The Stairs to the Sky

SEOUL | DAY 02

-HANUEL PARK-

reflection

​It was Christmas, and I was surprised that it didn’t feel as much like a Christmas in Korea. There were some people from different churches ringing bells and stuff, but it seemed as if it’s just another day — as if Jesus wasn’t born on today.

I woke up early to go to Hanuel Park in the morning, and as always, to avoid the crowd.

I never realized until I went to Hongdae later that I always take the neighborhood I’m staying at for granted. I never feel interested in going around the neighborhood I’m in. Seeing the place in daylight seems odd and seems like I’m in a different place because I’m normally either out too early, so all the shops are not yet open or back too late, so all the shops are closed.

This Seodaemoon neighborhood is less crazy, even though there are so many noraebangs and markets. It’s more like a neighborhood where people actually live their life. There is an elementary school right opposite to the street my house is at, so I would see some little kids walking to school — so adorable.

Houses in Sodaemoon are so close to each other. If I open the ventilation window in the bathroom, I see my neighbor’s house wall.

Seodaemun neighborhood

Seodaemun neighborhood

I took the bus and got off at a station near the World Cup Stadium and grabbed a cup of coffee before heading to Hanuel Park. It was around 8 am when I got there, so there were some people coming out for a morning walk. And it’s Sunday, so it’s not like super crazy.

While crossing the bridge across this one rive. The river is so pretty I had to stop to take a long look at it. It’s Bulgwang River (불광천). The beauty of this reminds me of how I’m always distracted by all the gems I found along the way to wherever I go. It can be a good thing too if you don’t stop and get clung on to the wallflowers for too long. The beauty of this life reminds us of how much greater it would be when we arrive at our destination.

And honestly, the path is not always pretty. At one time, I walked past a beautiful place like this Bulgwang River, and at another time, I walked past a parking lot with a lot of buses and I see no one. I doubted if I have come the right way, but then… when I looked up and forward, I could see my destination, so I shook off the doubt and kept walking toward my destination. That’s like our race in this life, we encounter joy that gives us a glimpse of Heaven yet we also encounter doubts whether or not we have come the right way, but all we have to do is to look up and forward. Unlike this Hanuel Park that I didn’t know for sure whether or not it’s going to be worth it, Heaven, we know for sure that it will be above and beyond what we have seen, and it is worth all the rough paths. We just have to walk with faith.

One funny thing is that when I was afar, I could the stairs pretty well. I knew that going up these stairs would lead me to Hanuel Park. In our journey, it is a glimpse of destination that keeps us walking.

However, while I was walking up the stairs, I wondered why they didn’t make a straight-up set of stairs instead of a zigzag one like this. I reminded myself of destination and I looked up. If I continue to up at the top at the same angle I used when I was down below, I wouldn’t see even the top of the stairs. The only thing I saw was another set of stairs which made me even more tired and hopeless. I had to look up further, putting up my chin at a wider angle from the ground than before to see the top.

I finally got up to the top of the stairs! PTL! As I was climbing up, I looked back to Seoul, and the view I saw was just magnificent. However, the higher I got, the prettier is the view I saw. I knew that, but I couldn’t stop myself from taking more pictures.

But then, I didn’t really know where to go. I saw some runners running along the trails, but I couldn’t find any sign guiding me to the Hanuel Park. I kept walking though with the Naver Map app in one of my hands and a camera in another.

You know, we never really know that we have gone the wrong way until we see some signs that we have gone the wrong way. It’s so true with life, especially right now for me; there so many uncertainties, and I feel blind. I’ve been telling myself, “Trust Him, Vicky”, but to be honest, I don’t know how. My friend once told me, “God always makes our life hard”. It is true in one sense. I believe in spectacular sins. I believe that the uglier our life is, the more beautiful God’s grace is revealed to our eyes. Life is hard in a worldly sense, but we are to remember that His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30).

Yes, I will keep walking prayerfully wherever my heart leads, and I will wait for God to close doors when I’m going the wrong way and open doors when I’m on the right path.

I found the entrance!! And yay! it’s Hanuel Park! 다왔어~!

Hanuel (하늘) means sky or heaven, and my journey to this place was such a great analogy of our walk into to the arms of the Father.

Anyways, no one was here! The park was all mine buwhahaha! It was kind of cold, but I got a little sweaty walking up. I was wearing church clothe too since I would be headed to church afterward.

Coming here, I felt like my heart was rejuvenated by looking at the wind turbines, even though they were smaller than I expected, and they were not spinning because there was no wind (which is such a blessing). I always passion for renewable energy and wind energy in particular. Looking at the turbines, I could vision the airfoil cross-section running through each blade. I could picture the kinetic energy from the wind being transformed into electricity through the rotating shaft connected to the blades. It was so peaceful, I couldn’t stop smiling.

You can see Hangang and Seongsan bridge from the park as well.

I always find beauty from small little things, and I think it’s a gift from God, even though I sometimes feel like I’m too easily satisfied, but why not? everything is His creation.