During a Seoul blogger lunch a few months ago Tom, the mastermind behind Waegook Tom, came up with a fantastic idea for a blogger collaboration. Called the Seoul Subway Challenge, the basic idea is that nine bloggers each take one of Seoul’s nine numbered subway lines and get off at a minimum of five stops. The purpose of this project is to show another side of Seoul, not just what is outside of Itaewon, Gangnam, and Hongik University stations.
The line I chose for the Seoul Subway Challenge is Line 5, also known as the purple line. Line 5 was opened in 1995 and runs across the city from west to east, and passes through the central business district, some of the busiest neighborhoods in the city, and Gimpo Airport. Until recently, Line 5 was the longest completely underground subway in world, but was overtaken by China’s Guangzhou Metro Line 3 last month.
Line 5 was the subway line I lived on when I first moved to Korea, and I’ve had a lot of fun living on, playing on, and exploring this line.
Olympic Park
Located in eastern Seoul after Line 5 splits into two branches at Gangdong, Olympic Park Station provides easy access to some of the stadiums used for the 1988 Olympics. I saw 2NE1 in concert and attended a B-Boy competition at the Gymnastic’s Stadium near to the station. A little farther away, Olympic Park becomes less Olympic and more park. Kids pedaling around on bikes, picnicking couples, and families throwing around a frisbee are a common sight here.
Cheonho
Cheonho Station serves as the transfer point to Line 8, and was near where I lived during my first year in Korea. I spent a lot of time on Cheonho’s Rodeo Street (out Exit 5), drinking with friends and coworkers at the many bars and eating at my favorite shabu shabu, dak galbi, and Korean barbecue places. Cheonho is also a great place to shop, with a Hyundai Department Store, E-Mart, and a bunch of smaller shops located right outside the station.
Achasan
Just across the Han River is Achasan Station. Achasan Station is near to the rear entrance of Children’s Grand Park, a popular place for families and school field trips. Achasan Station also provides access to the mountain of the same name. While fairly small, Achasan is a nice, easy hike with great views of Seoul.
Children’s Grand Park in the winter.
Gwanghwamun
Gwanghwamun is the busiest station on Line 5, mostly because of its location in central Seoul, close to many businesses and tourist attractions. Immediately outside of the station is Gwanghwamun Square, which opened to the public in 2009. The highlights of this urban park include statues that honor Korean heroes Admiral Yi Sun Shin and King Sejong, an interactive fountain, and access to Cheonggyecheon. With Gyeongbokgung Palace and Bukaksan Mountain in the background, along with plenty of modern skyscrapers (and embassies, including the US embassy), Gwanghwamun is one of my favorite stops in Seoul.
Yeouido
Yeouido is the the main stop on the island in the Han with the same name. Yeouido is considered to be the central business district of Seoul and the station is right in the middle of the skyscraper big city action. Yeouido Station also serves as a transfer point to the newest Seoul subway line, Line 9. Korea’s National Assembly building is located a short walk away from the station, as is the large Yeouido Park popular with families, couples, and friends as a place to relax when the weather is nice. Every April Yeouido plays host to Seoul’s largest cherry blossom festival.
Omokgyo
Omokgyo Station is the main station for Seoul’s ritzy Mokdong area. Besides a Hyundai Department Store and about what seems like a million hagwons, Omokgyo Station is near to Mokdong Baseball Stadium, home of the K-League’s Nexen Heroes. Many fans of the Heroes can be found in Omokgyo Station playing pickup games with baseball bats for league play.
To check out Seoul’s eight other lines, follow the links to some fantastic Korean bloggers:
Line 1 @ World Flavor | Line 2 @ Backpacking Travel Blog | Line 3 @ World Walk About | Line 4 @ Mapping Words | Line 6 @ Chincha | Line 7 @ Waegook Tom | Line 8 @ The Wanderlust Project | Line 9 @ My Korea Quest
The Olympic Park is a fun area – I visited it in the springtime. And I also really liked Yeouido on a summer afternoon. The place is packed with families and children playing.
Olympic Park is really nice. I wish I would’ve visited more when I lived nearby. And Yeouido is my favorite place to sit and drink during nice weather.
Great photos! I love that you captured the various locations throughout the Korean seasons… nice post!
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Thanks! I hope you checked out some of the others, too
How did you like Olympic Park? I’m thinking of going there next weekend…is it worth it? Great photos!
It’s a nice place, but I used to live about 10 minutes away so maybe I’m a little biased! I think it would make for some good photos, though
Awesome photos! I’ve never been to Olympic Park and I’ve been dying to go! I have a weird thing for seeing the Olympic Stadiums around the world. I can’t believe I live so close to one and have never been!
Sheryll recently posted..Seoul Subway Challenge: Line 8
Olympic Park is pretty cool. You can apparently use some of the facilities, though I’m lazy, so obviously never have
Check it out, it’s pretty easy to get to from you!
Nice post, Amanda! I really want to check out Yeouido, and I’ve never heard of Cheonho before – sounds like my kinda place! Thanks for the recommendation and sharing what you found on line 5!
Tom @ Waegook Tom recently posted..The Seoul Subway Challenge: Line 7
Yeouido is one of my favorite places to sit and drink in nice weather! And Cheonho was the PERFECT place to live my first year. Which made moving to Junggye even harder…as you can now probably imagine
Thanks for organizing this, Tom! Was loads of fun.
It’s quite something taking in a Korean baseball game. It’s almost worth the price of admission for the cheerleaders alone. I used to live quite close to Omokgyo (Mokdong area) which was far more affluent than Gochekdong.
Samuel @ Backpacking Travel Blog recently posted..Seoul Subway Challenge – Exploring Line 2
It really is. I never thought I’d see a group of girls in Matrix outfits dancing on top of a dugout. But now I have. Korea never fails to amaze
Awesome post, Amanda! Gosh, I love line 5. I’ve been to most of these stops. I took pole dancing classes at Cheonho for a couple months– SO FUN! –but too expensive to continue
Sarah @ Mapping Words recently posted..The Seoul Subway Challenge: LINE 4
Thanks! Line 5 is the best line. I get a little sad sometime that I no longer live on it
<3 that you posted this for a couple of reasons:
1. I got to mentally revisit all the stops I used to know on the purple line (especially Achasan, Cheonho and Gwanghwamun).
2. I discovered that you had written an article about going to a 2NE1 concert! Oh how the jealousy abounds!!
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I miss the purple line! Line 7 is not nearly as much fun
And 2NE1 were amazing in concert. If you ever get the chance, go!
Hey Amanda! I haven’t made it to Ulluengdo, the ferry isn’t running tomorrow
I’m going to check out some beaches near Pohang, though, so I’m still getting away.
Just leaving you a link to the SSC board I made on Pinterest, featuring my favourite shots from the challenge. I really, really love your shot of the assembly at Yeouido.
http://pinterest.com/chinchamag/seoul-subway-challenge/
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Aw
I hope you had fun in Pohang! And love the Pinterest board, thanks for including me!
Great photos! I still want to make it to a baseball game before it snows!
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Thanks! They’re in the post season now, but you should try to catch a game if you can