[Seoul] - Chasing Charming Cherry Blossoms at Yeouido Park

Annyeong ya my dearest Incheon airport~! Long time no see...

Finally arrived after 4 hours transit in Shanghai. So, half of the day
was already over. We quickly bought AREX tickets and took the train to Seoul.

 We stayed at K-Grand Hotel near to Seoul Station as the next day
early in the morning we need to take train to Changwon.

The building was old, but hotel itself  was clean though the room
was a bit small. Nice city view, Seoul Square and Namsan Tower.

It was drizziling when we arrived in Seoul, thought that it would have stopped. However it continued throughout the whole day. Forgot to put umbrella in my luggage, and only left with one disposable raincoat. Since I have a Poncho, let my hubby to use the raincoat because he gets sick easily.

 We saw 7-Eleven Store near the park, but the umbreallas were all sold out!!!

Yeouido Park (여의도공원) is a must-visit place in Seoul. You can witness beautiful cherry flowers in bloom in Spring or walking under the canopy of colourful foliage during Autumn. 

This was my first time seeing cherry blossom (벚꽃 = Beotkkot) in Korea, though I saw Sakura in Osaka and Kyoto but I think they're different species or hybrids. Anyway, they're all lovely~!

It was sad because we litterally just strolled about 10-15 minutes.

Retreated and run to IFC Mall because it started showering heavier and it was freezing cold! Unfortunately, we didn't manage to go to Yunjunro Street to walk under the lovely canopy of 1,886 Korean cherry trees.

Cherry Blossom Festival was started 3 days ago (5 - 13 April) but the rain just poured at the wrong time! As you can see from the video, only few people and only 2 or 3 street vendors seen. Maybe the day before were busier because Bamdokkaebi Night Market happening on Fridays and Saturdays from March to October.

Anyway, it's a sweet memories when walking passing this park because I came here with VIP Tour members in November 2015, and we walked to KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) Building from IFC Mall.

 Keep calm and May The Force Be With You!

 We couldn't find a store selling umbrella at IFC Mall, maybe they used all 

to decorate the mall! Shall we steal these transparent umbrellas with 

beautiful cherry blossom prints and walk back to the park?

 Food Empire Premium Food Court at IFC Mall.

Late lunch because cherry blossoms were more important than anything else!

My hubby likes "Daddy Zone" concept where Daddies and kids

can rest or reading books instead of following Mummies for endless shopping.

 Finally my suffering ended~!

Earlier, we went to Lotte Outlets Seoul station to buy a pair of shoes because this boots and another pair of sport shoes almost killed my feet! Maybe they feet suddenly grew of longer or swollen because water retention during long flight that the shoes were so tight and it was painful to walk.

Actually, I told the staff that I wanted to wear the new shoes, but he told me that it was raining outside and it'll get wet. I said it's ok but he looked so concerned on the shoes. So ended up I still wore the boots out from the store and found this seat and quickly changed it before going to Seokchon Lake. 

Yeouido Park (여의도공원)

Address: 120, Yeouigongwon-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul     

서울특별시 영등포구 여의공원로 120 (여의도동)

Related Posts:

IFC Mall upscale shopping center at Yeouido.

KBS Building

Visit Korea Special VIP Tour [Day 4-1]

Felt like just yesterday we arrived in Incheon airport, but time did fly fast especially when you're having so much fun during our VIP Invitation Tour.

 Simple breakfast at the hotel before leaving Seoul.

 

Still had time posing before leaving leaving the room ;P

Souvenirs and gifts from KTO, other VIP members 

and my Korean friend.

I only bought bottled Taiwan milk tea and snacks, but look at these partial of additional items that I received. Luckily I brought another spare bag, but I still had hard time to squeeze them in although I vacuumed all the jackets the same way when I brought them. I repacked everything and put those bulky but not heavy items like snacks inside the green bag. I think all the members also stayed up late to pack the luggage.

 

 Waiting for the bus to take us to IFC Mall.

Wefie with Shuki as some of the VIP members from Japan 

already left Seoul because of early flight.

 International Finance Centre Seoul(서울국제금융센터)

or known as IFC Seoul (아이 에프 시 서울).

IFC Mall is a upscale shopping center located in the center of Yeouido.

 

    

 IFC opened in Aug 2012 which can be considered as 

Seoul’s newest shopping mall. 

 

 

 IFC also have 3 Office Towers:

32-story One IFC, 29-story Two IFC and 55-story Three IFC.

Somehow quite similar to Suntec City in Singapore because they both have shopping mall and offices towers especially if you considered connected 38-story luxurious five-star Conrad Seoul Hotel as part of IFC.

 

As you can see from the photos, this glass pavilion is at street level.

The 3-storey mall is actually underneath IFC Tower.

 

 We didn't explore this mall because of our luggage were at its limit,

and I was pretty sure that they're selling Winter collection which

is not suitable for us living in hot tropical countries.

Our earlier plan was to take airport limo 6002 nearby the hotel to Incheon airport because our flight were at late afternoon. But, because our bus took a highway route to airport and not going back to town. So Nat, Lucky, and me had another problem as we'd to lug our heavy luggage as the lockers in the mall were too small. 

Thanks to Kim eonni for volunteering to look after our luggage, she'll be leaving with the group. Therefore, we decided to join them to the airport as it's too troublesome and almost impossible to move around with the luggage.

Yeouido 'Manhattan of Seoul'

It got this nickname because it's the hub of commercial, financial and cultural centers. It's also home to the National Assembly (the national parliament of Korea), KBS broadcasting company and Yeouido ecological park (you can see the reflection on the above photo) which giving impression of New York's Central Park.

 

 Not to lose a second, we made our way to KBS

crossing Yeouido Park and National Assembly.

Website: www.ifcmallseoul.com

Add: 10 Gukjegeumyung-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul

Subway: Yeouido Station  (line 5 or 9) exit 3.

 Phone : +82-2-6137-5000 

Business Hours : 10am to 10pm.

Closed every first Monday of the month, 

New Year, Lunar New Year and Chuseok.

This trip is made possible by VisitKorea organised by Korea  Tourism Organization.