name; I feel it is very clever and creative. The Forest of Wisdom sits smack bang in the centre of the publishing district of Paju and this area is what Paju is famous for, it is the publishing hub of South Korea.

The buildings around here are creative on the outside.

And the library is beautiful inside.

Hands up the drama watchers in the room who recognise these photos…well done!

Yup, as well as being a functioning library (with a cool little café), this is a rather popular place for filming drama scenes. And you can understand why, it really is an artistic backdrop.

For those of you with an even better eye, you might even recognise the outside of the building, for it was used in ‘Romance is a Bonus Book’, a drama funnily enough about a publishing company. Also well worth a watch by the way, and not just for Lee Jong Suk, though I fully support you if this is the reason you view it.

As I have now become used to, while I revel in simply being within the library and surrounded by books, it is tempered once again by the lack of understanding I have of how it is ordered, how to locate items, and how to read…well…anything. Oh, how I wish I could read these books!

As I randomly glance over the titles on the shelves, I stop and for once feel a happy skip of my heartbeat. I see a very familiar book to me. This one…

Again, some of you may recognise it. This book featured in the drama ‘W:Two Worlds’ (oddly enough also featuring Lee Jong Suk, I’m feeling a theme here…), and I actually own this book. It is currently sitting at home, safe in Gary’s keeping. I bought it after watching the drama, because the content of it was wonderful in every way. As the title suggests, it is simply an observation of what ‘Love is…’ It is very simple; each page contains a beautiful hand-drawn colour scene of everyday life that demonstrates some element of ‘love’ with an accompanying short piece of text. The scenes are such everyday things, that’s what makes it so touching. Also, with such short pieces of text, I actually have a shot a maybe understanding it one day (although it does have both English and Hangul in it).   

Below the library there is also a place I desperately wish to visit, it is a letterpress museum. It is small but looks a really fascinating place to learn about how letterpress was created and works. Sadly, the museum, despite showing opening hours that indicate it should be open, is firmly closed. I even passed through on a second day to try again. Nope, still shut.

Oh well.

To finish my day here in Paju, I am sticking a little with my filming theme and, now thinking about it, a bit of a Lee Jong Suk theme, because I am going to the cinema to see Decibel!

I can’t even remember the last time I visited the cinema in the UK, one day it seemed like a normal and affordable thing to do in the evening or on a weekend, and then at some point it became more expensive than a week’s worth of shopping to see a film that I could wait for a bit and watch on TV for free.

But, this is Korea. These days I exclusively watch Korean drama and films, and while I’ve had the chance to see drama on live TV here, I have yet to visit a cinema for a film and I feel that it’s something I really want to try. And just to clarify, there are no subtitles in the cinema. Yes, this will be two hours all in pure Korean.  

I was desperately hoping that while I was visiting Korea one of Kyungsoo’s films would be released, he has two that he filmed and completed some time ago, but apparently now won’t air until later in 2023 as COVID really set back the film industry here. However, I do get lucky that Decibel has recently been released, an fairly straight-forward action film featuring Lee Jong Suk as a disgruntled military person planting bombs around the city who the police are trying to catch.

In preparation for my film, I googled the plot. I don’t care if it spoiled the mystery of the film, I was planning to get as much from my viewing as possible, so knowing the story beforehand helped me follow it more easily so that I could concentrate on catching any snippets of language I could from it.

Was it a success? Well, I certainly enjoyed the whole experience from start to finish.

I got my ticket (from an automated booth), loaded up on fresh honey butter popcorn (yes, that’s really a thing and they have amazing popcorn flavours including garlic…), and take a seat in the practically empty theatre (there were 3 of us in total, it is a Monday afternoon however).

The film I was totally able to follow. That doesn’t mean I understood the language fully, but I was able to pick up bits here and there, and the acting was obviously on point enough to communicate what was going on, including a sad enough bit where it made me tear up; a clear demonstration that even without a common language, people can still communicate.

And there you have it. That brings me to the end of my six days in Ilsan with a final chicken dinner (also featuring japchae and rolled egg omelette).

Tomorrow it is time to return to my original stomping ground of Jongro for my last five days.

I can’t believe the end is so near…