4 April 2024
Stewing in Yeouido
Seoul colour park
I took a few more photos this evening. Bad photos generally, of a picnic at dusk. An enormous picnic.
I had decided to go to Yeouido for dinner, which is a financial centre in the south central part of Seoul. I had been there before, there are some big fancy shopping centres and a really good food court.
I decided to also walk along the river, in case the sunset was good again. It wasn't. However then I found millions of people. Well maybe not millions, but many thousands of people.
All were buying a sheet of coloured cardboard and or pitching a tent to sit on the dead grass of the river bank and stare at a bridge.
I know that they light this bridge up at night and spray water mist and shine lasers through the mist, but that has been going on for many years now. So my question is, do this many people come to the river bank every single night for the spectacle? Did blossoms increase the number of all night picnicers? Is picnicers even a word? I have so many questions.
Near my hotel, and food trucks are setting up early. Similar to Taiwan, but not quite as bad, you stand in the traffic a lot of the time when you want to go to a food truck. I do not enjoy this, so I did not partake.
Instead I headed under a bridge into a fenced off area and examined the rubbish collection carts. Really! That is why I am here.
There are a few real boats that go for little cruises around in a circle in this area. They cannot go under any of the bridges to my knowledge. However what looks like boats here are barges made to look like boats filled with convenience stores and cafes.
Here are some real boats. I do not think you can go on these.
This is also a boat, in the grass.
This is a dinosaur. Note the tents starting to appear.
And then I started to hit the picnic on dead grass area and a sea of people.
A huge number of people. Note they are all sitting on a colourful piece of freshly purchased plastic coated cardboard. Most of these will float down the river at the end of the evening.
There is a small city set up to service this whole shindig.
And here is one of many, many sheets of cardboard stores. Boxes and boxes of plastic coated cardboard. It is a good thing I can no longer get a disposable coffee cup.
A mini city and all the associated services. On a Thursday.
Last photo of the picnic area.
Just up the road are all the flash buildings. A lot of really nice looking architecture.
That is 'The Hyundai', the fanciest of all the fancy Hyundai department stores. I think the basement there is where I had dinner last time I came to this area.
However this time I ate in basement 3 of the nearby IFC mall. My dinner is spicy tofu stew, with mystery meat, and all the side dishes. There is rice under the wooden lid. I mix everything together.
Tomorrow I take a bullet train to Daegu. Hopefully they do not cancel my hotel booking?