Tour Yanghwa Hangang Park on the Han River Bike Path in Seoul.
6.9 km (Seoul (South Side))
12.9%
Yanghwa Hangang Park (양화한강공원; map) is the smallest park in the Hangang Park System. Sandwiched between the natural beauty of Gangseo Hangang Park and the landmark-filled Yeouido Hangang Park, Yanghwa Hangang Park offers a few interesting attractions of its own.
Yanghwa Park sits on the south bank of the Han River in Yeongdeungpo District. The park claims two-thirds of the district’s waterfront. Yeouido Hangang Park occupies the other third.
Today’s park offers recreational fields, an island with a water treatment plant converted into a garden park, and winding paths that cut through tall reeds in the fall, and red roses and yellow rudbeckia in spring.
Yeouido Island, which perches on the north end of the district. It includes some of Seoul’s tallest skyscrapers and powerful institutions.
Then there’s the mainland.
Let’s explore the mainland. We’ll tour the wealth of Yeouido down the path.
Yeongdeungpo History
During the Joseon Dynasty (1392 ~ 1897), Yeongdeungpo comprised a few riverside settlements in today’s Siheung City (시흥시; map). Like other villages by the Han, their ports welcomed trade ships, stored goods, and docked ferries for crossing wide Han River.
Naval ships also docked on Yeongdeungpo’s banks. They defended Hanseong (한성), the ancient Joseon capital (now the Jongno and Jung Districts) on the opposite side of the river.
In Mangwon Hangang Park, find a monument to the ancient Joseon-era ports on the Han River in Seoul.
Several of Seoul’s riverside neighborhoods and parks get their names from ancient Han River ports (나루; /narū/). During the Joseon Dynasty (1392 ~ 1897), they ferried passengers across the waterway and hosted profitable markets.
Why ferries? The Han River is wide, measuring one kilometer in some sections, making bridges impossible before the 1900s.
Here’s a list of major ancient ports that once sat on the banks of the Han River in Seoul.
Completed in 2021, the bridge’s north end lands in front of Seoul World Cup Stadium, built for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. But construction on the bridge began in 2010. Because of budget cuts and political fumbles, the bridge took 11 years to open, setting a record as Korea’s longest-ever bridge construction period.
Now glance left from your shaded perch. Find two tree-covered hills rising on the Han’s north bank. They are Haneul Park (하늘공원; map; “Sky Park”) and Noeul Park (노을공원; map; “Sunset Park”).
Notice something? They seem oddly flat, with hard angles.
Haneul and Noeul were once giant landfills. In order to clean up the riverside for the World Cup, workers dumped tons of soil on top of these refuse piles and created two pyramid-shaped hills. Then they stuck a garbage incinerator between them, which turns leaking methane into electricity from Seoulites.
Today, Haneul and Noeul host walking paths, gardens, a nine-hole golf-course, and more.
Tuck away your water bottle and jump back on your bike. Continue east along the Han River down a cycling path squeezed between the waterway and Olympic Boulevard.
Pass under Seongsan Bridge and spill into the heart of Yanghwa Hangang Park.
The park expands from a sliver of pathway to a vast riverside swath with tree-covered knolls and rec fields, including an outdoor stadium for Ssireum (씨름; map), a 1,600-year-old form of Korean wrestling.
Near the middle of Yanghwa Park, the 469-meter Seonyu Bridge (선유교; map) shoots over Olympic Boulevard, Yanghwa Park, then crosses a bit of the Han River before landing on Seonyu Island (road view).
Designed by French architect Rudy Ricciotti, this pedestrian-only Seonyu Bridge opened in 2002. It commemorates the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and South Korea.
At night, embedded LEDs splash rainbow hues on the bridge. And during dawn at New Year’s, locals gather on the bridge to catch the year’s first sun rising between Yeouido’s skyscrapers.
Make your way up to Seonyu Bridge’s deck. From its height, gaze upon the Yanghwa Park’s weaving paths. In fall, reeds grow tall. In spring, flowers bring color. And in summer, heavy green trees hang low over picnicking park-goers.
Now, glance down the bridge. At the end of its leaping arch lies Seonyu Island, a Hangang Bike Path highlight.
Seonyu Island (선유도; map; Seonyu-do; aerial view) sits on the south banks of the Han River in Yanghwa Park. Though it’s a small island, it holds a bit of history:
The petite Seonyu Peak (선유봉) once sat upon the island. During their occupation of Korea (1910~1945), Japan exploded the peak and used its rocky remains to pave new roads and dam up the Han.
From 1978 to 2000, a water purification plant occupied Seonyu Island. It supplied purified drinking water for Seoulites.
Today, park goers can stroll across Seonyu Bridge (선유교; map) and visit Seonyu Island Park (선유도공원; map). Free to all, open from 6 AM to midnight, designers created the park by transforming the island’s old water purification plant into a 11,400-square-meter ecological paradise.
Spy two elongated rectangles with a row of porthole windows bolted to the bridge’s side (map; map). Now closed, they were a pair of Han River bridge observatories.
Cross under Yanghwa Bridge. Roll passed shops and shady spots along the bike path. The National Assembly’s green dome up ahead enlarges as Yanghwa Park narrows between the river and Olympic Boulevard.
Near the end of Yanghwa Park lies a fork in the bike path (road view).
The right path rides a bridge over the Saet Stream and into Yeouido Hangang Park on the top of Yeouido Island.
At the east end of Yanghwa Hangang Park, turn left to visit the Saet Stream. Turn right to go to Yeouido Hangang Park.
Both cycling paths converge at the east end of Yeouido Island. But, if you’re hunting certification stamps, take the right path. It passes the Yeouido Certification Center, which sits opposite the National Assembly building.
The Saet Stream’s (샛강; map) name translates to “river that creates an island.” Why?
On a map, Yeouido Island doesn’t look much like an island. It looks like a bump on the Han River’s south bank. But zoom in a bit and you’ll find the meters-wide Saet Stream carving its way down the backside of Yeouido Island, separating it from the mainland.
The Saet Stream is more than an island maker. The tributary hosts the Saet Stream Ecological Park (샛강생태공원; map). The park’s parade of trees, water-filtering vegetation, and verdant paths add much needed green to Yeouido’s bustling gaggle of skyscrapers.
The Saet Stream’s cycling path branches off from the Hangang Bicycle Path and crawls along the quieter and quicker bottom border of Yeouido island for 4.2 kilometers. It rejoins the Hangang Bike Path just beyond Yeouido Island (directions).
