When my friend Cherry, who works at the guesthouse I am staying at in Hongdae, Seoul, said the night before, "We are going for a walk in the morning, you should come!" I had no problem saying yes. Waking up the next day with a stomachache almost made me change my mind but when Cherry popped her head in my room, I decided it would be worth it. And it was.
The group consisted of two guesthouse staff (Cherry and Aline), three guests from Singapore, and myself. Just a short metro trip from Hongdae and we were right outside the World Cup Stadium, so massive it was hard to decern the size while standing next to it. We walked for a bit until we reached the stairs which lead up into part of the park called Sky Park.
The park as a whole is very large with many hiking trails, but we decided to climb the stairs and see what it had to offer. Most specifically, views of Seoul. We weren't disappointed.
At the top of the stairs was this great walkway that reminded me of the Wizard of Oz.
Beyond that, and up another hill, was an area that is usually covered in plants and flowers during the spring. Since we were there before all this was set up, it was a bit desolate but still was peppered with interesting statutes.
We walked across this expanse and were greeted with a view worthy of the goosebumps it caused. Stunning. Of course, pictures don't do it justice, but here is my attempt.
I'd like to thank my awesome new friends for cracking me up over and over again and sharing this experience with me. Seoul never ceases to amaze me!
For more information, including what the park is built on top of, check out this great blog post about the park: http://discoveringkorea.com/090910/haneul-or-sky-park-in-seoul/