Fall is coming - Colored Parks in Seoul

Autumn is finally in full swing here in Seoul! After the summer heat and rain have finally left the country, the temperatures moderate and nature slowly prepares for the transition to winter. What is it like to be in Seoul at the most popular time of the year? I'll take you to the colorful parks of Seoul and show you the beautiful autumn.

At first you would't think of it when thinking of Asia, but yes, in South Korea, just like in Germany, there are all four seasons, even if they are slightly different. In spring the cherry blossoms bloom in Korea, in summer it gets incredibly hot and muggy because the humidity here is a lot higher than in Germany - not to mention the heavy rain. Autumn lasts about two weeks before turning into the freezing cold and gray winter which can drop below zero and yes, even snow! Korea offers quite a lot, but the two most popular and by far the most beautiful seasons are spring and autumn. I was really happy because of course I knew that I would be in South Korea at exactly the right time and that I would be able to experience autumn.

I've been told that autumn in Korea is supposed to be much shorter. Usually after two weeks the temperatures drop drastically and immediately usher in the winter and after that it's just supposed to be gray and gross. But now that I'm here, I even find that autumn lasts quite a long time. In mid-October the trees slowly began to change colour, since the end of October the leaves have finally been falling and even in mid-November most of the trees are still colorful and are far from finished with their play of colours. As far as temperatures go, Seoul has long since left summer behind, but winter isn't quite there yet. So far, autumn has been pleasantly warm with 20 degrees Celsius. But since the beginning of November, the temperatures have only risen to a maximum of 16 degrees and as soon as the sun disappears they immediately drop to 10 degrees. At night it gets surprisingly cold with 0-4 degrees. But at least the sun still shines during the day! So the weather has remained really good so far, but you can't go out without a jacket for a long time, because extremely cold wind accompanies this time of the year, which gives you goosebumps and makes it almost impossible to go out without a scarf.

To really get into the autumn mood, I went to the Olympic Park with my camera for the first time – that was towards the end of October. It was there that I saw autumn for the very first time. Little did I know that it was already in full swing, because you don't always notice it in the middle of Seoul. The city isn't the greenest in the world, so I recommend everyone to be really active in visiting parks to get the best of this time of the year and not miss out. Long before I came to Korea, I saw pictures of the beautiful flower field of Olympic Park (올림픽공원 들꽃마루) and saved it to visit, along with several other parks, for the best season. I don't regret this decision at all, because the flowers were bright orange in bloom, suitable for autumn and you could finally enjoy being on the go and taking pictures with the falling temperatures. The Olympic Park is huge, so I left early before it swarmed with tourists.

After visiting the flower field, which stretches a long way beyond a field and at the end you can relax on a small rise on a park bench under a roof, I just walked where I felt like and stumbled across a blooming rose field (올림픽공원장미광장) right nearby. Today was just my lucky day, because I not only admired and photographed many beautiful flowers, but later, before the autumn views really started, also beautiful trees and paths. As I continued walking into the heart of the park, all sorts of colors suddenly shone out at me from the trees along with a fantastic view of the Lotte World Tower. If you don't know the Lotte World Tower yet, you should definitely take a look at my post about it: Lotte World Tower in Seoul

More colors shine in Seoul than you know from Germany. A mix of green, yellow, bright red and pink (for flowers) await you in all nuances. The sun shone perfectly that day, making the colors even brighter and putting a smile on your face. And my heart was definitely fluttering, because it's been a long time since I've had as much fun taking photos as I did that day. I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Autumn is characterized by trees with colorful foliage, but Seoul has so much more that also blooms at this time of year, including pampas grass and pink muhly grass which can be seen at the popular Haneul Park near World Cup stadium. So my boyfriend and I took a little morning trip there one fine morning, by that time November had already set in, and hiked up the mountain to the park. Not only does the hiking trail offer a perfect view over Seoul, but once you arrive at the top, a huge park surrounded by pampas grass and many small works of art and photo spots await you.

Paths have been made everywhere through the grass, if you walk around the outside you can admire trees and the city from above. A little further outside, flower fields and the beautiful Muhly-Grass are waiting for you. We watched elderly people hiking and taking group photos, kindergarteners playing tag through the grass, photographers like me, and stray cats enjoying the rays of the sun. How I love the sunny autumn here! But be careful – up here in Haneul Park, your face gets burned off again, even in autumn the sun is so intense in South Korea. It was nice to see a different side of autumn.

On the same day we visited Namsan Park again. I had already visited this in October, but autumn was hardly to be found then. In the meantime, however, this had changed drastically. What was once a forest full of green, juicy leaves has now become a forest of colorful falling leaves - I can't even put into words how much I love it! Not only the autumnal view from above, where you can really see the colorful variety in all of Seoul, but also the huge trees right in front of your nose in combination with the warm sun, which makes the autumn mood so perfect. It's not just autumn that models for my camera but also my boyfriend whom I absolutely had to photograph surrounded by all of this. Hard to believe I once loved summer so much more than any other season. But with age, experience and growing love for photography, I see that fall just has so much more to offer. If you want to get great views from above and into the heart of autumn, you should definitely visit this park.