Mulloskeys Adventures Abroad

Here is another post that is overdue..

Halfway between where we live and downtown Seoul is a subway stop called Seoul Grand Park, which for over a year was nothing but background noise as it was announced on the way to and from Seoul. We heard a rumor of a zoo and theme park and thought the sunny and warm fall day was the perfect time to check it out. As we came out of the station the first thing we noticed was that Seoul was no where to be seen. Instead, on 3 sides were huge mountains covered in red, yellow and green trees. The beauty was remarkable and the vicinity to downtown difficult to comprehend and believe. In fact the majority of the city is built up and around huge mountains. I think we mentioned before that over 80% of Korea is covered by mountains… a kind of nice forced naturalization of this otherwise concrete jungle. That said, it is the space limitation created by the mountains that causes the concrete jungle of apartments that typify the cities here.

Anyhow, as we walked into the park a long brick pathway was flanked by old trees dropping yellow and red leaves at our feet. The moment was perfect, except fo the putrid stench of boiling silk worm larvae vendors (I once ate this on a dare at a bar and immediately vomited). A popular but odorous snack for Koreans.

The park has 4 main parts : 1) the man made lake, 2 the garden and walking grounds, 3) Seoul Land amusement park, and 4) the zoo. We had no plans to hit the amusement park so we got our tickets for the zoo. The absolute coolest part was that the zoo is built up and into the side of the mountain. With the trees it was almost hidden. Only one exhibit at a time was be visible. Oh yeah, there is also a chairlift to take you to the other side of the lake, or to a second to the top of the zoo (midway up the mountain). Unsure what to do we bought a ticket for a halfway trip over the lake and a beer to get us brainstorming. (You can see Seoul Land in the distance)

It cannot be overstated how beautiful the trees, leaves and low sun was on that day. Our first stop were the zebras and ostriches. They were amazing, as was the lighting to get these great shots.

We walked along deciding between tigers, lions and elephants. We found ourselves at the monkey/apes area. The chimps were very cute, as were the baboons. One large male came very close to me as if to say something. Instead he started self-pleasuring while following me around the cage. It is a haunting memory as he never broke eye contact.

Next to the gorillas. Here is where we discover the main difference between Korean zoos and ours. Feeding the animals. Of course, by the rules, it is not permitted. But no one stops the crowds of people tossing fruit, bread and plastic bags of chips, cookies etc. at the animals. Same goes for the bears, tigers, virtually any animal not in a glass cage. Seeing a poor bear try and open a can of Pringles was difficult to watch. The male gorilla got really pissed when one of the females got hit in the head with an apple.

Next it was to the lion and tiger area. The tigers were beautiful and much more active than my memories of them at the Toronto zoo. It seemed here they had more of each animal here as well. There were 10+ tigers and over 30 lions hanging around. There is a small cafe that hangs over the lion pen. Here you can really feel what its like to get eyed by a hungry lion while drinking poor quality coffee. By far the most shocking thing about wild animals in Asia is the total lack of healthy fear of dangerous predators. As you’ll see later in our short documentary ‘When Ostriches Attack…”, filmed on Nami Island this spring, somebody’s bound to get hurt. This was also the case when watching parents laughing giddily at their children dangling food (and their arms) out of the window. Yikes.

Next on to the bears and and, as previously mentioned, shameless feeding from patrons. Fruit is one thing, but bags of chips? Come on people. We just couldn’t believe that no one was stopping it from happening. We should have got some video but didn’t.

On our way out we saw the elephants, or elephant. They were all being put away for the night and only one was left. As the sun went down and the gate opened, this magnificent creature lumbered past the red and yellow falling leaves and out of sight.

Our final story is the best one of all and truly typifies our experience in Korea. We came across the giraffe exhibit. This is Erin’s favourite animal (possibly why she has a soft spot for yours truly). It was feeding time before going in for the night. There were about 16 of them including 2 babies. (We were so in awe we forgot to take pictures). The collage of their colours as they pushed each other to eat was as beautiful as it was hypnotic. Any passerby should not have been able to resist the majestic scene created by these most exotic of animals. But this was not this case. Just as 5 of them came within meters of us, we noticed to our left a group of old women who were equally entertained, not by the giraffes, but by us. They were talking, pointing, staring, giggling at us as well as taking our picture. We have never felt more like a strange outsider than at that moment; the moment that we we far more interesting and funny looking than 5 adult giraffes standing 10m away.

For anyone reading this living in Korea, a falltrip to Seoul Grand Park is a must. We had the best day.