Dream Forest in Seoul, South Korea (Summer 2018)

You can see the Observation Tower at the top

Dream Forest (also known as 북서울 꿈의숲) in Seoul, South Korea and formerly known as Odong Geullin Park is one of the most underrated parks in Seoul. It's the fourth largest park in Seoul after World Cup Park, Olympic Park, and Seoul Forest. All of my students (who I teach near COEX Mall and Samseong Station) talk about Olympic Park or Seoul Forest, but then again these are students that live on the south side of the river. They think going to the other side is too far. Haha! Maybe people that live in Gangbuk talk about this park and I just don't know it. Nevertheless, I love this park for various reasons:

First, the park is quiet. A moderate amount of people come here even on weekends. You can walk around and find a bench or sit on the grass without being bothered. It's amazingly peaceful and relaxing.

Secondly, it has a few hiking trails. I have yet to do that but there is an area full of trees that you can hike up. It's very well preserved and maintained.

Next, if you have children, you can take them to the children's museum (not free), which is on the premises. There's also a little creek and a baby pool where kids can dip their feet or play in the water.

If none of these convince you, there's a big area full of grass! You can have a picnic, play catch with your child, or put up a tent which some people do here. Koreans love to camp in parks and this place is no exception.

So much grass!

Finally, the best feature is the observation tower at the north end of the park. You take a cable car up about 50 feet. Then you go inside a building and take the elevator to the top. There is a cafe, which overlooks the surrounding area of the park. Surprisingly the drinks are reasonably priced and you can easily get a seat there. One floor above that is an observation deck, where you can see a vast amount of landscape of Seoul including the local mountains Dobok Mountain(Doboksan), Surak Mountain(Suraksan), and Bukhan Mountain (Bukhansan) to the north. In the south you can see Lotte Tower far off into the distance, N Seoul Tower, and the Han River.

Lotte World Tower in the distance on a cloudy day

N Seoul Tower on the right side of the picture

How To Get Here:
[Subway + Bus]
Miasageori Station (Seoul Subway Line 4), Exit 1. Take Maeul Bus #9 or Bus #11. (10 minute-ride) and get off at Dream Forest Bus Stop.

OR

Dolgoji Station (Seoul Subway Line 6), Exit 3. Take Bus #147 (5-minute ride) and get off at Dream Forest Bus Stop.

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)

Instagram: l.a.seoulguy