My first ever visit to Seoul On my first ever weekend during my two-week visit to Seoul years ago, I was showed around Seoul by Bella and her husband Junggu. When we drove through the Hannam-dong neighborhood in the Yongsan District, I immediately spotted tennis courts from the car. And even though I couldn't see the actual courts, those high light posts and tall screen wires were a give-away! That time, I knew they were tennis courts! But what I didn't know was that I would be living in that neighborhood, and those tennis courts would just be minutes away from my apartment! Who would have thought that the first tennis courts I spotted in Seoul would be my favorite clay courts in the city?!
And when I finally settled in that summer, I wasted no time and visited the tennis courts one weekend. And over the years, and perhaps a thousand forehands later, I have been playing on the best clay courts in Seoul! Well, since the courts are very good, rental for one-hour is quite pricey.
According to my tennis friend, Dong-Eun, decades ago, the Korean government promoted the sport of tennis by creating tennis courts all over the country, usually around the neighborhoods. This was the time when the sitting president then was a tennis player himself. Maybe that's why I always see in the Hannamdong clay courts a lot of old ajussis and ajummas still playing in their 70s, and perhaps even in their 80s. Maybe when they were young, that was when the government promoted the sports, enabling them to learn tennis at a young age. And they're still playing well until now! I remember when I used to play at the clay courts of Sogang University, I played doubles against Father Thomas, a Korean Jesuit priest. I was told he was already in his 90s!
(Go Seoda of Japan)
So, if you want to polish that forehand and improve that backhand, you can always find a tennis court around a cluster of suburban apartments near you. There are also tennis courts inside the schools and universities.
In Seoul, the hard courts at Olympic Park (Olympic Park Station, Line 5, Exit 3) and Jangchung Tennis Courts (Dongkuk University Station, Line 3, Exit 6) are probably the best.
While the neighborhood clay courts may do, the clay courts of Hannam-dong Tennis Courts (those on the 2nd and 3rd levels) are the best clay courts in Seoul. They're located in Hannam-dong in the Yongsan District (Beotigogae Station, Line 6, Exit 3).
(Duck-Hee Lee of Korea)
(Philip Bester of Canada)
The tennis courts of Olympic Park hosts the annual WTA event where you can see female professional tennis players slug it out against each other. This was the venue for tennis during the 1988 Seoul Olympics where Steffi Graf won the gold medal and completed her Golden Slam that year.
(The Korean tennis prodigy Hyeon Chung
being interviewed)
See you at the tennis courts!
PS. The photos below were from the ATP challenger event held at the Olympic Park in May, which was won by Go Seoda from Japan. The runner-up was the Korean teenage prodigy Hyeon Chung.
I wasn't sure if I'd freeze while playing at 2'C during winter nights. It's even colder when the wind blows through the tennis courts. I could actually see my misty breath under the lights while panting.
We play at the Jangchung Tennis Courts right at the foot of Nam-san, just across Seoul Club with a view of the Shilla Hotel when you serve, be it an ace or a double fault. Ha-ha-ha! When I think of it: night time, open air, dropping temperatures; it would already give me some chills while I am in a cab on my way to the court. But, there's actually a trick to it!
I used to wear my thick track suit and jacket during our winter games (sounds like the Winter Olympics). But it hampers my movement and the running on the court. There's just too much clothes. Ha-ha-ha! There's a reason why tennis players wear shorts. Or in the case of the female tennis players, very short skirts! Maria Sharapova definitely doesn't wear those skirts just to show off her fabulous legs. But this time, I can now replace those thick, heavy track suits with a flimsy one, and I won't freeze! How? There's a secret underneath: Uniqlo's heat-tech thermals! I am glad I was able to visit their store last month during their 'Thank You' sale! Another tennis superstar, Novak Djokovic, was modelling the thermals on their display actually. He gave me an idea! Now, I can run faster and move my arms better!
Another trick not to freeze out there is to keep moving, keep running and keep warming up while waiting to play. This keeps your heart pumping more warm blood (Type-O in my case. Ha-ha-ha!) into your system. And when you start playing, you'd actually be breaking into sweat! Perspiring outdoors in the middle of a winter night!
Our game usually lasts only for two hours as we reserve our courts from 7PM until 9PM, the time when the guy in-charge of the courts turns off all the lights and closes the place.
And as always expected, after lots of forehands and backhands, lobs, serves and double-faults, including missing some balls, we all get hungry!
And since we're near the Dongdaemun area, we drive to that block between Exits 8 and 12 of the Dongdaemun History and Culture Park, which is full of Korean restaurants, norae-bangs and beer and chicken pubs.
And while I sit there on our dinner table, exchanging stories with my tennis friends, I always ask: 'Who could be luckier?'. Our tennis club pays for the tennis court fees and the new tennis balls, and sometimes, gives away tennis shorts and shoes! And it pays for our dinner and beer, too!
A lucky bunch! So, doesn't love playing tennis on a chilly winter night?
