Korea: Yangjae Citizen's Forest part two

Not only is the Yangjae Citizen's Forest park a beautiful place to take a stroll or have a (boozy-optional) picnic and forget about your worries for awhile, but there's a lot more to the location than that. There are historically significant statutes commemorating brave Koreans of yonder years, exhibits, tennis courts, bicycle rentals, playgrounds, a small shop selling snacks, even a public library box! The Yangjae river connects this area to the Yangjae River Neighborhood Park so if you like feeding the fish or aquatic settings that's a lovely spot nearby to check out. I spent a fair bit of time there feeding the fish! I love watching them squirm about gulping for food as they get whirled up into a feeding frenzy. I'm also keen on areas with lots of water, having been a swimmer for much of my childhood. Here in the Vegas desert, we have to rely on swimming pools or our man-made lakes, or drive out for the Colorado river...or we can take an even longer road trip out to the ocean, 4+ hours away. My love of water made living in Japan, and then Korea, especially wonderful because rivers or the beach were never too far away... and as much as people love to complain about the rainy seasons, I absolutely adore them! It's always a novelty for me, this concept of water falling from the sky. It's pretty rare in my hometown, and when it does it's usually a brief downpour that floods the streets then recedes quickly. Being near the oceans, I loved seeing all the seafood in the markets and exploring coastlines and tide pools whenever possible!  

All this hydration in the environment also translates to lush greenery and foliage, and a bounty of living creatures thriving among it. You could almost forget that you're in the middle of the capital city. 

I watched squirrels spazzing through the leaves in their hyper-active acrobatics, birds sassing humans on the tennis courts, and several other humans enjoying this park in my visit. It was a beautiful day with glorious weather and I'm so grateful I went out and took this trek. It was much needed and I felt more at ease and at peace. Funny how nature can do that, even when it's confined to a plot of land in the city. Thanks, nature, for always, uh, finding a way.

More photos after the cut!

Korea: Yangjae Citizen's Forest part one

After scoping out the adjacent Yangjae-River neighborhood park, I made my way to the Citizen's Forest park. I'm not entirely sure whether these two parks are their own distinct entities or complementary parts of one whole park, though I'd be likely to guess the latter. If any of you out there in internet-land reading this knows with more certainty than I, please let me know! As rare as it is, I can, on occasion, be mistaken. Shocking, I know. Horrifying, indeed. 😜 What can I say? I'm only human, after all...

Whatever the technical case may be, this (these?) parks are absolutely worth a visit! The citizen's forest has existed in Seoul for over 30 years now. One thing Seoul does well is utilize it's precious public spaces for maximum utility and benefit as well as aesthetically appealing design. Every neighborhood will have a public park or communal area, likely with exercise equipment. You can get a pretty epic work out just walking around the neighborhood and trying out whatever equipment you encounter, but if you feel more like going for a stroll the Citizen's Forest is an especially green and appealing area. There were squirrels! And so many different birds and butterflies! You can get snacks or even bring in booze and have a tipsy-picnic! Feel the breeze in your hair and chuck some popcorn at carp, sip some tea and let out a deep breath. Wave Hello! to the curious older gentleman watching you feed the fish. When the weather is this beautiful and the park this green, it's hard to be in a bad mood. It's hard to believe you're actually in the middle of the bustling capital of South Korea when you're sitting in the shade of a large tree watching squirrels scamper and tumble through the leaves. 

I needed this.

They say that being in nature is good for you, and I believe it. Sometimes a girl just needs to get away from it all and sit in the grass, or take a long aimless walk without worrying about deadlines or distances. Just taking in the scenery. Just reminiscing over the photos is calming and I can almost feel the breeze tickling the little hairs on the back of my neck again... can you? 

More photos after the cut...