Seoul Forest

Last week we went to a park called Seoul Forest. It was a lovely Sunday afternoon and we didn't want to just stay at the dorm. Actually we never want to stay at the dorm, we always go somewhere to see new stuff. And it's great! There's so much to see here and we don't want to realize in the end of the semester that we haven't done anything.

There is just a little problem though. I have more stories and pics than I have time to write on this blog. So they're kinda piling up... But I'll try to catch up!

So, last week we went to the Seoul Forest. We took the subway and got off at Ttukseom. It was easy to find the forest with the help of the signs there pointing the way. But although there were signs and obviously we were on the right way, the surroundings didn't seem like there would be a forest there. We were kinda sceptical about how the forest would turn out to be.

The place didn't seem like one where you can find a forest...



Well, the forest wasn't like what we call forest in Finland. The Seoul Forest was a park with some trees, ponds and playing grounds. At first it seemed also really small so we weren't that enthusiastic about the place.

But it all changed when we found a tandem bike rental! We got ourselves tandem bikes and had a blast! The park wasn't so small after all :P

On the bike there was a text: Step together, breathe together. Ville and Martin taking their first steps and breaths together.






We saw these cute little boys who were really enthusiastic saying hi to us. Then it turned out that they only knew two words in english: hi and sexy. Sexy, sexy, sexy... we were stunned for a moment. Their looks were so deceptive... what players!


We cycled to Hangang (Han-river) in the evening sun. It is apparently a pretty popular place to go cycling. There were many kinds of people there: cycling enthusiasts, kids, couples...



Seoul is built in a way to support industrial development. For example they built hundrets of same looking tall buildings to accommodate people efficiently and and freeways on the riverbanks of Hangan to modernize the traffic. During the 60's when the development started they even covered a stream flowing through Seoul downtown and built a 2-story freeway on it.

The trend of today on the other hand is to change the city into a more attractive place by e.g. replacing freeways with parks. People have started to realize the benefits of more attractive surroundings. The only problem is that the renewings have to meet the demands of e.g. traffic.

They successfully reconstructed the Cheonggyecheon Stream and now the focus is on Hangang. There are several riverside areas under reconstruction and development projects in order to make the city a greener place.

Although the crazy intersections were kinda impressive the place we were cycling by the river could need construction like that. The freeway made a lot of noise and the riverside was just concrete. And... the air was so bad that after cycling there we got our throats soar. Maybe we sould have done as some of the other bikers did and wore a mask!

Nevertheless we had a really good time!