Day 6: Moonlight Rainbow Fountain and Seoul International Fireworks Festival
One of the things I was most excited about seeing in Seoul was the Seoul International Fireworks Festival. Before my trip, I did a search to see what events would be going on and I really wanted to see Kim C and Hot Potato in concert but they were finishing their tour a month before I would get there. Then I came across information for the previous years Fireworks Festival in 2009. I couldn’t find any information for 2010 so I posted the question on Seoul’s Facebook page and they replied that it was happening on October 9th, 2010 which was going to be my first Saturday in Seoul. Needless to say I was happy!
The fireworks were happening at Yeouido and in talking with aunt during the week, she didn’t think it would be a good idea to go since it was going to be so crowded and chaotic. I took her suggestion but still had every intention of watching the fireworks. In consideration of her position, I decided to watch the fireworks from a distance. I wanted to see the Moonlight Rainbow Fountain at night which is located down stream from Yeouido along the Hangang River so I saw it as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. For those who don’t know, the Moonlight Rainbow Fountain is located on the Banpo Bridge and is a series of water nozzles that shoots streams of water out from all along the length of the bridge. It looks better at night because they light the streams with the various colours of the rainbow, hence the name. I had seen it in action through pictures and videos on the internet and in Korean dramas. I made those decision while sitting at Ewha so I hopped on the subway at Ewha University Station and headed to the Express Bus Terminal Station on Line 3.
The Express Bus Terminal Station is one massive place! If there was ever a time I did feel lost in Seoul, it was here. I wasn’t sure whether there were places to eat at Banpo Bridge so when I saw that there was a Shinsegae Department Store at the station, I took the opportunity to look for some dinner. I went to the basement floor and shopped around the different booths and settled on a very Western like chicken wrap and a DemiSoda. DemiSoda was my pop beverage of choice when I was looking for something other than water to quench my thirst. Lemon flavour was my favourite but shortly after I arrived, I never found the Lemon flavoured ones again and had to resort to Apple. I got take out with the intention of eating my dinner by the Hangang River.
At times like these, I was glad to have my cellphone GPS with me because after exiting Shinsegae, I had no clue what my bearings were. I followed my GPS away from Shinsegage to Banpo Bridge and it turned out to be a decent walk to get to there. As you approach the bridge on foot, you have to cross over into the center island which then has a tunnel that descends down to the lower park area. There’s an upper and lower part to the bridge and I later found that it was hard to catch a taxi around the park because traffic was constantly on the go. Here is a map of the route I took:
View Moonlight Rainbow Fountain in a larger map
The Banpo Hangang Park is a nice waterfront park that extends all along the Hangang for kilometers in both direction from Banpo Bridge. I saw a steady stream of cyclists along the bike paths that ran along the Hangang and many of them stopped here to meet or take a break. There were also freestyle cyclists practicing their tricks in the open areas. There are steps leading closer down to the water area that people use to sit and relax and this is where I sat and had my dinner. There was a sparse crowd along the steps and also some aggressive pigeons looking for food so watch out.^^
I got to the park around 4:30PM so I had several hours to wait for nightfall. There is just something about sitting in front of water that is so relaxing to me. I basically sat on those steps for 3 hours and never felt bored. I read somewhere that the reason why the sound of water and waves is soothing is because it resembles the sounds we heard in the womb as a baby and that on some subconscious level we remember those sounds. I don’t know if this is actually true or not but I like the story and wish for it to be true. I had written down on my itinerary that the Moonlight Rainbow Fountain was scheduled to run at 5PM and 8PM but when 5PM came, nothing happened. I mainly sat just East of the Bridge but got up to check out the West side where the sun was setting which made the whole skyline shimmer in gold. Further East, there were grassy fields for people to have picnics, a playground that had a cushiony surface for kids and a convenience store which I was glad to find because I got thirsty and hungry again later. Here is a collection of clips I took while waiting for night to fall at Banpo Hangang Park.
At 6PM, there was an announcement over the PA system and then they started playing music which coincided with the start of the Moonlight Rainbow Fountain. Hooray!
Only the streams on the East side of the fountain ran and it ran for the length of about 4 songs of which I only recognized “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” by BJ Thomas.
The sky was actually darker than the pictures show because within the hour it was completely night and the lights all along the bridge came on and cycled between the various colours of the rainbow.
At 7PM, the fountain came on again but this time with colourful lights illuminating the streams of water. It was beautiful and so nice to finally see it in person and at night. At times, all the spouts would be in sync and at other times they would move independent of each other creating a wave like effect.
Like the run at 6PM, the fountain stayed on for about 4 songs as well. I recognized the song “Kiss Me” but it didn’t seem like the original by Six Pence None the Richer. When I got back to Toronto, I searched the internet and listened to cover after cover until I found the version I heard which was sung by Olivia Ong. They also played “Love of My Love” by Queen. Here are some clips of the fountain at night that I took.
After the fountain was done, I headed over to the West side of the park so that I could get a better sight of Yeouido upstream where the fireworks were going to be taking place. By that time, a lot of people had arrived and gathered to watch the fireworks. There were a lot of families, couples and those who came on bike (or who were passing by on bike and stopped) to watch the show. Despite not being right at Yeouido, the view of the fireworks once they commenced at 7:30PM was actually better than I had thought. Although towards the end of the show, the smoke from the fireworks started blowing in our direction which ended up obscuring some of the view.
Ever since I was little I always pictured myself watching fireworks in a picturesque fantasy sort of way. I don’t know exactly when it started or where it came from or if it was inspired after watching fireworks as I don’t really have any clear recollection of watching fireworks when I was young. I think I watched fireworks when I was little at Ontario Place in downtown Toronto but I can’t say for sure. So while I enjoyed the fireworks show like I thought I would, I couldn’t help but feel like there was just a little something missing. Perhaps I will be able to fulfill that imagination of mine one day and in Korea too.^^ I later found out that the fireworks were put on by China and then Canada. Here are some clips of the fireworks I took. The fireworks sounded horrible (like wind effect) so I ended up cutting the video to music by Jo Sumi ("이젠잊기로해요").
If you were to ask me what my best memory of Seoul was or what I enjoyed doing the most, it was simply being by the quiet waters, thinking about everything and nothing.
The fireworks were happening at Yeouido and in talking with aunt during the week, she didn’t think it would be a good idea to go since it was going to be so crowded and chaotic. I took her suggestion but still had every intention of watching the fireworks. In consideration of her position, I decided to watch the fireworks from a distance. I wanted to see the Moonlight Rainbow Fountain at night which is located down stream from Yeouido along the Hangang River so I saw it as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. For those who don’t know, the Moonlight Rainbow Fountain is located on the Banpo Bridge and is a series of water nozzles that shoots streams of water out from all along the length of the bridge. It looks better at night because they light the streams with the various colours of the rainbow, hence the name. I had seen it in action through pictures and videos on the internet and in Korean dramas. I made those decision while sitting at Ewha so I hopped on the subway at Ewha University Station and headed to the Express Bus Terminal Station on Line 3.
The Express Bus Terminal Station is one massive place! If there was ever a time I did feel lost in Seoul, it was here. I wasn’t sure whether there were places to eat at Banpo Bridge so when I saw that there was a Shinsegae Department Store at the station, I took the opportunity to look for some dinner. I went to the basement floor and shopped around the different booths and settled on a very Western like chicken wrap and a DemiSoda. DemiSoda was my pop beverage of choice when I was looking for something other than water to quench my thirst. Lemon flavour was my favourite but shortly after I arrived, I never found the Lemon flavoured ones again and had to resort to Apple. I got take out with the intention of eating my dinner by the Hangang River.
At times like these, I was glad to have my cellphone GPS with me because after exiting Shinsegae, I had no clue what my bearings were. I followed my GPS away from Shinsegage to Banpo Bridge and it turned out to be a decent walk to get to there. As you approach the bridge on foot, you have to cross over into the center island which then has a tunnel that descends down to the lower park area. There’s an upper and lower part to the bridge and I later found that it was hard to catch a taxi around the park because traffic was constantly on the go. Here is a map of the route I took:
View Moonlight Rainbow Fountain in a larger map
The Banpo Hangang Park is a nice waterfront park that extends all along the Hangang for kilometers in both direction from Banpo Bridge. I saw a steady stream of cyclists along the bike paths that ran along the Hangang and many of them stopped here to meet or take a break. There were also freestyle cyclists practicing their tricks in the open areas. There are steps leading closer down to the water area that people use to sit and relax and this is where I sat and had my dinner. There was a sparse crowd along the steps and also some aggressive pigeons looking for food so watch out.^^
I got to the park around 4:30PM so I had several hours to wait for nightfall. There is just something about sitting in front of water that is so relaxing to me. I basically sat on those steps for 3 hours and never felt bored. I read somewhere that the reason why the sound of water and waves is soothing is because it resembles the sounds we heard in the womb as a baby and that on some subconscious level we remember those sounds. I don’t know if this is actually true or not but I like the story and wish for it to be true. I had written down on my itinerary that the Moonlight Rainbow Fountain was scheduled to run at 5PM and 8PM but when 5PM came, nothing happened. I mainly sat just East of the Bridge but got up to check out the West side where the sun was setting which made the whole skyline shimmer in gold. Further East, there were grassy fields for people to have picnics, a playground that had a cushiony surface for kids and a convenience store which I was glad to find because I got thirsty and hungry again later. Here is a collection of clips I took while waiting for night to fall at Banpo Hangang Park.
At 6PM, there was an announcement over the PA system and then they started playing music which coincided with the start of the Moonlight Rainbow Fountain. Hooray!
The sky was actually darker than the pictures show because within the hour it was completely night and the lights all along the bridge came on and cycled between the various colours of the rainbow.
After the fountain was done, I headed over to the West side of the park so that I could get a better sight of Yeouido upstream where the fireworks were going to be taking place. By that time, a lot of people had arrived and gathered to watch the fireworks. There were a lot of families, couples and those who came on bike (or who were passing by on bike and stopped) to watch the show. Despite not being right at Yeouido, the view of the fireworks once they commenced at 7:30PM was actually better than I had thought. Although towards the end of the show, the smoke from the fireworks started blowing in our direction which ended up obscuring some of the view.
Ever since I was little I always pictured myself watching fireworks in a picturesque fantasy sort of way. I don’t know exactly when it started or where it came from or if it was inspired after watching fireworks as I don’t really have any clear recollection of watching fireworks when I was young. I think I watched fireworks when I was little at Ontario Place in downtown Toronto but I can’t say for sure. So while I enjoyed the fireworks show like I thought I would, I couldn’t help but feel like there was just a little something missing. Perhaps I will be able to fulfill that imagination of mine one day and in Korea too.^^ I later found out that the fireworks were put on by China and then Canada. Here are some clips of the fireworks I took. The fireworks sounded horrible (like wind effect) so I ended up cutting the video to music by Jo Sumi ("이젠잊기로해요").
If you were to ask me what my best memory of Seoul was or what I enjoyed doing the most, it was simply being by the quiet waters, thinking about everything and nothing.
Comments
Post a Comment