Poppies of Taehwagang River Grand Park, South Korea

Taehwagang River Grand Park – Daily Journal Entry – May 15th, 2015

Today was an excellent day spent in Ulsan at the Taehwagang River Grand Park. The Highlights: This park is a beautiful place to visit, easy to get to from Seoul and Busan, and it provides a magical backdrop for nature and portrait photography. Perfect for an all day free adventure in South Korea.

Picture of the entrance of the park from the bus stop

Taehwagang River Grand Park entrance from the bus stop

My day started out taking the KTX train from Busan to Ulsan. This was my first time visiting Ulsan but I definitely plan to head back soon! I chose to visit the Taehwagang River Grand Park because they have a lot of poppies blooming right now and I wanted to get some shots of the flowers. They also have a bamboo forest area that is highly rated on Trip Advisor.

The KTX from Busan to Ulsan only takes 20 minutes and it’s the first stop on the train to Seoul so there are frequent trains. I just had a 5 minute wait for the train at Busan Station. Unfortunately once arriving in Ulsan I missed the bus to the Park by 10 minutes and ended up having to wait an hour for the next one but it was a beautiful day and I sat outside by their giant whale sculpture and read some brochures I had picked up from the tourist information center.

Flower field at Taehwagang River Grand Park

I’m starting to really appreciate Korea’s varied and wonderful nature. Due to the scale and first impression of this park I really can’t wait to check out some of the national parks later this year. It’s impressive how many Koreans put their health up front, there are always people out hiking and enjoying nature. It really shows that they appreciate their green spaces, their parks are usually huge and well decorated as compared to other countries I’ve been too. I had high expectations for Taehwagang Park and I wasn’t disappointed!

View of Taehwagang River Grand Park from the Ihyujeong Pavilion.

The bus stops right next to Ihyujeong Pavilion, and since that’s a free spot I went to check it out. It’s newly constructed, based from the original design. It was a beautiful spot right above the river with stunning views and a beautiful cross breeze. There were many Koreans relaxing and hanging out together.

Inside the Pavilion at Taehwagang river grand park

The park was really close and I was able to get a shot from a far. So after that I followed the signs that lead down to the park the pathways from the Pavilion are mostly stairs but once you get down to the main park all the pathways are paved or packed dirt so it’s comfortable walking and it’s possible to bike through the park as well. They also have bikes you can rent for two people.

Two women walk through the Bamboo forest of Ulsan, South Korea

I spent the first hour roaming through the bamboo forest, which is actually really well done! I enjoyed the cool winds on the warm day and listening to the rustling of leaves. It was busy but there are so many paths that it’s easy to get away from people and relax. There were a lot of little lady bugs flying around too, I had two land on me while I was walking through.

Ladybug on a bamboo stalk at Taehwagang River Grand Park

I spent the rest of the afternoon among flowers, went up to the main road to grab some snacks from the convenience store and laid in the flowers for a late lunch/early dinner. There was a stage set up for an event happening later that night and all the bands were practicing on stage. It was pretty cool to watch the different bands (a blend of kpop and rock) practicing. Free live music wasn’t bad either! The park has many types of flowers in bloom right now including: peonies, poppies, wild anemone, azaleas, iris, white hydrangea, and more that I couldn’t identify.

Poppy from Taehwagang River Grand Park

Overall the day was well spent at the park and I walked away with tons of photos that I actually really like. I’m glad I got the chance to go as it was a beautiful day among poppies.