'88 Olympic Park, Seoul

Created for the 88 Olympics, this park is massive. There are wide spaces; the Olympic cycling bowl, swimming pool, tennis courts (all covered) and other stadiums as well as outdoor tennis and miles of jogging tracks. Korea University of Physical Education is close (as well as the speedskating stadium) so you'l see many athletes as well as dog-walkers, famlies and such in the park. It also has two little lakes with ducks and large fields (which, oddly, you're not allowed to walk on).

Hidden on top of one of the hills is an outdoor free-weight area and near the grand entrance there is a great rollerblading area as well.

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Olympic Park is so huge be prepare to have a long walk. Better get off at Mongchontoseong Station near the park front entrance & not on Olympic Park Station at the back of the park. You can hire a 6-seater bicycle to tour the park for W15000. Perfect for group visitors. Great place for strolling & picture taking. You can also take the train roaming around the park for a fee. Check the train schedules at the counter near the front.

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Olympic park is large, and usually crowded.

It has different arenas for sports and concerts, as well as having a velodrome, art gallery, and both tennis and basketball courts. Rollerblading fruit booters have pretty much taken over the main arch/flame area, doing laps of the main marble courtyard. Be careful you don't get run over.

There's a nice central pond/fountain area, with walking paths around the whole park. You can usually see turtles in the water.

Don't sit on the grass, you will be yelled and whistled at by the old guards, who's job it is to follow anyone who appears they will sit on the grass...

The Koreans are very proud of the fact they hosted the World Cup football and the Olympics. The Olympic Park and stadium are therefore considered a must-see.

The Park itself is pretty good, the most special part is that it is one of the few quiet places to find in Seoul. There is a vast amount of Green, some old stadiums (cycling, swimming, fencing, gymnastics etc.) and some nice park scenery.

The Olympic Park does not include the Olympic stadium, that's a few km's west of it.

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This park on the eastern side of Seoul was created for the 1988 Summer Olympics. The Olympic swimming pool, velodrome, and gymnasiums are still in use here. The park has nice open areas, good trails and many pieces of unique art work. There is also an ice skating rink in the winter.

The remains of the ancient Mongchontoseong earth fortress are also located in this area. The fortress wall was built in the Baekje Kingdom era to defend its people against attack from the north.

This is one of my favorite parks in Seoul, and admission is free!

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The 1988 Olympics were a transforming event of Seoul, and for all of South Korea. For the first time, people around the world came to see this country as a modern, prosperous, "happening place", rather than some impoverished backwater.

I was there a year after the Olympics. Touring these facilities, one can see that they are as modern as any.

We loved the sculptures dotted along the boulevard toward Olympic Park. They were so creative and really gave one the sense that something special had happened with Seoul holding the Olympics in 1988.. Lots of people skating and making use of the space that is now available in Olympic Park.
The Olympic Museum had lots of things to see. We had a lot of fun in the Sports Experience Room where you could have a sort of virtual volley ball game, soccer, weight lifting and whole range of Olympic sports. It was a great giggle.
The history of the Olympics is also depicted here, which was captivating. Although if anyone lives in Korea or visits this museum please tell them that INDIGENOUS Australian Kathy FREEMAN lit the flame at the Sydney games not NATIVE Australian Kathy PRIMAN! I wanted to tell them there but my husband said it would be rude. Would email them but their website doesn't have a contact email. I'm sure Kathy would appreciate it too.

So, if you have seen one stadium you have seen them all, right? Yeah, I thought so too. But the Olympic Park is alot more than just stadiums. The area is well maintained and includes the Mongchon earthen fortress site, a sculpture garden and a park area which is great place to enjoy a liesurely stroll or just a place to sit and read a book near a pond.

Very close to the area are two sites of historical importance. The first is the Pungnap earthen fortress wall. It is what is says it is. It is a large wall made of earth that once surrounded a fortress. The fortress was a site of an epic battle between Paekche King Gaero and the invading Koreyo empire under King Jangsu. Unfortunately King Gaero was killed in the battle, and was decisive in one of the first attemps at trying to unify the Korean Peninsula.

Also dealing with Paekche culture, are the Bangi-dong Paekche Tombs. There are 8 stone and soil mound tombs.

Finally, north of the park is the Amsa-dong Prehistoric Settlement Site. The site is home to a Neolithic settlement which dates back to around 6000 BC. The settlement has interesting artifcats to see, as well as buildings that show what life was like back then.

The Olympics was held in Seoul in 1988. For those sports fans out there who aims to visit all Olympic grounds in the world, you are very much welcome to go. For the rest, you can skip this as there isn't much to see there. Maybe except taking this photo in front of the huge display. :p

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This park was built for the 1988 Summer Olympics and is now a major sports and recreation venue for Seoul.