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걷기 NSLI-Y WALKS!

I said, “Hey! I got some new shoes on and suddenly everything’s right.” --Paulo Nutini

I descend the four flights of stairs to take the 7am train from Suraksan Station in northeastern Seoul to Noksapyeong, an area towards the center of the city, every morning. I go underground in Suraksan and come up in Noksapyeong. Although I have come to know both of those areas well now, but I cannot picture what the miles of earth I am passing under look like. So I get out of the subway and walk. From station to station to station and to station. I know what I’m going under now. I want to walk you through a part of Seoul you might not have seen before, literally. I want to show you the real streets of Seoul. I want you to see what goes on above the jihachul.

We start in Hongdae. Start out of exit two and make an immediate u-turn. As you walk down the street (towards Hapjeong station), you'll see an ahjumma selling some of the most delicious fried tteok and tattertots I've ever tasted. Past the fried tteok, if you keep walking, there will be a huge LIG building on your right. Inside the lobby there is an art hall with a pop-up noonchi, from wooden structures to landscape paintings. Keep walking and you will find yourself at Hapjeong station. Walk past that.

This is where hongdae ends. The feeling of trendy youth shops is lost in bigger office buildings and more toned colors. Keep walking. If you follow the main road (YangHwaRo) past Hapjeong station, you will come to the Han River. Walk over the bridge and stop at the restaurant/cafe on your right. This cafe overlooks the river and sells a sweet strawberry mocha latte and some nice pastries. But don't drink too much, yet.

If you walk past the restaurant, on your right hand side, you will be in Seonyudo Park. The visitor's center is usually vacant and so it is a nice place to put your bags down, sit on the cold stone floor and look over the garden with delicious 300 won mocha lattes from the machine near the bathrooms. And for 300 won a cup, you can drink more than just one.

When you leave the park, go back across the same bridge you came on and then down to the Han’s walking path. Go right on the walking path and walk until you see the red bridge, the backdrop for many Korean dramas. The bridge is about a kilometer and a half from World Cup Stadium. To get to WCS, walk past the ridge, around the parking lot, over the small bridge and make a right onto the walking path. If you walk here for about 15 minutes, you'll see a sign for World Cup stadium. Follow the signs.

You really have a goal-den opportunity to experience what a Korean soccer game and so if you go to the stadium’s website you can find a game schedule (FC Seoul!) (http://www.fcseoul.com/ticket/buy/single_ticket.jsp scroll to the bottom and call that number)

Because you are already at the Han and at one of the most beautiful industrially designed bridges, you have another golden opportunity- to see sunset on the river (http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=235&month=1&year=2012&obj=sun&afl=-12&day=1). The closest subway station is World Cup Stadium Station on Line 6.

For day two, I want to walk you through some of Seoul's history. The ‘88 Olympic Games was one of the first time Seoul was showcased on a truly global scale. In talking with my host parents, they told me that it was in 1988 that they tasted pizza for the first time. Walk straight out of Jamsil Station, Exit 10. You feel the '80's as you exit the station. In between the two busy-- it is at this point in writing this post I realize I am the only one left in the entire subway and that the cars were no longer moving. I wait and wait some more. Sure enough about ten minutes later I hear the engines rumble and the train starts to move again. Before it reaches the next station, I see an ahjumma coming towards me. We are alone in the cart. I ask her what happened and she told me the subway had made its last stop and we were all supposed to get off. We both laughed. There was nothing else to do. So we laughed-- lanes of traffic, there are statues commemorating the '88 Olympic Games in Seoul. Keep walking straight for about one kilometer and you will arrive at Mongchontoseong Station Exit 3. Descend into the station and come out of Exit 1. This is the entrance to Olympic Park. Walk through the huge entrance gate to the park's walking path. The path encircles the entire park so whether you make a right or a left, you will end right where you started. I won't tell you which way to go, although on your way around, make sure to stop at the Seoul Bakjae Museum and look at some of the skillfully crafted prehistoric models. Also, if you are in the mood, there are gymnasiums, gyms and an Olympic pool you can use that give student discounts (although the discount aren't much).

Walk back to Mongchontoseong Station, out of Exit 3, and down the main road to return to Jamsil Station Exit 10. Leave Jamsil Station from Exit 7 this time and keep walking straight. This is SongPiDeRo, a road that will lead you to the Han river. Walk across the bridge and onto the North side of the river. There is a nice path alongside the river, but I recommend walking one more block to TteuksomRo where there are more stores and activity (make a left). If you walk until TteuksomRo and make a left, about a block and half from the Starbucks on your right hand side is PapBurger. You can fill up on some unique and inexpensive hamburger-rice combos. Regardless of which path you choose, you will be walking towards the deceptively named Tteuksom Resort Station. Although there isn’t a “resort,” there is a nice park and library shaped like a worm. If you take TteoksomRo, walk until you see a sign for “Tteuksom Resort” and follow the signs to the “Hangang Park," (make a right when you see Starbucks on the corner). Underneath the station is a library/lounge/cafe in the shape of a worm. If you go up into the worm, you can get a better view of the river. When at the park, go to the large cement area that lies just east of the station. You have seen this place before. It might be PSYchologically difficult to remember where you saw it. Hint: as you look across the river you see Gangnam.

I hope I was able to walk you through some parts of Seoul you haven’t seen before and help you get a better sense, spatially, as to how the city is structured. Never forget that although the jihachul is fast and convinient, there is a certain unparalleled experienced in walking through the incredible city we live in.