Walking Seoul. October 2024. Part 1. Cheonggyesan area. Yeouicheon Stream to Seorae French Village.
More on Korea from me for those in the interest.
Walking Seoul 2023. Mapo area. Streams and food in Seoul.
Part 2 is here.
I decided to change the pattern of my travel stays. Normally I would choose one area and if I like it, I tend to stay in a same hotel venturing to other places, then returning to familiar. Comfortable, feeling at home (kind of), people get to know you and vice versa. But this year I decided that by doing so I am missing on a New. So, from now on I will try to change locations of my beds. Or at least stay a few times in the same place, become friends rather than acquaintances, before a new change.
So, during this October trip to Seoul I have chosen a quiet suburb of Cheonggyesan in Seocho-gu (Seocho District). Until then my primary bases were Insadong and Gheongdam I mentioned about in my earlier posts. Hotel Orakai where I stayed has a good gym, sauna (need to pay 18,000 won), cafe, restaurant, ATM, convenience shop, microwave, there is even a running track on the rooftop.
The area is only three stops from SNS-dizzy Gangnam but feels like the outskirts of the city. There are two main clusters of activity here. One is opposite subway station.
And another is near the entrance to Cheonggyesan mountain hike. Restaurants, outdoor equipment shops, cafes. To get here you need to cross the road from the hotel towards the station exit 2, and walk forward, then turn right passing a small tunnel serving also as an improvised fresh produce market.
Since I am already here, I would like to recommend good restaurant for samgyetang (chicken ginseng soup). Not sure about the name, but it is near Millet sportswear shop. The picture is below.
Another good one is tofu restaurant Matdolroman. Different stews and other dishes with tofu.
Also, plenty of interesting cafes closer to the stream. One, called Green Forest, even has three residents: a snake, a chameleon and iguana.
I also regularly used this outdoor gym near the Yeouicheon stream not far from hotel. Quite often I saw elderly people doing their routines too. Don’t see much of this in Japan, as very few urban developments in Japan are activity and exercise oriented.
Along the stream there are many apartment blocks, this is how it is in Korea.
Having lived in Sydney for 20 years, I am not into high risers, but what can you do if you have 50 mln. people in a small territory? The stream, regular exercise spots and frequent cafes add to the convenience, good feel and functionality of the suburb.
Yeouicheon Stream to Yangjae Citizen Forest, then to Seorae French Village.
Every time when I visit, I have new impressions about Korea. They just surface up. I’m comparing young people now. Japan to Korea. Draft system. In Korea young people (18 to 35) serve on the average 2 years to gain basic military basic skills. This makes sense given the proximity of the attention seeking neighbor in the north. And also gives a different face to society. Compared to Japanese overly refined youngsters, young men in Korea look more mature and confident. I think Japan needs to introduce a conscription system as well. Especially given the current situation in the world. At least for 12 months.
Another observation, not entirely new. I walk a lot around the cities. And I drink I lot of water or coffee on the way. Unlike in Tokyo or Taipei where toilets are often can be found inside convenience stores (“Convenience”, right?) it is much more difficult to find a toilet within the urban landscape of Seoul. This does not match the level of digitalization they achieved when I never have to reach for my wallet paying everywhere with a card. But sometimes when this card for some reason was not working, I could not pay cash, as increasingly more shops except only cards, the extreme which I don’t welcome.
To the walk.
On the map I see a stream running close to the hotel. Walking along the water is one my favorite pastime. I am in. On the way a little garden growing cypresses and Chinese arborvitae.
Many similar gardens in the area. Route maps don’t say much as they are mostly in Korean, but I will just walk along the water.
And a small thought whilst walking. “If you like Korea, why not to learn the basics of the language?”. Me pushing me. I might check available online courses as long as the intention is still alive after I come back home.
But now I am content…a very pleasant walk on a nice day.
Google map shows a cafe on the way. I climb the stairs. Gorak Coffee serves figs in yoghurt and makes excellent coffee (the set is 11,200 KRW).
Slightly over 2 hours into the walk I am reaching Yangjae Citizen Forest (now renamed to Maeheon). It is a pleasant large park with basketball and tennis courts built before Seoul Olympics in 1986.
There is a train station nearby with the same name, so the trip just here can make a perfect day. A lot of places around for a snack or people watching after you enjoyed your greenery.
Another option is to walk another stream, Yangjaecheon, which is connecting further to Tangcheon stream and ending in Hang River (now I understand that “cheon” is suffix added after the name of the stream). I know, many streams. And the names hard to remember and… pronounce. I will try to make a map at the end of this post series. Yangjaecheon is “famous” for cherry blossom viewing (“hanami” in Japan) and is popular with young couples.
I walked a bit further along until I reached this kingdom of zinnia.
It is nearly 3 pm. To walk towards the Hang River will be too long, so I stick to my original plan to check Seorae French Village. I don’t go to Europe much preferring Asia, so at least I can possibly get the flavor of the continent.
I take a train to Express Bus Terminal station and within 20 minutes’ walk or so I am inside Seorae Village. Why French? The French School of Seoul is here and consequently I guess around half of 1000-strong French population of Seoul resides in the area. Large Montmartre Park is another landmark.
So, I am done for today and have made a rough sketch of my walk (Google Maps don’t show walking directions in Seoul, and I am yet to learn how to draw my custom maps…).
(to be continued)