Where To Enjoy Autumn Leaves in Seoul

I've been so preoccupied about the whens of the fall foliage that I've almost forgotten to consider the wheres.
Here, then is a list of places where you may enjoy the fall foliage. ( not in any order of preference):

1. Gyeongbokgung - Leaves on the palace grounds are expected to peak around early November. According to the Cultural Heritage Administration. "early to mid November will be the best time to enjoy fall foliage at the royal palaces in downtown Seoul....Leaves will begin to turn about ten days later than normal this year. It ....expects the scenery to be better than normal as a result of wide differences in daily temperatures."

 2. Changdeokgung

( Exit 3, Anguk Station, Line 3) "A UNESCO World Heritage site, this Joseon-era palace includes many serene gardens. One of Changdeokgung's gardens houses over a hundred varieties of trees. However, in order to appreciate the foliage of the Changdeokgung gardens trees, visitors must join a guided tour or pay a hefty 15,000 won for an all-day self-guided tour only available on Thursdays."

3.  Changgyeonggung

4. Deoksugung   - It is also open at night but do check out in the daytime Deoksugung Stone Wall ( Exit 3 or 12, Deoksugung Station, Line 1 or 2). Fans of the TV drama series, Lovers in Prague, may recall a romantic scene shot here.

5. Samcheongdong Road, a.k.a. Gallery Road,  which starts at the south east corner of Gyeongbokgung, is lined with gingko trees. You can also explore the beautiful grounds on Samcheonggak.

6. Namsan - I'd suggest you walk up to the top and then take the cable car down. That way, you can also enjoy the 'chak-chak' of the local magpies. (Their size was also surprising.)

7. Bugaksan - Actually I think I enjoyed the views of the Seoul suburbs from Bugaksan more than from the vantage point of Namsan Tower. Probably because it was more hard-earned as the climb up Bugaksan seemed to be harder-going. Don't take my subjective word for it.

8. Jongmyo Shrine

If your timing is right, you'll also get to witness a Confucian ritual held here in grand style.

9. Sowolgil

"Running south of Mt. Namsan for almost 4km, this ginkgo-lined boulevard (best approached via Exit 1, Myeongdong Station, Line 4) offers plentiful space for rest and quiet contemplation. Sowolgil in fall looks like a scene from a film, with bright leaves scattered artfully across the walkway. The pathway eventually connects to Namsan Park." You may want to check if the bicycle elevator that is supposed to be built on this road has been completed. What does a bicycle elevator look like?

10. Hongneung Arboretum
" Seoul's only arboretum, Hongneung Arboretum (approached via Hoegi Station, Line 1 or Exit 3, Korea University Station, Line 6) is made up of nine gardens, including an aquatic garden, a wetland garden, a coniferous tree garden, and a garden of edible and medicinal plants. The garden of broadleaf trees, located behind the main building, is stunning in fall when hundreds of trees transform into a vivid array of bold colors. A tour of the entire arboretum ─ approximately 780 square meters in area ─ takes nearly three hours and is free of charge."

sources:
http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_Dm_detail.htm?No=76485&id=Dm
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/10/28/2010102800984.html
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=1104134
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264337
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264348
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264316
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264350
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=261031
http://www.korea.net/detail.do?guid=46128
http://www.klm.com/destinationguide/gb_en/airline-ticket/asia/east-asia/south-korea/seoul/thingstodo.htm
http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264314

A Chat with CheongGyeCheon

Q: First of all, congratulations on your upcoming 5th anniversary though it’s not exactly your birthdate. Is it easier to say where exactly you came from?

A: I was born somewhere on the southern ridge of Inwangsan and Bugaksan ( or if you prefer, the northern ridge of Namsan.) My behaviour in my early days was erratic – I was placid to the point of being inactive during the spring and autumn seasons but during the rainy summer days, I was a wild child. My floods even destroyed houses and bridges.

Q: You were first known by another name – simply Gacheon meaning “The Stream”. When was that?

A: That was during the Joseon Dynasty. That was my heyday – fourteen tributaries connected with me and eighty-six bridges were built across me. I was really in the centre of things then as the dividing line between the rich and poor. The wealthy aristocrats lived on my northern side while the ordinary folk were found on my southern banks. People gathered on the bridges that straddled me on the first full moon of the year to fly kites and take part in “daribapgi” ( stepping on the bridge)

Q: I thought your main significance then was to collect the sewage and channel it towards the Hangang?

A: Why are you dredging up the more sordid aspects of my past? Truth be told, I hadn’t much choice in the matter. But dredging, literally, became a vital part of my life. That and fortification of my banks to stop me from overflowing at times.

Q: I understand you were given your present name during the Japanese colonial period?

A: Yes, that was a humiliating time. Oh the shameful irony of being named “Cheonggyecheon” meaning “Clean or Clear Stream” while I was suffering under their rule. By this time, I was reduced to a drain, a squalid stream amongst squatters’ squalor. Did you know the Japs wanted to fill me completely and kill me off? Luckily they didn’t have enough yen to do it.

Q: But I suppose the Korean War was a more trying time?

A: It was but it was the post-war period that finished me off with the overpopulation and pollution. I died in 1958 but it wasn’t a natural death, mind you. Death by choking from household trash and human waste, sand and earth from the mountains and then by concrete.

Q: You were entombed in a road overpass in the 1970s…

A: They didn’t call it a tomb. Instead they called it a symbol of the modernization of the country!

Q: But you were like the phoenix reborn when the mayor of Seoul proposed a restoration project in 2003.

A: Ah yes – Lee Myung –bak…people are calling him names like “The Bulldozer” over the Four Rivers Project but I can’t say anything negative about the man who helped to give me a new lease on life, can I?

Q: There were many who opposed him; they said it’d cost too much to bring you back to life…

A: How can you put a price tag on me?

Q: I heard that you even needed a daily injection of 120,000 tons of water from the Hangang because past construction had left you almost fully dry…

A:That’s not true. As I mentioned before, even in my youth, I was erratic- dry during some seasons and then prone to floods in summer. Hey, that water from the Hangang’s my lifeblood if you want to me to be a focal point of the city throughout the year. It ain’t Botox. Besides, now that I’m looking fresh and young again, I’m attracting so many visitors, local and tourists that the businesses will thrive.

Q: You’re also attracting more fishes, birds and insects.

A: See, I’m going to be instrumental in making this city a much better place to live and work in. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours…

Q: Isn’t that stretching things a bit? After all, you’re just a 5.8 –km stream, a tributary that leads to the Hangang.

A: Size isn’t everything…You ask the Seoulites what I mean to them. Even my detractors have shut up since they’ve seen what I’ve achieved for the people of this city.

Q: Ok –so how would you prefer to be remembered? As a picnic spot for office workers on their lunch break? A rendezvous for couples? A photographer’s haven? A tourist attraction? A hub for cultural activities? An overpriced symbol of urban renewal? A cliché-spouting creek?

A: What cheek. Haven’t your parents taught you to respect your elders? I think this interview is over, don't you?

See previous posting on Cheonggyecheon.

Sources:
http://english.sisul.or.kr/grobal/cheonggye/eng/WebContent/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Korea-Seoul-Cheonggyecheon-2008-01.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Seoul-Cheonggyecheon-01.jpg
http://lacreekfreak.wordpress.com/2009/04/24/daylighting-in-the-heart-of-seoul-the-cheong-gye-cheon-project/
http://www.koreaherald.com/lifestyle/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20090710000074
http://travel01.seoulselection.com/index.php/articles/exploring-seoul/192-cheonggyecheon-four-years-on
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/07/291_68399.html
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/07/remove-highways-to-fix-traffic.php
http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_zoom_detail.htm?No=1034
http://e-seoul.org/?tag=seoul-pristine-stream-cheonggyecheon-history
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=846778&page=5

Thank You To A Sentry In Bugaksan

Dear Sentry,

I'm writing this long overdue note (late by two years) to thank you for not shooting me down. You probably won't remember me but I still want to thank you for not assuming I was a North Korean spy with evil designs on President Lee.

Somewhere along the steep climb up Bugaksan, I had stopped to catch my breath and quench my thirst. The cap of my water bottle had slipped out of my grasp and fallen onto the no-trespassing zone. I was about to clamber over the low railing to get it when you came rushing up and gestured urgently that THAT was a NO-NO. I thought you'd hop over the fence to pick up the trespassing cap straightaway for me but even YOU had to get clearance from your superior through your walkie-talkie first.

It was a most embarrassing but memorable moment. Later, I saw the tree which was riddled with bullet shots when some North Koreans had attempted to assassinate President Park Chung-hee back in 1961. It drove home again the reminder that Korea is still officially a country at war and the peace over the Korean peninsula is still a fragile one. So once again, thanks for not jumping to conclusions when I was about to jump across the low fence and for retrieving  the cap of my water bottle in Bugaksan.

Gratefully,
ajumma


source:
http://english.seoul.go.kr/gtk/news/news_view.php?idx=561&cPage=101