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

Yuldong Park in Seongnam, South Korea

Two weeks ago, I was trying to find a way to get out of Seoul but not go too far. The weather was getting slightly warmer, so I was open to an outdoor spot. Then I decided to look for parks in Gyeonggido and came across a park that had very high reviews in the location of Seongnam (Bundang-gu), South Korea. The name of the park is Yuldong Park (율동 공언), which opened in 1999.

My wife and I took a bus from Sadang Station and then transferred one time there (See transportation information below). Since it was February, it was a bit warmer, but still a bit cold and windy. To prove it, the lake was still frozen as you can see in this picture!

My wife and I started off by getting some coffee to wake us up at Kona Queens Cafe, which is near the entrance of the park and beside the lake. The people there are very friendly and welcome you as you come inside. Since it was the only cafe that we saw there, you can imagine how busy it was.

However, I had a fun experience there as you will see in a minute. But let me tell you first what's it like to be a white guy that is in a smaller city in South Korea. When I take a trip outside of Seoul, I sometimes get more stares especially from babies, who don't see non-Koreans very often. That leads me to my experience at Kona Queens in Yuldong Park. One baby kept staring at me while we were there and his grandparents laughed. Then a mentally disabled man in his 20s kept glaring at me, but mostly out of curiosity. Though his mother tried to keep his attention on her and his sister, his curiosity got the best of him. While my wife went to the restroom and I was looking at my phone, he came over to me and touched my arm. I guess he wanted to see if this non-Korean alien wasn't just a mirage. It scared me for a second, but I thought it was humorous when he smiled after he realized that I was indeed real.


After that my wife and I decided to take a walk and we were really happy with how quiet it was and how long the path was. The park has a 2.5km for both walkers and bike riders, so you can definitely get some exercise if you are trying to burn off some extra calories that you gained over the winter season.

Since it was still a bit breezy, my wife wanted to keep her head a bit warm, so she turned into a Russian for a second by wrapping her scarf around her head:

Due to the fact it was still winter, mostly everything was brown, but in the summer time not only is it green, but you'll get to see a fountain turned on and greenery everywhere. Nevertheless, my wife and I enjoyed the breeze and the beautiful sun shining over the lake. It was nice and clear and we loved admiring the mountains in the background:

As we were heading back to the entrance, we came across a place where you could go bungee jumping. The jump is 45 meters and is restricted for people between the ages of 25-50. The cost is W25,000. You must be between 40 kilograms and 115 kilograms. For more information you can call the Yuldong Park Bungee Jumping Office at: 031-704-6266 or the Parks Department at Seongnam City Hall at 031-729-4390. It's closed during the winter season. Here's what it looks like:

Right next to the bungee jumping platform is a large grassy area. In that section, you'll see a lot of modern art sculptures spread out all over the lawn. And at the far end of the park, there's a traditional Korean building, which was unexpected.

The coolest feature was this statue of Korean children playing musical instruments:

And here's one look from the other side of the grassy area. You can see the lake and the bungee jumping platform off in the distance:

Overall, this park is great for families, couples, or if you want to bring a pet (You are more than welcome to bring your dog here as long as you clean up the animal's mess). During winter, it's very calm and quiet. I'll have to make a trip out here in summer to see how green it is. I totally recommend coming here. You won't be disappointed!


How To Get There: You can take the Bundang Line to Seohyeon Station. Take Exit 2. Then you will reach the basement of AK Plaza Mall. Go out of Gate 4 of the mall and then you will see a bus stop right in front of you. Take bus number 17, 17-1, 15, or 33 to Yuldong Park. Cross the road on an overpass to the parking lot of the park.


Address: 145, Munjeong-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggido, 13576, South Korea


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

Instragram: l.a.seoulguy