[One Day Walk] From Grand Park and Lake to Hangang... Achasan Station

Editor's NoteThe subway is not only a transportation method that anyone can easily access and travel safely with, but also an important point for daily walking. We introduce walkable places around subway stations.

Today's course to introduce is Achasan Station on Seoul Subway Line 5. The station name is derived from Achasan, a nearby mountain. It is a mountain in the eastern part of Seoul that is good for light hiking, and it has various historical and cultural resources such as the Achasan Fortress built by Goguryeo, Achasanseong built by Baekje, and the restored beacon mound from the Joseon Dynasty.

On the 4th, a day before the Children's Day holiday, citizens visiting Children's Grand Park in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, are enjoying their time. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

However, today we recommend a walking course in the opposite direction, not Achasan. Achasan Station was originally planned as 'Children's Grand Park Station,' and even now it uses 'Children's Grand Park Rear Gate' as a substation name because it is close to Children's Grand Park. If you exit from Exit 4 of Achasan Station and walk about 200 meters, you will reach the rear gate of Children's Grand Park. Admission is free.

Passing through the rear gate and entering the park, if you walk a little further, you will find the zoo called Animal Land. It is a space where about 600 animals of over 70 species live together, ranging from the 'Little Animal Village' with small and cute animals like meerkats and fennec foxes to the 'Beast Village' where lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars live. In the Botanical Garden, there are facilities such as a greenhouse exhibiting 285 species of plants and an indoor garden.

Exiting Children's Grand Park to the south, you will find Konkuk University. It was established in 1946 as the Joseon Political Science Hall and settled in Gwangjin-gu after the Korean War. The most famous feature of Konkuk University is Ilgam Lake, an artificial lake. Located in the middle of the campus, it creates a scenery like a lakeside park and serves as a resting place for students as well as local residents. Its area is as large as 55,661 square meters, so much so that there is a joke that some universities with small campuses might drown in Ilgam Lake.

Leaving Konkuk University and walking south again, you will reach Ttukseom Hangang Park. It was once a ferry dock and became a recreational area during the Japanese colonial period. Although it was transformed into a Hangang Park in the 1990s, the name of the Line 7 station at its gateway is still 'Ttukseom Yuwonji Station,' showing that the recreational area name is still symbolically used. Now that the temperature is rising and summer is approaching, the Hangang swimming pools, including Ttukseom, will reopen by the end of next month. How about washing away the heat in cool water at the end?

Last July, citizens were cooling off by playing in the water at the outdoor swimming pool in Ttukseom Hangang Park, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

Main stops: Achasan Station - Children's Grand Park - Konkuk University Ilgam Lake - Ttukseom Yuwonji

Course distance: 4.5 km, Estimated time: 1 hour 10 minutes