Olympic Park
It was two weeks before Christmas and were were thoroughly fed up of Christmas shopping. I haven't actually managed to do very much of the tourist bit so we opted for a whole weekend of it. On Saturday 9th December we went to Olympic Park situated in Seoul near Dongdaemun. It took a fair while to get there on the subway but we found it ok and we entered the park through the grand entrance of the Peace Gate.
"This Gate was built to celebrate the triumphant Seoul Olympics, which showed the strength, power and growth of Korea to the whole world. The eaves-shaped roof, eaves, portraits of four Korean gods and 3 representative colors - white, blue, and red - express Korean sentiments and traditions. The four Korean gods of the right and left side of the Gate were inspired from Janggunchong's murals of Goguryeo Dynasty and they are believed to rule the four cardinal points - north, south, east and west - for heavenly peace. By symbolizing traditional Korean peace philosophy, it also illustrates hopes for world peace."
A rather wet looking picture of the Peace Gate, the grand entrance of Olympic Park.
The Peace Gate was beautiful and the main causeway leading up to the gate had hundreds of pillars topped with sculpted heads. Some were painted and some had faded badely from the seasons but most of them were extremely ugly. The Christmas trees were beautifully lit up at night and I promise pictures will be added a soon as I can upload them.
"Olympic Park preserves the spirit of the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The stadiums, arranged in a fan-shaped pattern around the park, were the main stages for the sports events. With extensive grassy fields, sculpture gardens, walking paths, and rest areas, the park is open all day as a multi-purpose area for leisure, sports, and cultural activities. Over 200 sculptures made by 155 world-renowned artists are scattered around the park. The main attractions of the park include the World Peace Gate, "Rendezvous in Seoul," and the "Wall of Glory" along with various other items in the Seoul Olympic Museum which will remain as a great legacy to the Korean descendants and competitors."
Under the peace gate sits the Olympic flame, burning vividly above the Seoul Peace Declaration.
Emily and I warming our freezing hands
Due to it being nearly Christmas an ice skating rink had been set up with hundreds of kids in pink and white skates. We vowed we would do the museum first and then if there was time hit the rink. So we wandered through the park and contemplated riding one or those four seater buggy's with pedals because the grounds were so extensive but after the museums there wasn't enough time left.
Luckily for us we had plenty of time but after I saw a girl with blood all over her white and pink skate I was some what put off. We bumped into this really sweet Korean man that had his grand children with him. He helped us get the right size skates and then paid for the locker because we didn't have enough change (Koreans get very offended if you refuse something that is offered to you). He also took these lovely photo's of us.
2012 Olympics here we come
It had been a few years
- Posted by k_millington on 05/01/2007.
- k_millington's site
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