Step by step, sole by sole – on three walking routes around Seoul! | Nota Bene: Eugene Kaspersky’s Official Blog

Where are the best places for a simple stroll in Seoul? There don’t seem to be all that many options, but they do exist. The most notable are (i) the Seoullo-7017 walkway, (ii) a pedestrianized area along a stream with the easy-to-pronounce name of Cheonggyecheon, and (iii) Ikseon-dong – a traditional artisan/folksy district. I’ll start with the first one…

So what is Seoullo-7017? Well, they took a former vehicle overpass and converted it into a pedestrian walkway-bridge around a kilometer long. And what a marvelous thing it is! As the internet tells it, the road bridge – built back in 1970 – had grown decrepit by the 2010s, and needed replacing. But instead of demolishing the old one and building a new one, the local authorities decided otherwise: the old structures were repaired and adapted for walks on foot. Like so:

And what you get is a downright excellent path amid pleasant, modern – and in places rather unusual – surrounding landscapes:

No commentary needed; the pics speak for themselves:

A simply magical path!

And on the map:

On to the next item on the agenda.

A walk along the Cheonggyecheon stream can turn into a more drawn-out affair. The pedestrian zone along the stream is apparently more than 10 kilometers long – you can check for yourself here on the map. The history of this place is quite the tangled tale, too. As Seoul grew, the stream was first buried in a pipe, and a highway was laid right on top for good measure. In the early-to-mid-2000s, however, the road was demolished (and, curiously, this actually eased traffic congestion; EH?!), the stream saw the light of day again, got ~~Photoshopped~~ spruced up, and today strolling along its banks = pure pleasure!

The walkable stretch along the “stream” (though it looks wide enough to be deemed a river to me) begins at this pretty square:

I’ve no idea who these are, but they seem to be beckoning you for a walk:

The open part of the stream begins with a waterfall like this:

Off we popped, savoring the pleasant weather, the views, and the flow of the water ->

Luckily it was a workday, so it wasn’t too crowded:

And everything here is just wonderful! Smart office blocks along the banks, tastefully landscaped embankments, and, well, the stream itself.

The locals spend their time in the shade under the bridges, mostly glued to their phones (guess they’ve seen it all before many times)…

While for us is was pit-a-pat – onward!…

Pretty, nicely done up, and easy on both the feet and eyes:

There’s evidently water here sometimes too – probably when the flow swells during the rainy season (does Korea even get one of those?). But the main stream runs along a parallel course behind this stone wall on the left // This is just to answer the potential question “so, where did all the water go?” ahead of time.

The water hasn’t gone anywhere – it keeps flowing strictly in its pre-planned direction:

Interestingly, there are all sorts of fish living in the water – carp of considerable size, plus assorted other minnow-like tiddlers.

And a heron’s been installed right here to keep the small-fry population in check:

All in all – very respectable, very pleasant. Just plain nice!

Not far from the “strolling stream” – a 10-to-15-minute leisurely walk – sits the old traditional Korean quarter of Ikseon-dong (익선동). In the 2000s there were plans to demolish it and build it up all afresh and new, but instead it was gradually gentrified to become more touristy: some of the old buildings were rebuilt into tea houses, cafes, restaurants, and little shops; others adapted in their own ways; while some residents stayed on too – but for the most part, in place of the old slums there are now perfectly cute little buildings. // One thing they did forget though: to fix the sewers; in places they give off quite the… aromatic whiff.