Gangnam, Seoul's modern center

Let me introduce you the Seoul's modern center

Gangnam 강남 is the place to be in Seoul! The best shopping malls, clubs, restaurants and cafés are located in this huge area, south-eastern from the historic center of Seoul. There's a lot of subway lines crossing this area, so you can't really miss it. I've been walking all around the place and made a lot of photos of the awesome buildings along the way. I wrote a lot of posts about the places in Gangnam, here's an overview of them.

Click on the links below the photos and read about a certain part of Gangnam that interests you.

This is Gangnam:


The megalomaniac Tower Palace in Dogok>> read my post


The long Gangnamdaero from south to north>> read my post


The glassy Samsung Town buildings>> read my post


The colossal Kyobo Gangnam Tower>> read my post


The trendy district Apgujeong>> read my post


The famous Teheranno road is here, too>> read my post


The landmark Trade Tower is in Gangnam>> read my post

And at last, another modern masterpiece: Hyundai I'Park Building. Also in Gangnam.

This is about it. No more Seoul posts. Only a post about Hyori's new album is coming up. Other than that, you are now well informed and if you need some more detailed info on Seoul, check my main Seoul page that links to all my Seoul posts.

How do you like Gangnam and the modern Seoul?

[My Seoul][All photos by MKL, 2010]

Jongno Tower, Seoul

Seoul's modern architecture at its best

Jongno Tower in its full glory. Stop staring at the girls!

The top floor is amazing. There's a restaurant there with a great view.

Jongno Tower from bottom up. It's one of Seoul's landmark buildings.

The area at the main entrance looks huge. The Jongno Tower is wide and it's 132m tall (source). On the other side of the street is another famous historic sight named Bosingak, the bell tower. The whole area is very pleasant to walk. If you have time, go and have a look around.

[Skyscrapers][My Seoul][Jongno Tower at night][All photos by MKL, 2010]

Namsan and N Seoul Tower

Seoul's city mountain and its landmark tower

Let me introduce you another awesome spot in the amazing South Korean city of Seoul. It's called Namsan mountain [남산 lit. "Southern Mountain"]. Namsan sounds similar like Chinese 南山 (Nanshan), because it originates from the same root. The name comes from its location, which needs to be put in the historic context. Namsan is now somewhere in the middle of Seoul, but in the old times, it was south from the historic city of Seoul. Namsan's name used to be Mongmyeok [목멱산 lt. "Wood-seeking Mountain"] or 木覓山 in Chinese (source).

Today people don't only go on top of Namsan because of the amazing nature and breath-taking view of Seoul below, they also want to see Seoul's landmark building - the N Seoul Tower [엔 서울타워]. It was completed in 1980 (we're same age!) and the strucure is nearly 237m tall, but if we include the mountain, it tops up at nearly 480m (source), standing out as Seoul's number one landmark building. Let me show you some of my photos of Namsan:

I took the train to Dongguk University station (Orange Line 3) and then took a bus (see small pic on the left) at a station. The bus was also orange color. I used my SMRT card and the ride cost less than 1000Won one way (0.60€)! There's also a Namsan cable car that can bring you up to the top, but I was advised by the hostel owner Danny not to take it, it's too expensive. I researched and a round trip costs 7500Won (5€), which is nearly 4 times more expensive (the price as in April 2010). If you want to save, better take the bus.

The road up to Namsan is winding, but not long. I reached on top in 10-15min.

A convenience store with souvenirs and beverages.

The N Seoul Tower seen from just below the peak of Namsan mountain.

The top area of Namsan mountain with groups of people everywhere.

N Seoul Tower on te left and the lattice transmission tower on the right.

Many pupils with teachers visit Namsan. While passing by, they were greeting me.

A nice pavilion on the northern side of the area.

The N Seoul Tower in it's full glory. Below is the observation deck.

See more of my photos of the N Seoul Tower>>

Namsan love padlocks: Couples put various locks on the rail (or fence) of the observation deck and profess their love for each other or write wovs on small notes. Then they throw the key over the rail and hope that the promises they gave to each other, will last forever. I wonder how many regret doing this, hehehe. Anyway, the idea is not original, love padlocks can be found in Tokyo and also in Taiwan, in Fengyuan (豐原).

Namsan love padlocks close-up.

Can you see how many there is? The whole fence is full of them. Koreans are romantic!

So am I, haha. I didn't have a padlock, but I did commemorate the special moment.

If you happen to go to Namsan, please check, if my message is still readable :-P

Here's the spot, where you can find it. I think it won't last long, I used a simple pen.

The N Seoul Tower from below.

See my huge N Seoul Tower photo here>>

The lattice transmission (or communication) tower nearby.

See more photos of the lattice transmission tower here>>

The view on south-western Seoul. Can you spot the thin and tall Building 63?

View from the other side, the north-eastern Seoul.

Beautiful, isn't it? I love this city.

I soon headed downward, took a bus and continued my amazing Seoul-tour.

Next time I want to see Seoul at night! (Photo taken from http://www.nseoultower.net)

How do you like Namsan and my photos?
HanCook restaurant: Seoul Yongsan-gu Yongsan-dong 2-ga San 1-3 N Seoul Tower F1
[My N SEOUL TOWER post][Huge N Seoul Tower photo][Transmission Tower]

[Main SEOUL page][Namsan Info Brochure][All pics by MKL, 2010]

Hangang Park, Yeouido

Beautiful park on a beautiful island in Seoul with lots of sakura

Hangang park (한강공원) is a beautiful park on a famous Yeouido island (여의도) in the middle of Seoul next to the majestic Han river, that separates this awesome city into two parts. I've been recommended to see this place by the owner of the hostel I've stayed in and I tell you, I was not disappointed. Yeouido became one of my favorite spots in Seoul and if I have the chance to visit again, I will definitely stay in the park longer and explore the island further. I was so lucky to see the peak of the cherry blossoms in Korea and the sakura was really really beautiful, the most beautiful in whole Seoul, I would say. Also the famous landmark skyscraper Building 63 is here. Yeouido is also called "Seoul's Wallstreet", because of its stock street and business district. But let my photos do the speaking here:

I took the subway from central Seoul to Yeouinaru station. The first thing I saw was the Han river and Namsan tower in the back and a beautiful park along the river banks, the place I wanted to see - the Hangang park.

I saw young Korean couples riding tandems.

People riding jet ski on the river Han.

Enjoying a nice afternoon on the river banks. On the right is the Wonhyodaegyo bridge.

Mount Namsan in the center, with the famous Namsan tower.

Mapodaegyo bridge on the left side.

Hangang park under the warm spring sun.

The famous Building 63.

People renting bikes near the Building 63. More about the skyscraper on the link below:

Check my high-def Building 63 photos here>>

Do you remember her from this post? She was waiting for someone.

Young Koreans playing games, having fun.

After walking around the park a bit, I decided to go to the cherries above.

A beautiful tree alley of cherries in full blossom.

One of my favorite Seoul trip photos. I love it.

The cherries on Yeouido were planted by the Japanese during the occupation of Korea.

Sakura close-up.

Do you remember them? Many beautiful Korean girls took photos of the sakura here.

And the sakura (cherry blossoms) was truly amazing here.

So thick, so pure... so majestic.

I went to a little café nearby and enjoyed a nice coffee...

View from the café. I took a rest and left soon after. My Seoul adventure was at its peak.

How do you like the photos?

[My Main SEOUL page][All photos by MKL, 2010][Info: Yeouido, Hangang Park]