I heard that there was a new bakery at the 63 building (Eric Kayser), so off we went this rainy Sunday. The aquarium was its usual chaotic self with giant crabs, Unicorn tangs, otter tubes, underwater syncho and finger-nibbling Dr. Fish. We had planned a full day of 63 building fun, but IMAX seemed too scary, weather too rainy for scenic vista, and wax museum - well, we will save that for more desperate times.
Instead, we visited Seonyudo (Seonyu Island, in the middle of the Han River). This island is one of the centerpieces of a "New Seoul" millennium campaign that focuses on making Seoul more livable for its 10 million inhabitants. A former water filtration plant, it is now a "post-modern space" filled with water-themed gardens, walking paths, and some cultural and performance venues. It does not appear in much of the English tourist literature, so until a chance blog encounter a while back, we didn't know it existed. Brian found it by driving along Hangang Park and looking for an accessible island.
The vehicle-restricted island is reachable by a foot bridge (Rainbow Bridge, "mujigae-dari," designed by a French architect and a gift from France), which is supposed to offer stunning views of Seoul. Seoul wasn't really designed to appear stunning from the river I suppose, or designed at all for that matter. We enjoyed the greenhouse and sunken gardens, listened to some live jazz, saw some wildlife (middle left: Korean bunny, and decorated dog - they love the ear-dye here), remarked on the many photo-shoots and hair colours (blue and pink wigged footballers, and orange-hued musicians top-centre), and felt proud for having found a green space so close to home and so easily accessible. Rain resumed on the walk back (see recreation-seekers cowering under rainbow bridge bottom-right), but we did get a chance to witness two new team activities: top-right, soccer-volleyball, and below that a sort of Korean pinata. Large lantern-like balls were held on poles above people who hurled bean bags at them until they split open and out furled a scroll and some paper-wrapped treats. A bit mysterious, but we will seek further knowledge. Or we won't. Perhaps we will heed the advice below, and simply "Toss Education."
