Table of Contents

• Saetgang Ecological Park & Yeouido Park
• The Church & the National Assembly
• The Hyundai & Cafe Comma
• Yeouido Fireworks Festival
• In the End

Today, I’m heading to Yeouido. I heard there was going to be a fireworks festival, so I decided to come here and catch the show while exploring the area.

Seoul has three major business districts, known as CBD, YBD, and GBD.

One of them is the Yeouido Business District, or YBD, where financial companies, political organizations, and broadcasters are concentrated. (These days, KBS is the only one of the three major terrestrial broadcasters still based here.)

Administratively, it’s called Yeouido-dong as a legal neighborhood and Yeoui-dong as an administrative neighborhood. Since everyone usually just calls it Yeouido, both names feel a little unnatural to me.

Yeouido was a planned city from the very beginning, so unlike Seochon or Bukchon, where you find lots of winding alleyways, the roads here are neat and orderly. It’s also easy to get a sense of the main characteristics of each part of the neighborhood just by looking at the buildings.

Yeouido is broadly divided into Western Yeouido and Eastern Yeouido, with Yeouido Park in between. The National Assembly is located in Western Yeouido, where building heights are relatively low due to height restrictions. Eastern Yeouido, on the other hand, is full of skyscrapers such as IFC Seoul and The Hyundai Seoul.

Walking Route

1. Saetgang Ecological Park -> Yeouido Park -> Yoido Full Gospel Church -> National Assembly
2. National Assembly -> IFC Mall & The Hyundai -> Yeouido Fireworks Festival

This time, I’m listening to two pieces of music while I walk.

One is Summer by Joe Hisaishi, and the other is Epilogue by Lee Byung-woo.

When I listen to Summer, I feel like the main character in a coming-of-age drama. When I listen to Epilogue, I feel like the main character who has just met a tragic fate.

Summer is from Kikujiro, while Epilogue is from A Tale of Two Sisters. I haven’t seen either movie yet, though, so maybe I’ll watch them soon.

Saetgang Ecological Park & Yeouido Park

Walking Route: [Saetgang Ecological Park] -> Yeouido Park -> Yoido Full Gospel Church -> National Assembly -> The Hyundai -> Cafe Comma -> Yeouido Fireworks Festival

The first place I’m going to walk through is Saetgang Ecological Park.

You can take the Sillim Line directly from Sillim Station to Saetgang Station, or take buses 152 or 461 and get off near Saetgang Station.

There are stairs leading down into the park across the street from Exit 4 of Saetgang Station.

While waiting for the traffic light, I noticed a tent next to me promoting a drama from KBS Annex.

I think the last drama I properly watched on television was My Love from the Star. For some reason, though, dramas just don’t really catch my attention these days.

There are stairs like this leading down into the park.

The bottom of the stairs looked so dark in the photo that it almost seemed like I was being sucked into some kind of abyss.

Once you get down, a wide open space appears.

The sky has been unusually clear today, which is nice considering I haven’t had many days like this since starting the walking project. The photos came out much brighter too.

Turn your head to the right and you’ll see the entrance to the trail.

Most of the path is dirt, with trees and grasses growing on both sides.

I’m planning to follow this path all the way to Yeouido Park.

The grass is growing pretty wild here.

With plants popping up everywhere across such a wide area, it doesn’t look like an easy place to maintain one by one.

If there weren’t apartments in the background, I think I could almost believe this was the Amazon rainforest.

I’d like to come back in winter and see what happens to all these plants after they’ve grown this much.

I kept hearing a strange wook-wook (?) sound nearby.

So I followed the sound and found a large amount of water pouring out through a drain into the park.

There are warning signs posted throughout the park saying that snakes may appear.

I was actually hoping I might see one, but unfortunately I didn’t spot any while walking along the trail.

It looked like there were also programs where citizens could take part in caring for the Saetgang ecosystem.

There was even a place where rice had been planted with children.

It kind of reminded me of Minecraft. It would also be fun to grow and harvest rice yourself and actually eat what you grew.

There’s also a little stone tower.

I picked up a stone nearby and carefully stacked it so that it wouldn’t fall.

I didn’t make a wish.

Instead, looking at the tower built one stone at a time, I thought I’d like to keep working steadily toward something of my own and eventually build something up just like this.

Someone has built a little mushroom village on a tree.

I’ve never seen this many mushrooms growing naturally in one place before.

I spotted a heart-shaped leaf.

Is it a bean leaf…? I honestly have no idea.

Following the trail eventually brings you back to an open area beneath the bridge, just like before.

Climb the stairs here and cross the street, and you’ll reach Yeouido Park.

Walking Route: Saetgang Ecological Park -> [Yeouido Park] -> Yeouido Full Gospel Church -> National Assembly -> The Hyundai -> Cafe Comma -> Yeouido Fireworks Festival

From the main plaza in Yeouido Park, you can immediately tell which side is Western Yeouido and which is Eastern Yeouido.

The white object in the middle is Seoul Dal, a tethered helium balloon. Apparently it costs ₩25,000 per adult. It might be nice to ride it someday when I feel like getting a view of the area from above.

The park helpfully has signs explaining the names of the plants you’re looking at.

I can count the number of plants I actually know on one hand, so I decided to make a point of learning at least one today.

I found one I liked. It’s called variegated privet.

Apparently, the cream-colored patterning is what makes it a variegated variety.

The rose of Sharon is in full bloom.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen so many of them like this.

Between the pink and white ones, I liked the color combination of the white flowers more.

I can see Haechi in the distance.

It looks like he came to Yeouido Park for a picnic.

The Church & the National Assembly

Walking Route: Saetgang Ecological Park -> Yeouido Park -> [Yoido Full Gospel Church] -> National Assembly -> The Hyundai -> Cafe Comma -> Yeouido Fireworks Festival

As you walk along, there are exits leading out of the park.

From here, you can definitely feel that the buildings are much lower.

Keep walking straight and you’ll come across a church.

Yoido Full Gospel Church is a massive megachurch with, as far as I know, more than 500,000 registered members.

Like Jogyesa Temple in Gwanghwamun, I decided to just go inside and have a look.

As it happened, it was the day of a Christian Song Festival.

There were so many visitors that nobody seemed to pay much attention to me, and I occasionally saw other people who had come alone, just like me.

It reminded me of the church I went to every weekend during basic training at the Nonsan Training Center.

I think we could choose between Won Buddhism, Buddhism, and Christianity, although I chose the Catholic service every single time until I graduated.

They didn’t pressure us into attending the way some people on the street insist that you absolutely have to go to church.

It was simply fun to listen to upbeat or sentimental songs and do silly dances with the other trainees.

Since I never missed a single service from the first week of training to the very last, the priest gave me a small cross and baptized me.

I can’t remember my baptismal name anymore, but I still remember the songs I heard there and sometimes listen to them even now.

Let’s Return to the Lord, Flowers Too, Siloam

Walking Route: Saetgang Ecological Park -> Yeouido Park -> Yeouido Full Gospel Church -> [National Assembly] -> The Hyundai -> Cafe Comma -> Yeouido Fireworks Festival

After leaving the church, I head toward the National Assembly. Whenever I happened to see the main gate, it was often closed with police officers standing guard, so I assumed you weren’t allowed to just walk in.

I went up to the main entrance and asked one of the police officers, “How do I get in here?”

He simply told me I could walk right in.

I wonder if there are other people like me who get intimidated for no reason and end up never going inside.

As soon as I entered through the main gate, the lawn and the imposing National Assembly building came into view. It looked completely different from the view I’d seen from the subway.

I think it’s because there aren’t many tall buildings around it, which makes the National Assembly building stand out even more.

I walked a little closer and took another photo.

Seeing the words “All power comes from the people” written so prominently made me realize once again just how much weight those words carry.

I walked all the way up to the main entrance of the National Assembly building.

Then I turned around and looked back toward the grounds with my back to the building.

I could hear jazz music coming from the right side of the main entrance.

When I got closer, it looked like there was a wedding taking place that day.

They were busy getting everything ready, and I could see the guests and the bride taking photos.

If I ever get married, I’d like to have a beautiful outdoor wedding on a clear day like this too.

There’s a cafe called Riverside Library right next to this place.

You can have brunch or coffee while looking out over the Han River, but it was packed with people today since it was the weekend.

I went up to the rooftop to take in the view.

Nobody else was up there because of the heat, but the sunlight was so intense that I couldn’t stay for long.

I make my way to the National Assembly Library.

There’s a cafeteria inside, so I decided to have lunch there.

Unlike a regular library, you need to get an access pass to enter. You’re also required to keep your personal belongings in a bag provided by the library.

I brought Zorba the Greek, which I’ve been reading lately.

When you enter the National Assembly Library, there’s a central area where you can sit and read.

There are also tables and chairs on the second floor where you can comfortably read or get some work done.

The cafeteria is on the basement level.

When I went down to B1, it was strangely quiet. It turned out that the cafeteria had already closed for the day.

I’d only checked where it was and completely forgotten to check the hours.

So I had no choice but to go back to the second-floor reading room and read my book.

I eventually got hungry while turning the pages and left.

Now I’m heading over to Eastern Yeouido, where IFC Mall and The Hyundai are located.

I walked out through the main gate and took one more look at the National Assembly.

From now on, I’ll make sure to vote in every election, no matter what kind.

The Hyundai & Cafe Comma

Walking Route: Saetgang Ecological Park -> Yeouido Park -> Yeouido Full Gospel Church -> National Assembly -> [The Hyundai] -> Cafe Comma -> Yeouido Fireworks Festival

Instead of eating at the National Assembly cafeteria, I decided to go to Panda Express, an American-style Chinese restaurant.

I passed along National Assembly Boulevard and through Yeouido Park before heading to IFC Mall.

On the way, I saw a pigeon huddled up on the ground.

I don’t know if it was because of the heat, but I didn’t want to disturb it, so I just walked around it.

I got a closer look at Seoul Dal, the balloon I’d seen earlier in Yeouido Park.

I’ll definitely come back and ride it someday.

I checked my phone and saw that the battery was down to around 30%.

At this rate, I’d have no way to record the fireworks later.

Before going to the restaurant, I stopped by the Apple Store on the third floor of IFC Mall and asked if I could charge my phone.

They kindly lent me a charger and an outlet.

After charging for a while, I headed to Panda Express.

It was way too crowded, so I gave up and went to the McDonald’s next door and ordered my usual Bacon Tomato Deluxe.

You can get from IFC Mall to The Hyundai through an underground passage.

I went to the record store on the second basement floor of The Hyundai and looked through the LPs and CDs.

The Weeknd and Tyler, the Creator were right next to each other.

The kid on the Nas album cover in the bottom left looks like the slow-witted younger brother from the movie Take Off.

If I had to pick The Weeknd’s best album, I’d probably choose between Hurry Up Tomorrow and Dawn FM. Every time, I have a hard time deciding which one to go with.

Walking Route: Saetgang Ecological Park -> Yeouido Park -> Yeouido Full Gospel Church -> National Assembly -> The Hyundai -> [Cafe Comma] -> Yeouido Fireworks Festival

Near IFC Mall and The Hyundai, there’s a large bookstore cafe called Cafe Comma.

I’ve been to both the Yeouido and Hapjeong locations, and both are great places to work or read.

Each location also hosts exhibitions, pop-up stores, author events, and other activities.

Today, they were holding an exhibition of the winning entries from an art competition aimed at raising awareness of autism.

The Yeouido branch of Cafe Comma has two floors.

I find the second floor a little calmer, so that’s where I usually sit.

While waiting for my coffee after ordering downstairs, I took a few books off the nearby shelves and browsed through them.

I keep finding myself drawn to Quentin Tarantino’s cinema art book in the movie section.

While waiting for the festival, I took out Zorba the Greek again.

This book is really fun. I think it’s been a while since I last read something that made me chuckle to myself so much.

Yeouido Fireworks Festival

It was getting close to the start of the festival, so I packed up my things and headed to Yeouido Hangang Park.

I originally planned to cross the bridge and watch the fireworks from Seongchon Park in Yongsan, but, wouldn’t you know it, Wonhyo Bridge had been closed to traffic.

I tried to figure out a way to get there by train instead, but the roads were blocked too, so I eventually decided to just watch them from here.

As the festival started, crowds began pouring in like a wave.

I think it was about three years ago when I first came to the festival, and back then I felt like my soul was about to leave my body. After coming a few times, though, I’ve gotten used to it. These days, I just accept it as part of the experience.

It’s my first time seeing the fireworks again in a year.

They’re partly blocked by the trees, but that’s okay. If you think about it as something you wouldn’t normally get to see—fireworks exploding above the trees—it actually feels kind of special.

They also played music between the fireworks, and, as luck would have it, The Weeknd’s Out of Time came on.

Recently, a new version of Out of Time, featuring singer-songwriter Tomoko Aran, was released as a single.

Although the melody and The Weeknd’s voice give the song a trendy, atmospheric feel, it’s actually about regret over a past relationship.

After watching the entire festival, which lasted about an hour, I started making my way home.

I don’t know if there were more people than last year, but the crowds just kept coming.

Taking the subway or a bus nearby seemed impossible, so I walked all the way to Daebang Station.

Even there, there were so many people that I gave up on the subway and decided to just walk home.

Who was it that said life is a tragedy when seen up close and a comedy from a distance?

I’d been standing and walking for so long all day that I was exhausted. I walked home listening to Lee Byung-woo’s Epilogue.

I don’t know why, but there had also been a traffic accident. I felt bad for the person involved. They were probably on their way home after watching the festival too.

On the way home, I spotted Chun-jang peeking around the stream, so I took a picture.

I was tired, but it actually didn’t take as long as I expected to get from Yeouido all the way home.

If I give myself plenty of time, I can make it in about an hour and a half.

Once the weather gets a little cooler, I should try walking all the way to Yeouido.

In the End

I walked quite a bit more than I usually do today.

Excluding the 3,000 steps I took on a short walk early in the morning, I walked around 30,000 steps. In terms of distance, it was a little over 20 km.

Next time I watch the Yeouido Fireworks Festival in person, I’d like to try watching it from around Seongchon Park, Yongyangbongjeojeong Park, or Hyosajeong Park.

The day feels long enough as it is. I don’t want the post to feel just as long, so I should stop here.

I wrote Bukchon way too long. I should’ve cut it down a little.