Seoul Sports Travel Tips by jburron

Theme: Other

Inline skating (as it's called here, easier to pronounce than rollerblading) is a big fad here. One of the best places for it is Hangang Park (on the Han River). Both sides of the river are lined with cycling, inline and walking/running paths (sometimes all in one!) and it can get pretty busy (including the delivery motorcycles that putter up and down the river) but it's a blast.

My route is from Yeouido Park (taking a tunnel under the street--careful it slopes down to Hangang) to Hangang Park then either all the way down to Olympic Bridge (Olympic Daegyo) which is like 20km/2 hours away and back or to World Cup Stadium which is on the North side of the River, so you need to go up/down about 50 stairs and cross a bridge. (World Cup route is about 40 mins each way for me...at a good speed.)

Just bring money, there are numerous stores selling food, candy and drinks along the way.

Equipment: You can rent blades (as well as bikes) at Yeouido Park. Cost is just 3,000 won (USD 2.5) an hour. Buying equipment in Seoul is about the same as at home (USD 100-300 depending on your preference) and there are many places to get them (Lotte Mart, LG Mart, dedicated sports stores).

Leave a Comment

Address: Hangang Park/Yeouido Park
Directions: Yeouido Station (Line 5) head West (toward the National Assembly) to get to Yeouido Park (follow the teenagers). The tunnel to Hangang Park is in the North-West corner (near the police station).

DON'T DRIVE there on weekends, parking is brutal.

Theme: Extreme Sports

There are a few skate parks in Seoul. One is at Yongsan Garrison, but you need to be US military (or a guest) to go there. Another is in Hangang Park near Yeouido Park (but it is closed in the summer, I think, as the area is usually a massive swimming/wading pool in the hot months) and another is in Hangang Park near World Cup Stadium (but it is full of little kids and pretty elementary).

The best I've seen is at Olympic Park. It's pretty new and has all the bells and whistles. (Also, since it's new and out of the way it's pretty empty!)

It's located near the tennis courts close to the South entrance to the park (across the street from the Olympic Plaza shopping area).

It has bowls, ramps and railings of various degrees and altitudes.


Leave a Comment

Address: Olympic Park Station (Line 5), Olympic Park exit.
Directions: Located near the tennis courts close to the South entrance to the park. Or Line 8 (Mongchon Toseong Station), but you'll need to walk a long way.

Theme: Biking

If you're in Yeouido Park or Olympic Park and want to ride a bike you're in luck. The picutre to the left is just half of the stock of one of the five bike rental places in Yeouido Park (and more in Olympic and other ones, too).

Rates are reasonable (same as the rollerblades, actually) at 3,000 won (USD 2.50) an hour...6,000 won an hour for tandem bikes (those ones are popular too). Just give them a piece of ID and pay for the first hour, if you go longer just make up the 'overtime', as they call it, when you return (there is no extra charge for being late, you still pay the base rate only).

You can even go as far as you like...perhaps the 22 km from Yeouido Park to Olympic Bridge...just as long as you're back by about 8-9pm when they want to close up.


Leave a Comment

Directions: Rental places are close to the gates of the parks. They call a bike a "ja-jeon-geo" here.