Seoul Forest
We had a an entire day of our itinerary that was free, so I decided to take the day off by myself and go to Seoul Forest after a morning of last minute shopping in Itaewon. It took around 40 minutes from Hongdae to the Seoul Forest stop of the Metro Yellow line. It was one of the most perfect Autumn afternoons I’ve ever experienced.
What initially drew me to go to the park was the beautiful pictures of the statues I saw in a guidebook. Some people who know me in real life sometimes forget that I’m actually an art major, but whenever I travel I am constantly reminded by it because of the comfort I find in beautiful, scenic places. If you’re someone who enjoys a quiet day alone but still wants to be surrounded by a few people who are minding their own business, this is a good place to be.
A lot of people were in the park, but because of its size, it never really felt crowded. People laid down their picnic mats, raised up their tents and enjoyed lunch under the big auburn coloured trees. There were actually a lot of couples, and even a few who were getting their wedding photos taken. It wasn’t very difficult to get a lot of pleasant people who were kind of enough to take my photos during this trip, including this wonderful, young family in the picture below.
Because I live in a tropical country, the weather is never really pleasant enough for people to get into the habit of going to parks. Most families spend their frees days in air-conditioned malls or restaurants. It made me kind of wish that the weather was as pleasant as it is here.
Everything felt like it was taken out of a Korean postcard. Picturesque bridge, people biking and families having chicken and beer. One of my regrets when I arrived here was that I didn’t prepare a picnic mat and food. It’s also a child-friendly place with a lot of playgrounds and large, safe areas to do sports and other activities.
There’s a restaurant near the lake where the food is pretty good, but it’s a bit pricey. There’s also a convenience store next to it, but it’s still much cheaper to just buy your food before you go in the park. Remember to throw away your trash in the right place and clear the tables when you’re done.
But by far, the best thing I did here was to feed the deer. The entrance is free, but you have to buy food for the deer from a machine worth 1000 Won ($1). You can find the green vending machine in this red phone booth looking thing near the entrance of the restroom.
You simply go to the people wearing these safari-style attires near the gate where you sign your name. The problem I had with this is that I don’t speak Korean at all, so it was a bit of a struggle to know what I supposed to write on the sheet and there was a slight language barrier with the attendant. They were still very pleasant though.
There are only two times in a day wherein you can feed the deer, 2:10pm and 3:40pm. When I went there, there was a legion of tiny, adorable kindergarten kids on their field trip. An added struggle that occurred also was that when the people in charge were giving instructions on what and what not to do, I had absolutely no idea what they were saying. I basically just followed what everyone else was doing and hoped I was doing something right.
One downside that actually happened was that I didn’t hear the memo that you weren’t supposed to let them eat directly from the cup. The result is what you’ll see in the next photo:
It was surprising to me how well trained the deers are to the point that tiny children were not afraid to come near them. They had such beautiful, calm expressions. They were even actually deer that came up to you without food. It’s very safe.
Near the end of my walking tour around the park, I also came across a butterfly garden. It didn’t have that many butterflies, at least none that I actually saw. I did see one beautiful, yellow one though. It might be because of the season.
Autumn or spring is the best season to be here depending on your preferences. I personally prefer autumn because I like when the trees turn red and the weather. I left before dawn, but I could theoretically spend the whole day here because there are a lot of things to do. A good number would be 3-4 hours from the afternoon to right before sunset if you’re going around the same time of the year, and being able to see the sun set is a good way to end the day with.
I do have this slight concern with the lack of lighting, but since I did not stay until night I can’t speak much about it. I think Seoul Forest is a great place, especially for outgoing introverts who enjoy being in the company of other people.
