A Yellow Rubber Duck On Seoul's Seokchon Lake

"Rubber ducky, you're the one...you make bath time lots of fun...Rubber ducky, I'm awfully fond of you..."

I could almost hear Ernie from Sesame Street sing that cute little song as I saw for the first time a giant rubber duck on Seokchon Lake in the Songpa District in Seoul. (If you're not familiar with Ernie's song, click this>> clip at Youtube.)

(Sorry, Ernie. No swimming or taking a bath on the lake!)

I think this was my second visit to Seokchon Lake. Well, if you consider visiting the Lotte World Adventure's Magic Island that sits on the west side of Seokchon Lake, then it's my second visit. 

But it wasn't just the lake that brought me over to the south side of Seoul. Last month, as I strolled around the hilly part of my Hannam-dong neighborhood, I could see from where I was standing the imposing silhouette of what will be the tallest building in South Korea, the Lotte World Tower. Once completed, it will be a 555-meter tall tower with 123 floors. But what I'm looking forward to its completion is its rooftop cafe. At 555 meters above ground, I wonder how much their iced cafe mocha will cost. Ha-ha-ha!

(Finally, I saw the Lotte World Tower up close and structural!)

I have told friends who live in the Jamsil area that I wanted to see up close the tower even though it wasn't finished yet. I only could see its silhouette from afar; I wanted to see it up close and, well, architectural. Ha-ha-ha!

And since I read that a giant rubber duck appeared on the Seokchon Lake last week, I have another reason to travel down to the Jamsil area.

          (I'm waiting for the rooftop cafe to be completed.
        I hope their iced cafe mocha will be reasonably priced!)

                          (Couples enjoying the view)

From the Exit 2 of the Jamsil Station (Line 2), I simply followed the crowd that was moving out of the station. With their cameras, selfie-sticks and excited faces on a cool autumn day, anyone could tell that they were not there to go shopping at the partially opened mall. They were there to see big toy!

The giant yellow duck, created by a Dutch artist, Florentijn Hofman, is floating on this lake as part of the Rubber Duck Project Seoul. This duck has traveled, er, floated around different parts of the world, and until November 14, it will remain afloat on the Seokchon Lake, which I'm sure will draw more crowds during these chilly autumn days.

I read on online news that perhaps the appearance of the giant rubber duck was to help tone down certain controversies linked to the ongoing mega-project like the sudden appearance of sink holes in the area and the fall in the water level of the Seokchon Lake. 

But on this cloudy autumn day at Seokchon Lake, the curious visitors to the lake didn't seem to care about any controversy. They were just excited to see a rare spectacle of a rubber duck, not floating on their bath tub, but on a lake!

            (The area in front of the duck is very crowded)

And even if Ernie was here at the Seokchon Lake with his shampoo and bath soap, he wouldn't have been allowed to take a bath in the lake; it was prohibited. Ha-ha-ha!

So, if you want to see an over-sized rubber ducky floating in the shadows of an over-sized building, do visit the Seokcheon Lake by November 14. After all, it's not everyday that one gets to see a yellow rubber ducky swimming among real ducks on a lake.

           (Lo and behold...the soon-to-be tallest building 
                                     in South Korea)

              (Thousands visiting the lake...and the duck)

And if you're going there, the best view to take a picture of the yellow duck is on the side near the highway. The area right in front of the yellow duck is very crowded, and there are trees and shrubbery that block your view.

"Rubber ducky, you're the one...you make bath time lots of fun...Rubber ducky, I'm awfully fond of you..."