Blog 57 - 19th December

Nakseongdae is the area in which we live. It is a middle of the road surburb about 10 kilometres from the centre of the city. Not many expats know this place however when we tell koreans where we live, on campus at Seoul National University, they all say the same thing. 'The air is so good there!' The meaning of fresh air takes on a new meaning living in a city of 13 million ( I thought it was 10 however figures have been recently updated) The number of foreigners has also increased according to the Korean Immigration Service. The total number of foreigners in Korea is record high of nearly 1.4-2 million or 3%.

So here is a profile of Nakseongdae, subway line 2 on the Green line. This is the second oldest and is a circle line cirmventing the city. Our subway is always crowded, however always safe and often faster than driving, bus or taxi as underground is not reliant on the vagaries of traffic conditions.

Nakseongdae means "the place where a star was fallen" in classic Chinese. It is originated from the legend that General Gam's mother bore him after she dreamt that a star had fallen to her breast.

Gwanak San (mountain) is spectacular every morning and overlooks the campus. This was taken on my walk this morning, walking up the hill from the shops.

Esther and Damien even found some books in English at our local second hand bookstore!

Our local park has temples and gorgeous trees, plus exercise equipment and lots of seats for old people to sit and chat.

The streetscape to our supermarket.

Our subway exit 4 and signs to Nakseongdae Park.

The traffic at 7.15 this morning was already getting busy. It remains a mystery here that Monday morning and Saturday afternoon are the peak traffic times.