Over the last couple weeks I've gone to a few public urban events and I've put my exploring skills to good use.
1. There is talk of turning this 450-meter-long overpass, located right next to Seoul Station (pictured), into the Korean version of New York's Highline Park. On this day, the overpass was closed to vehicular traffic and turned into a pedestrian fair.
2. In a closer view, you can see the people on the bridge. The green-domed structure is the former train station, now reopened as a cultural space. To the left are bus lanes.
3. Here's something else worth pointing out. You can see what looks like a dirt hill right in the middle. Last December it was an abandoned neighbourhood I frequented. The buildings were destroyed and the earth under them was scooped out, leaving a very precarious-looking cliff with a school on top. This has presented some major safety concerns more recently.
4. I can also see Namsan Tower, a prominent landmark from almost all of Seoul. The smaller tower downhill from it is an old building with a revolving restaurant. Last time I visited it was under renovation; I should put it in the LDB.
5. Weirdest name for a restaurant since...well, okay, there are a lot of weird restaurant names here.
6. Another view of the overpass.
7. I was not alone up here. There were two news camera crews that also hit this roof.
8. In an attempt to preserve the older marketplaces, the new big-box supermarkets are required by law to close two Sundays a month.
9. A closer look at the back of Seoul Culture Station 284.
10. And for some reason, there's Robot Taekwon V relaxing down there.
11. The inside of Culture Station 284 looked like a wreck. This was actually an art installation created out of leftover materials from the previous station structure.
12. I've gone over this bridge many times in taxis and by scooter, and I've always wanted to stop and compose pictures. This was a rare chance.
13. Over there is Sungnyemun, the former southern gate of the capital city of Seoul. It was burned down by an arsonist back in 2008 who was protesting eviction from his home and only recently reconstructed.
14. Pedal a bike, make a cappuccino.
15. One of the events of the street festival involved rolling this giant balloon from one end to the other.
16. An old, old map of the overpass.
17. Traffic still trudged on beneath our feet.
18. After we walked across, we went back to the roof to drink and watch the sun set, as well as the overpass reopen to traffic.
19. It was probably the second-best sunset I've seen this year.
20. And now it's gone.
21. It is officially now too late to wear sunglasses today.
22. You can see the glow of vehicular traffic back on the overpass again.
