Today we are going to visit the hidden gems of Seoul, less famous parks in the city. There are plenty of parks in Seoul, but some famous parks are already packed with visitors, especially on weekends. Therefore, I would like to introduce hidden parks in Seoul that are easy to access. With Korea’s glorious spring weather, here are two options for an enjoyable park trail.
Yangjaecheon Stream
Yangjaecheon Stream is located in the lower Gangnam and Seocho-gu area. This 10-mile-stream is a branch of Tancheon, which is also a branch of Hangang River. In the springtime, the stream is full of cherry blossoms. With a well-constructed trail along the stream, you can take a glance at the splendid view of these pink flowers.
This route is only for bicycles and pedestrians. You don’t have to worry about the accident with bicycles because the way people go and the way bicycle rides are segregated. Since this walking place was constructed in the early 2000s, you can easily find trees that were planted 20~30 years before and now fully grown. Even though you can’t come in the spring, you can enjoy those dense leafy trees.
How to get there
Start from exit 1 of Hangnyeoul Station, Subway Line 3. When you reach the ground level, you can see a large bridge with a mountain behind it. Go straight to below the bridge. That is the start of Yangjaecheon Stream. You can walk from there to where the stream ends. The place in the photo is about 2km away from the entrance.
Montmartre Park
Montmartre Park is located on the giant hill next to the Supreme prosecutor’s office and Supreme Court of Korea. Sometimes you can see lawyers, prosecutors, and judges who are working there.
Let’s start at exit number five of Seocho station, Line 2. Go Straight until you meet the first junction, then turn right. Climb up the hill after you turn right. At the end of the uphill road, you will face the entrance of the park.
This is the entrance. The park was constructed in the early 2000s when Seoul city was eager to build a reservoir on this hill. The reason why this park was named “Montmartre” is unclear, but people are presuming that people from a French village nearby named this hill “Montmartre” for the first time, and the park only succeeded the name.
When you arrive at the top of the hill, you can find the most beautiful spot in the park. At the peak of the park, there is a little garden with various kinds of rose species. You can see yellow roses and red ones at once. There is also an amazing looking flower in the park. The colors of those flowers are different, depends on the way the flower is looking. I don’t know what kind of flower it is, but it seems special to me. Come and watch how the color is gradually changing by location. As the original hill is famous for artists who lived, this park has a few statues and headstones of poets from French artists, such as Vincent Van Gogh, Francis Jamme, Paul Gaugain, and Picasso. This statue is originally from the drawing by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, a famous French artist. The park somehow wonderfully reproduced his masterpiece as a sculpture.
There is a long bridge that is crossing eight-lane-road Banpo boulevard. This is called the Silkworm Bridge. There is even a sculpture about silkworm next to the entrance of this bridge.
You can overlook the famous Namsan tower on the left side of the bridge, while on the other side you can see Seoul Arts Center with the Umyeon Mountain behind it. You will realize how densely the City has been developed when you look at the view from this bridge.
