SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
For more than a decade the Korean capital has been striving to become a greener, more attractive and user-friendly metropolis. Following on from successful projects such as Cheonggyecheon, where an ageing elevated highway was torn down and replaced with a central park and waterway, the city will later this year unveil the Seoul Skygarden. This time, the old highway in question – a half-mile long, 55ft high overpass next to transport hub Seoul Station – will become the platform on which trees, shrubs and flowers will be planted in order to create an arboretum of local species.
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Seoul Skygarden’s design also includes tea cafés, florists, street markets, a library and greenhouses. Sure to be one of the most photogenic spots in an already Instagram-friendly city, the park will have free wi-fi, as will all public spaces in the city (including buses and subways) under mayor Park Won-soon’s Seoul Digital Plan. So snap away merrily and post instantly to your chosen social network.
In the background you may also see Seoul’s guardian mountains: Bugaksan, Naksan, Namsan and Inwangsan. Connecting the four peaks is Seoul City Wall, an 11-mile rampart built in 1396.
Over time parts of the wall were demolished but recently the city has been restoring missing sections: around 70 per cent (eight miles) is in place and it is relatively easy to follow a hiking route beside and, in several cases, atop the wall.
Seoul’s hope is that the wall will be designated a World Heritage Site in 2017.
UNMISSABLE EXPERIENCES
Wander around Bukchon Hanok Village, a quarter of traditional one-storey wooden buildings squished between two of the city’s historic palaces and rising up the slopes of Bugaksan. Some have been renovated into cafés, galleries and guesthouses. Join a tour at Changdeokgung Palace for access to the Huwon, a secret garden that’s a royal horticultural idyll. Dining at night on delicious Korean street food at lively Gwangjang Market, the speciality is bindae-tteok (plate-sized crispy pancakes of crushed mung beans and veggies fried on a skillet).
● Extract from Lonely Planet’s Best In Travel 2017 (£9.99)
THE KNOWLEDGE
Intrepid Travel (0808 274 5111/ intrepidtravel.com) offers an eight-day Korea Real Food Adventure, including two nights in Seoul, from £1,480pp. Price includes some meals and foodie experiences such as cookery demonstrations, market visits and a Buddhist monastery stay. British Airways (0344 493 0787/ ba.com) offers return flights from Heathrow to Seoul from £456. South Korea tourism: gokorea.co.uk
