Like quite a few places I’ve visited in Seoul, Hyochang Park is a great park with some dead bodies inside. The tombs inside the park hold patriots and martyrs, but no tombs need to be visited to have a good time. The park as a whole is worth an afternoon, and with 178,278 square meters to see, it’ll take the full afternoon.

Hyochang Park was originally a historic park holding the tombs of a Crown Prince. During the Japanese occupation, however, the tombs were moved. To date, the Crown Prince’s tombs have stayed put, while other patriots and important people have been buried here.

Oh yeah, and it’s pretty too – did I mention that?

Stairs leading up to…

The Imjeongyoin Graveyard, complete with the tombs of three Korean patriots.

The gate into the graveyard – while not incredibly old, it does seem to need a new coat.

No park would be complete without a playground, badminton court, and basketball court, of course.

I love getting fancy with the camera. Along the outside fence were some wonderful roses.

Part of the trail – not the easiest to walk on, but still fairly pretty.

A very scenic – and green – place.

Along with a playground for the kids comes the exercise machines for the parents or older kids. These machines don’t replace a gym membership if you’re serious about working out, but are great for keeping muscles flexible while walking around the park.

An anticommunist memorial tower, with a tomb next to it.

The stairs going up to Sameuisa Graveyard…

The Sameuisa Graveyard holds three patriots killed during the World War II-era, and were honored with a joint funeral service in 1946. A fourth tomb honors a fourth person, even though the tomb doesn’t hold their body.

Walking down the trail, I see a temple of some sort, so I walked around to the front. The doors are closed and locked – but I pushed the doors in to sneak a peek:

Euiyeolsa houses seven enshrined members of the Korean provisional government. Some shrines only open to the public at specific times of the year (but come back on the 13th of April to see the “Seven Patriots Joint Memorial Ritual”, when their spirits are honored).

One of the only signs of modern art in the area. Called “Chumji”, or the Divine Blessing, it “signifies the meeting point of heaven and earth whilst also emphasizing the sacredness of the grounds-a place where the ancestral spirit is nested.” Um… yeah… what was that old saying about monkeys banging on a typewriter?

Hyochang Park is definitely worth a few hours of your time. While it has the usual conveniences and elements of Korean parks, it’s also wonderfully serene, peaceful… and a great chance to play around with your camera settings.

Directions to Hyochang Park: Take line 6 of the Seoul subway system to the Hyochang Park station. Take exit 1 to street level, then make an immediate U-turn to the right and turn left less than 5 meters away. Walk straight for about 400 meters, or until you see the lights of Hyochang Stadium. Keep walking straight (around the stadium’s right side), but bear in mind that THE SIDEWALK RUNS OUT. Look to your right for trees and the park’s wall. Entrance is free, handicapped accessible.