12 Feb 2010, Posted by Matt in Art & Culture, Nature, Seoul, Transportation, 2 Comments

Gwangnaru Pedestrian Bridge

The Gwangnaru Pedestrian Bridge originated as a citizen’s suggestion and has become a pedestrian-friendly, park-like pathway connecting the city’s northern and southern halves.

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16 Jun 2009, Posted by Matt in Art & Culture, Historic Korea, Nature, Seoul, 7 Comments

Seonyudo Island’s Hangang River Renaissance

Once upon a time, Seonyudo Island (also known as Seonyubong) had a small peak and picturesque, jagged cliffs. This beautiful setting inspired wandering Confucian gentleman scholars, or seonbi (선비), who came here during the Joseon Dynasty to paint and compose poetry.

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01 Apr 2009, Posted by Matt in Festivals & Holidays, Historic Korea, Nature, Seoul, 0 Comments

Seoul’s Yeouido Island

An artist’s rendering of Yeouido’s future, now that height restrictions for the island have been lifted (from Yonhap News).

At about 8.4 square kilometers, Yeouido (여의도) is by far Seoul’s largest island. But despite its strategic location in the middle of one of the world’s largest cities, the name “yeouido” actually means, “you can have it.” In the past, this now very valuable piece of real estate was thought to be worthless, since most of the island disappeared when the Han River frequently flooded. As a result, for centuries Yeouido was generally relegated to pastureland and peanut fields. The first major development didn’t occur until 1924, when the Japanese colonial government built Seoul’s first airport there.

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