Seoul 2014: Day 4 (Olympic Park 올림픽공원)

Hey guys! I apologise about how slow this series is going, I've just been so busy with work and catching up with friends that I haven't had much time to push on with the series.

Anyways, delays aside... let's move on with the next post!

How many of you out there reading this watch The Return of Superman 슈퍼맨이 돌아왔다?



This show is amazingly cute with all the adorable babies - Sarang; Haru; Seoeon and Seojun; and the triplets Daehan, Minguk and Manse. The world has been captivated by their cute charms and this show is now becoming an international hit. In this show, dads spend 48 hours alone with their kids and mum is made to leave, to allow father and children some bonding time and to get closer. If you're interested, check out the show on YouTube. Here's the link to the series:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMf7VY8La5RFIeOyIZ5IOm68WVb7c2dyT

(Don't worry there are English Subs available!)


Now for those of you who watch the series... how many of you remember the episode where Lee Hwijae 이휘재 brought his twins 서언,서준 to the Olympic Park 올림픽공원?

 

This was such a cute episode! The park also looked so beautiful so I made this one of my must-go places this trip so that I could enjoy some alone time at the end of autumn.

I took a rather long subway trip down to the Olympic Park 올림픽공원 (about an hour long), making one transfer, but my excitement helped to overcome the fatigue from climbing up and down stairs.

From Hoehyeon Station 회현역 (which is on Line 4 of the Seoul Subway), I made my way to Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station 동대문역사문화공원역 to transfer to Line 5. From Line 5 I took the subway heading towards Olympic Park Station 올림픽공원역. Be cautious of which train you are taking - Line 5 splits into 2 at Gangdong Station so ensure your train is headed towards Ogeum and Macheon, then alight at Olympic Park Station 올림픽공원역. Take Exit 3 and you will arrive at the Olympic Park 올림픽공원.

Looking at the map, I decided to walk one round around the park to arrive at the Lonely Tree 나무한그루!

The Olympic Park is filled with statues, structures and artworks in its wide, open spaces.

Colours of Autumn

Not just exclusive to Korea - but I find it so adorable when people take time to knit for the trees and the colours look so pretty all lined up in a row.

Bicycles and large family cycling vehicles for rent (the latter was used by Lee Hwijae and his sons)

The photo of this arch is one of my favourite shots captured this trip.

Big Foot

Focus at Infinity

Shallow Depth-of-Field

Flags of Various Nations

손에손 잡고~ (Hand in Hand~)

I waited a whole 5 minutes for this pigeon to finish his stroll and get out of my shot!

And he still refused.... T.T

The Olympic Flame!

So breathtakingly beautiful =)

Played around with some photo editing for this shot.

Rabbits spotted! (As Lee Hwijae and his twins saw)! These bunnies were chilling on the dirt floor.

Yes that is the Lonely Tree 나무한그루 - but this was almost as close as I could get to it because of the fertilisation works going on which you can see on the right side of my photo. A little disappointing since this was one of the main highlights of my trip. It would have been nice to be able to sit there and watch the world go by.

Chilling out in Autumn - complete with scarves!

Spot the little bunny in the photo!
토끼 어디지?

Duckies in the Autumn cold. 오리다!

My verdict? If you're on a leisurely trip to Seoul, I highly recommend coming to this place. I basked in the glory of autumn as nature turned to a beautiful shade of orange and red. The Olympic Park 올림픽공원 was tranquil and a pleasant place to be. I would have spent more time there if I could get up close to the Lonely Tree but may be you'll be luckier than I was on my trip.

Olympic Park (올림픽공원)
426, Ollimpik-ro, Bangi-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul-si 88| 서울특별시 송파구 올림픽로 426 (방이동)
Opening Hours: 5am - 10pm | Website: olympicpark.co.kr/ (Available in English and Korean)
How to Get Here: Alight at Olympic Park Station (Subway Line 5), Exit 3  or
                                                Mongchontoseong Station (Subway Line 8), Exit 1 .

Gamjatang Dinner =)

Till then, sending you all my love!

Fly Safe and Eat Happy,
V