The Han River & Yeouido (한강 & 여의도)

If you watch Korean TV shows or dramas, I'm sure you have heard of and seen the Han River before. The Han River flows through Seoul and is a popular spot to hang out with friends or go on dates. People enjoy riding bikes along the rivers, grabbing food and hanging out with friends, watching performers, or just walking along the river. It's really pretty during the day and night, and during the summer it's refreshing to splash around in the little parks they have too!

I mainly went to the area of the Han River in Yeouido (off of Yeouinaru Station). When we would go during the day, we'd mostly just walk along the river and explore the area (some rode bikes which is popular to do!). When we would go at night, we'd usually grab food first then find a place to sit and just hang out.

The first time I went to the Han River was during my first week in Korea and I went with other NSLI-Y students. We were in Hongdae, where we picked up Korean fried chicken from our usual spot, then took the subway to Yeouinaru Station. Our plan was to be at the river to see the sunset.

The sky was gorgeous at the river- I suggest going to the river around sunset at least once! Besides just hanging out and eating, there isn't much to do, but it was a fun time filled with lots of laughter (literally rolling on the ground laughing). There are also performers by the river (especially at night) that are nice to watch.. some are really talented! When we were at the river there were ahjussis and ahjummas dancing and trying to get us to join, and we also talked some to these Korean people our age sitting next to us. (Picture credits to those guys haha)

Once it turned dark, we took more pictures and people were lighting sparklers and shooting little fireworks. It's just a fun atmosphere cause everyone is just hanging out. It's also a popular date spot. 

Also at certain areas of the river, there are really pretty bridges like Banpo Bridge (the bridge fountain with pretty lights)

Aside from going to the Han River with my NSLI-Y friends, I went to the area because one of my good friends lives there. I hadn't really explored the residential area of Yeouido, but I got to spend time with my friend who lives in a nice apartment right by the Han River. The residential areas (apartments everywhere) were nice in their own sense, with parks and workout equipment and nice walking paths all around. We walked and met some of his friends playing basketball, went to a convenience store for snacks, and even stumbled upon the filming of some drama.

This area is a gorgeous area to visit, both at night and during the day. I highly recommend checking out the Han River and Yeouido. 



(This is a post that has been in my drafts for ~5 years so I figured I would clear that out and publish some of the posts I had written many years ago)