I recently discovered a small valley just a little north of Seoul that used to be a resort area back in the 1980s and 1990s, when it was harder to travel across country. So on an overcast, hungover Sunday afternoon, I went for a drive up there.
The further north I went, the crazier the locations got -- roughly at least, because location 2 is paying off in interesting ways.
1. First location was simply a house on the side of the road.
2. The house had three rooms as seen in the first shot. It's a traditional design but somewhat newer, though not very new. The interior was heavily wasted away, with this opened safe sitting out.
3. A few steps uphill, I found this run-down shack.
4. I suspect that shelf inside is a shamanic altar, and this place could have been used for performing rituals. No proof though.
5. Further up the road, I came across a traditional stone wall, with a massive concrete gate. Behind it I could see some concrete buildings that looked abandoned during construction.
6. It appears to be a solid concrete replica of a traditional wooden gate, unpainted.
7. I went around back and looked into the property, only to find what appears to be an antique train wasting away inside. Currently one of my priorities is to go back to get a better look at it.
8. Site 3 looked promising. An abandoned apartment. Before approaching, I looked around the perimeter, only to find it was military housing on an active base. I got out of there fast. There are a lot of military sites up here, considering it's one of the most direct land routes into Seoul from the North.
9. Across a rice paddy, I saw site 4, an abandoned love motel.
10. A window was smashed, so I had a look inside but decided against attempting it this time. If the window's still smashed when I return, it's open season.
11. Right behind it was another motel, this one completely gutted.
12.
13. And then behind that was another closed building. This one looked like it could have been a motel, but more recently was offices. The sign indicates it hosted a Catholic martyr named Alexius Hwang Sa-yeong.
14. Around back was his still-tended monument. Hwang was one of the earliest Catholics in Korea, and he despaired at their lack of acceptance. He wrote a letter to Catholic priests in China suggesting Western forces should invade to open the country up to Catholicism, and his letter was intercepted. It painted Catholics of Korea in a very bad light, and led to the Catholic Persecution of 1801. Over 300 Catholics were martyred, 24 of which either are saints or became saints recently (I can't quite tell).
15. Here's a view of the back of this place.
16. Grouping the last three neighbouring places together, I classify this as location 5. A quaint wood-built complex surrounded by stone sculptures.
17. I got a vague storybook vibe from the place.
18. I took the large grinning mask as a welcoming sign and went in.
19. There haven't been many interior shots on this trip. Here's one. Happy?
20.
21. Unfortunately, I couldn't get in this Piz Gloria-shaped structure. It looked like it was still furnished.
22. The valley roads winded and went up over steep passes. I crossed into a new area, and found the wall alongside the road bearing this winding sign, which says phonetically "Art Valley."
23. Occasionally a dinosaur would poke its head out.
24. I found an entrance to what was advertised as Art Valley. Absolutely nobody was around, and there were signs deterring entry. Absolutely nobody was around. A gate was lowered at the entrance to prevent cars from getting in. But I was there on a scooter, so I just had to weave around it.
25. I found myself inside essentially a drive-thru sculpture gallery built on the side of a mountain.
26. Hobbiton-like.
27. I kept going, and found more of the park higher up the slope, lured in by more sculptures.
28. There was what appeared to be a waterpark, so I went up a little staircase, where I came face to face with this dog. This has never happened before. I've never encountered a dog of any kind at a site that was not on a leash or locked in a particular area. It didn't bark, so I don't think it was a guard dog. I backed up, got back to my scooter, and raced higher uphill. I looked back and could see the dog was now standing in the position where I'd been. I might characterise its attitude as dazed.
29. The higher up I went, the more expansive the park got. It turned out it was created by Crown Haitai, a confectionery company.
30. All the art was created by employees, such as these giant chickens.
31. You can get a sense of the upper area of the place here.
32. I found signs for a snow festival that happened earlier this year. So it appears this place isn't abandoned, probably just off season. But this does seem like it would normally be a good time of year to visit.
33. At the time I thought this might be a first: an abandoned "wear a mask" sign.
34. I took a picture looking back the way I'd come, and after I took this a car appeared, driving up after me. I bugged out, and found out the road I was on turned into a mountain path, and that my Vespa knockoff scooter (Besbi brand) was not built for offroading. Looking back, it might have just been another car that came in like me, but I'm still pretty sure the tollgate wasn't operating.
35. At that point I started looking back the way I'd come and thinking that the further I went, the longer it would take for me to go home. As I headed back, I found a handful of other abandonments that I'd missed on the way out, but I won't overwhelm you with them.
36. Once I got back to northwestern Seoul, I spotted a terrifying photorealistic representation of the
Seoul police mascot on a construction fence.
37. When I saw this I swore never to break the law again.
38. An appropriate response.
