Seonyudo Park

Seonyudo was a hill in the Han until the 1970s, when it was quarried down for embankment stone and a water filtration plant was built on what was left. The plant closed in 2000 and rather than clearing the site the city kept the structures and planted them: the settling basins became water-plant gardens, the filtration beds became a garden of aquatic species arranged by habitat, the concrete columns of the demolished purification building were left standing as a bare colonnade with vines growing up them, and the old pump rooms hold a small exhibition on water. The result is one of the more thoughtful pieces of park design in the country and a regular reference in landscape architecture. A curving pedestrian bridge, Seonyugyo, crosses from the Yanghwa side, and the river walk and views back to the city are part of it. It is small - a couple of hours - and quiet on weekdays.

What you actually see

• The tank gardens - plants growing in the old settling basins.
• The bare colonnade - concrete columns left with vines on them.
• The water exhibition - the old pump rooms and their displays.
• Seonyugyo bridge - the curved footbridge from Yanghwa.

When to go

April to June and September to November; the water gardens are at their best in early summer. Evenings for the bridge and city lights.

Honest expectations

It is small and can be walked in an hour. Concrete surfaces are hard and there is limited shade. Some tank areas close in winter when the water plants die back.

Nearby

Yanghwa Hangang Park and the Mangwon riverside are across the bridge; Hongdae is a short ride.