The Hangang River offers runners, cyclists, skaters and yacht lovers a place to escape the traffic and pretend they’re not in one of the world’s most densely populated cities.

The Hangang River’s swimming pools and yacht rental shops also offer Seoul citizens a getaway from urban life at affordable prices.

Six swimming pools are located on the banks of the Hangang River. In the western part of Yeouido, park visitors can stop by the yacht center, where yachts are available to rent.

“I love the river,” said one mother walking with her 3-year-old son.

“It offers a nice park-like place for ordinary citizens like myself to take a walk with my kids for free and escape the city for a while,” she said.

“But sometimes, the cyclists scare me,” she added, referring to the riders who speed at up to 35 kilometers per hour along the bike paths.

Shin Bae-won, an office worker, rides his bicycle there every week. Cyclists have separate paths in the Hangang River’s bankside parks. 

“The river is a blessing for people like me,” he said. “The river offers us a relatively safe path to ride our bikes on, but the safety thing is still something that we have to watch out for,” he said.

Joggers using the river’s parks likewise praised the river’s convenience.
“I love running on the Jamsugyo,” said Jang June-keun, 27, referring to the bridge under the Banpo Bridge, located in the center of the city. 

Park Seung-hyeon, 42, said he and his wife would make it a habit to take a fast walk along the river as their daily dose of exercise.

They would use bridges as the milestones to figure out how far they have walked.

“Tonight we are planning to walk from Yeongdong Bridge to Banpo Bridge. We can always take a bus back if we get too tired,” he said, adding that finding a place close to the river was important to him and his family because of this.

The popular paths, however, are also a source of safety hazards, as they are often crowded with walkers, passersby, joggers and cyclists. 

The enthusiasts said that users of the river’s facilities should be more aware of safety hazards to avoid ruining things for other people, although they admitted the river offered an outdoor escape that other cities sometimes lacked.

“I ran into a dog that was not on a leash,” Shin Bae-won said. “I can understand that dog owners want to let their dogs enjoy the park, but still the dogs need to be kept at owners’ arms lengths.”

Kim Sang-yong, a 45-year-old jogger, pointed out that as much as the river offers convenience for citizens, likewise care should be paid to keep the parks clean.

“Sometimes I see dog excrement on the sidewalks,” Kim said. “I also notice that some people set up tents in areas where tents are not allowed, or see them fishing where there’s a sign that clearly says fishing is not allowed,” he added.

By Jeong Hunny (hj257@heraldcorp.com)