Stroll through Olympic Park
As some of you may know, Seoul was host to the 1988 Olympic Games. This was a great source of pride for the country since it did not always have an easy and prosperous economic past. When referring to the year 1988 in conversation or for whatever reasons, Koreans will often say “1988 Olympic” as an extension to the date.
Olympic Park is just a 15 minute bus ride away from me. I hadn’t really been to this stretch of 1.5 million square meters (click here for a map) during my first few months here, mostly because it was too cold! But, once things started blooming and warming up, I eventually made my way over to check it out. The community that I live in isn’t as hussle bussle as many other parts of Seoul, but there are still enough buildings and pedestrian traffic that make me want to escape city-life every now and then, even if for an hour or so. So Olympic Park is a great option for a quick getaway…..like I had today.
Also, having my new camera has inspired me to get back into photography…so I hope you’re enjoying the pictures as well! I hopped on the 3412 bus with camera and iPod ready to go. Surprisingly there weren’t that many people there today….maybe because of the pending rain that is forecast. I thought it was just perfect though, cool enough to walk around without sweating, but I was still wearing shorts and a T-shirt.
There’s lots to do in the park. You can rent a bicycle and ride around, have a picnic in the picnic garden, go swimming, listen to music, there are often concerts and shows at night, see the sculpture gardens, walk some of the little nature trails….lots of stuff. I on the other hand, didn’t have too much time. And seeing as how most of my friends were busy this morning or live too far away, I went by myself strictly to play with my camera.
Walking around (and I only walked half of the park) made me realize that I need to frequent this place more often. These past few weeks I haven’t
had much time to hang out in/around the city, what with being away in China and then having the summer intensive classes. Plus the sense of urgency is on now that it is slowly beginning to cool down (and I mean slowly, we’re still a ways away from winter). I want to get my outdoorsy fix before it’s too late for the year!
Also I got to thinking while I was strolling through the park and observing people….now maybe it’s because there weren’t really any parks in Pensacola. And by any, I mean practically none. The few parks they do have in Pensacola are kind of run down and can be a little sketchy. My point is that Koreans really seem to appreciate being out in nature more. Older Korean businessmen were perched on benches here and there just staring out at the greenery around them…soaking it in. They often speak of nature and the elements as being good for the psyche, which is knowledge in almost any culture I think, but here it seems more stressed as a necessity? I hope that makes sense, haha. I’m rambling so that’s my cue to sign off.




















































