Seoul's Banpo Fountain Bridge: Rainbow No More

                 (The bridge, the bank and the bulbs)

Years ago, when it was finally completed, the Banpo Fountain Bridge attracted thousands every night. The nozzles on the bridge's sides would spray water out into the river and when the darkness falls, the colored lights next to the nozzles bathed the water with different colors that fascinated the crowds standing on the Han River bank.

On one of my visits to the Banpo Park, I took a photograph and submitted it to a local magazine and earned me a prize. I still have the magazine copy; I already ate the prize. Ha-ha-ha! It was a restaurant coupon.

                (From afar, it's only yellow and white lights)

               (I no longer see the reds, blues and purples)

But last week, when I went on my night walks along the Han River from my Hannam-dong neighborhood with the goal of reaching the Banpo Bridge, I noticed that, from afar, the colored lights didn't look colorful anymore. 

Years ago, when my friend Alfa and I traversed the distance from the Hannam Bridge to the Banpo Bridge, we could see from hundreds of meters away the fountain changing its colors from yellow to red, to blue and purple, and other hues in between.

                           (Up close and electrical)

                 (A tourist ferry about to go 
                   under the Jamsu Bridge)

But now, the fountains seemed to have lost its other colors, or I have turned colorblind? Or, perhaps the fountain lights need repairing. Did they change the other colored bulbs into yellow and white?

As I wanted to make sure whether the other colors were indeed missing from the bridge's spectrum, I crossed the lower Jamsu Bridge and observed the water spouts up close.

     (Crossing Jamsu Bridge with my frappucino) 

So with my frappucino, I stood on the bridge and took photos of the waters streaming from the fountain, which from the lower deck, looked like they were coming from a platoon of ajussis above urinating in unison and with the motion of the pee following the cadenza of the K-pop music playing on the background. Ha-ha-ha!

Although there were faint blue and red lights, these were not the strong colors I used to see years ago. Something definitely happened; Banpo's fountain bridge is no longer a rainbow fountain bridge.

I later joined the crowd on the Banpo side of the bridge, and just like me, they also seemed to have been disappointed with the lackluster spectacle. 

Years ago, you would hear people exclaiming "waah"  when the fountain changed colors from yellow to red, to blue and purple in sync with its flow trajectory. Tonight, people were just busy chatting and the sight of the fountain was just ordinary.

If you're at the Banpo Park next time, do observe and compare the colors of the fountain bridge with the ones you remember years ago. And let me know if I am just colorblind, or the bulbs really need changing. 

Seoul's Jamsu-gyo: A Bridge To Environmental Awareness

Who doesn't want to stay in bed all day long? I always said that the best weekends aren't spent at home; they're spent...in bed. Ha-ha-ha!

But realizing I stayed in bed for too long that day, I decided to get out of my apartment and walk to wherever my lazy legs would take me.

So, I headed off to my favorite bridge in Seoul, the Jamsu Bridge, or Jamsu-gyo, perhaps the only bridge in Seoul where runners, cyclists, moms and their baby strollers, and international tourists share the entire length with buses and cars. This bridge has dedicated lanes for vehicles, pedestrians and people on bikes. It is also popular with tourists because it has been featured in several Korean movies and dramas, and most important, it's below the Banpo Fountain Bridge, the most popular bridge in Korea.

Heading out my apartment, I initially didn't want to bring my wallet with me, as I thought I was going out for a walk, and not to shop. But something urged me to slip that wallet into my jacket pocket, and I was glad I did. 

When I got to jogging path along the banks of the Han River, I bumped into a colleague in the office, Bruce, who also lives in the Hannam-dong neighborhood; he was also there for a walk. As I said, this path was popular, especially to those living near the Han River. It was even part of a HiSeoul marathon.

(The sign says "Eco Bridge Festival)

So, Bruce and I chatted away during our stroll with the intention of crossing the Jamsu Bridge, which from afar, was abuzz with some activity. Music was blasting, tents were up and no moving vehicles were on it.  I read somewhere that the bridge would be closed for something. 

And when we got there, we were welcomed by the Green and Blue Tayo Buses on display, a 119 First-Aid learning tent,  stalls of recycled products and the cool afternoon breezes of the Han River. That day, Jamsu Bridge became an eco-bridge; a venue of about 800 meters long in order to raise environmental awareness.

                           (Rock Lee quizzing Bruce)

And while checking out the stalls, we chanced upon a young Korean kid, Rock Lee, who quizzed us on the spot about the planet's endangered species. We later learned from his mom, Mrs. Jungmin Park, that Rock, who's perhaps the youngest environmentalist I have ever met, has passionately raised awareness on the plight of the people of Kiribati in Oceania, and has made a presentation at the Convention of Environmental Diversity. 

    (Very young environmentalists of Earth Kids Foundation)

Rock Lee and other kids had their own Earth Kids Foundation corner in the festival, and were busy engaging the crowd with their quizzes about endangered species and the environment.

      (Professor Yoon wearing an artist apron and his       visitors. Photo courtesy of Miss Jungmin Park)

Also participating in the festival was Professor Hoseob Yoon, a famous environmentalist and artist in Korea. An honorary professor at Kookmin University, Professor Yoon has a website, Greencanvas that features his impressive work and exhibitions. And I was very lucky I went out for a stroll that day because...he gave me a perpetual calendar which he personally designed!  It will be 2015 in a few weeks. Professor Yoon's calendar should be up on a wall on my apartment by then!

At the eco-bridge, there were also live performances, booths selling recycled items like pins, bags, scarves, trinkets and other curios. And since I luckily had my wallet with me, I was able to get my mom at home in the Philippines a few scarves which she asked me not to forget when I fly home next month. I wasn't sure if those scarves were recycled from something, but they definitely were much cheaper than those sold at the department store across my office. And they will fly with me to Manila for Christmas. From an eco-bridge in Seoul...to my mom in the Philippines!

                  (I bought the scarves from this Korean lady)

           (And I got a couple of neck wallets from this guy. 
          His wallets were made from recycled leather.)

On our way back to Hannam-dong, Bruce and I were glad we decided to go for a stroll that day. Meeting Professor Yoon, Rock Lee, his mom, Jungmin, and his friends of Earth Kids Foundation, shopping for scarves and neck wallets, and being reminded that we all should take care of the only planet we have, made an otherwise sleepy Sunday afternoon more interesting than just walking and losing a few calories.  

Now, I should be looking forward to another stroll. And perhaps, on another bridge. :-)

The Jamsu Bridge And The Floating Island!

Everyone in Seoul knows about the Banpo Bridge, which is famous for its very colorful and fascinating dancing fountains. But what's not well known is that, while the fountains are actually installed on the higher Banpo Bridge, one can have fun selfies with the colored fountains as your background while standing on the Jamsu Bridge, the lower one. Yes, the Banpo Bridge has a less known twin, the Jamsu Bridge. 

                Pedestrians on one lane, cars on the other, 
                                  bikers in the middle)

Jamsu Bridge is actually the best way for everyone to cross the Han River because it has, one, a vehicle lane; two, a pedestrian lane; and three, a bike lane! And these three lanes are full of traffic all the time, especially on weekends!

As I live in the Yongsan District, which is connected to the Seocho District by the Banpo and Jamsu Bridges, on cool days, with comfortable shoes and a bottle of water (read blog here), I sometimes join hundreds of other people who stroll, run and bike at the lanes by the Han River bank, and I finish my stroll at the other side of the Han River (read blog here) at the other side of the Han River, at the Banpo Park after crossing the Jamsu Bridge.

              (Banpo Bridge above, Jamsu Bridge below)

                  (A green bus on Banpo Bridge)

Crossing the Han River through the Jamsu Bridge is actually an interesting and enjoyable experience. While the river is just a few meters beneath you, the idea that hundreds of other people jogging, strolling with their pets, biking in groups, families and couples are also on the bridge, not only trying to cross it, but actually having fun while doing so, makes the experience unique. It's like crossing the bridge itself is an experience of its own. No wonder a few Korean movies and TV dramas have been shot on this bridge. The funnel-like view of looking at the other end of the bridge, while under another bridge is a different perspective that is not found in any other part of the city. But on rainy season, when the Han River overflows, this bridge is closed to traffic. Can you imagine seeing the water level rise and the bridge disappears entirely from view? Scary!

                          (Floating Island)

                      (A selfie, actually)

On a cool, sunny day, after I cross the bridge, I complete my stroll at the other side, where there are three interesting structures called the Floating Island, which, as the name connotes, floats on the Han River but is attached to the river bank by footbridges. This multi-million dollar structure actually consists of three 'islets', namely, Vista, Viva and Terra. The big one, Vista, is open to the public, and I have been up there a couple of times already. Looking out from the topmost level gives you a different 360-degree view of this side of Seoul from the Banpo Park. 

Going there on foot from my home in Hannam-dong is not a problem as you'd always feel energized to walk or run with everyone else on a cool spring day. But going back home with tired legs usually tempts me to take the bus. Unfortunately, there's only one bus heading back, the Blue Bus 740, which is usually full of passengers crossing from Seocho to Yongsan. And taxis are scarce.

So, sometimes, on my way back, I sacrifice to walk a couple of kilometers or more with a few stops to rest just to solve the problem. And to take my mind off the distance I still have to cover, I just try to continuously enjoy the view of the river, the pigeons at the bank and the ducks on the water, the formations of the apartments on the other side, the unique get-ups of everyone I meet along the way, and be glad for the feel of the cool breezes, the bright blue color of the clear skies, and the sound of an energetic city amidst the noise of my grumbling stomach. Ha-ha-ha!

And looking at the faces of some tired joggers and bikers, I sometimes think they must have even come from the farthest districts of the city and may have covered longer distances. And they're not even complaining. Ha-ha-ha!

So, if you have free time these days, do try to enjoy crossing the Jamsu Bridge; the most useful pedestrian bridge over the Han River has a name! But come to think of it, Banpo Bridge, if without its colored fountains running, it just another bridge full of cars and buses. 

                           (A couple biking)

 

Jamsu Bridge, on the other hand, offers more than just a crossing. It affords everyone a run, a bike ride, and for strollers like me, a  totally unique experience of walking just a few meters above the Han River, amidst the cool spring breezes and with a special view of this part of the city. And of course, thanks to the Banpo Bridge above it, we cross the river under the shade.

              (A tunnel-view on Jamsu Bridge)

#jamsu #jamsubridge #seoul #korea