By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Wendy Palomo from the Philippines
Photos = Wendy Palomo

Seoul is as metropolitan as it gets. The city is teeming with people who don't seem to sleep. Seoulites have the latest gadgets, with capabilities covered by the latest technological breakthroughs. However, for all its technological advancements, the physical landscape is gifted and has been retained and enhanced to create a dynamic example of an ecologically-balanced urban planning area. Such is the case of the neighborhood of Sangam-dong, which boasts a World Cup stadium, the Haneul Park, as well as the areas of Noeul and Nanji.

I recently visited the Nanji Camping Grounds. My son was invited to a birthday party there and the mom had the fantastic idea to make it a memorable birthday with selected friends by turning it into a camping-turned-glamping sleepover. It started on a Friday afternoon when there weren't many people yet renting the tents. We felt like we had the camp grounds to ourselves, a total of four tents for us all.

The Nanji Camping Ground opened in 2009 as part of the Hangang Renaissance Project. The project has given open spaces that Seoulites in this part of the vast urban agglomeration enjoy. Aside from the camp grounds, there are huge open spaces that form the Nanji Hangang Park, an eco-wetland with a bird-watching area with riverside swimming pools and areas designed for various sports. As for the camp grounds, they provide an urban camping experience with provisions and conveniences. There's a convenience store that sells the basic necessities, and even meat for barbecuing, grills, shower rooms and you can rent tents, chairs and tables.

The tents? There are tents that have air conditioners and there are tents that have both cooling and heating features. That’s camping in dense urban Seoul for you! With all those features, we ended up "glamping," not really camping. There's more about the Nanji Camping Grounds at their website.



What made the overnight experience refreshing was easy access to the Nanji Hangang Park that surrounds the camping spots. My husband and I and some of the kids didn't have to go far because just behind our tents was a bike and jogging trail and a scenic jungle of green.

This lush area was very inviting to kids. They didn’t do anything special. They followed each other and ran around amidst the greenery. That was a great deal of fun.

When children are left alone in nature, they explore it with such wonder and happiness. As Pascal said, "Nature is an infinite sphere of which the center is everywhere and the circumference nowhere."

Our group left the grounds at 9:30 a.m. the next day. That’s check-out time for the campers. We created an overnight of memories and I brought enough to inspire me to share this natural gem located in Sangam-dong, where I gladly call home now.

wisdom117@korea.kr

* This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.