JB Life! Volume 2 (Spring 2016)

your time to enjoy that atmosphere of dim sunlight coming
from behind the pavilion, drawing a great contrast between
its definitions and the sky, all of that to the soothing sound
of silence (this part, if you are really lucky!). When the night
finally comes, lights installed in the floor will light up the
pavilion in an effort to make you stay, which I might say:
actually works.
If you have time after that view, go outside the park itself
and spend some time around the river just by it. The Seungwol
Bridge (just outside the park) is beautiful, and it works
as a unique frame to the river itself, as well as the huge Chunhyang
doll present in a boat along the same river. It’s also
possible to hire a paddle swan boat there, if you want more
action, or even a more romantic time with a special someone.
Adding to the charm is a tiny “poetry park” just along the
river where bits of prose are hung as cloth on stakes by the
water’s edge.
Walking, having a picnic, just observing people going
around or admiring the recently arrived Spring, Gwanghalluwon
is a great escape to a nice little atmospheric place inside
all of us that yearns for what is simple, but still special. You
have to believe me when I say the best the park has to offer
can’t be put into words, but into feelings, and those, well,
you have to experience for yourself.
Gwanghalluwon Garden is open year-round from 8 a.m.
to 8 p.m. Regular admission is just 2,500 won, but is free
in the final hour of the night, which is, honestly, one of the
most magical times to visit.
LEFT: One of many scenes of multiple pavilions
and ponds at Gwanghalluwon.
TOP: Likenesses of Chunhyang and her fabled
lover at Gwanghalluwon.
ABOVE: Scene from the “Love Bridge.”
[Photos by Anjee DiSanto]
Jeonbuk Life 17