I went to Namsan (Mt. Nam) last Wednesday for the “Namsan Cherry Blossom Festival.” I saw the announcement for the festival last Saturday afternoon when I accompanied my husband on his “training” for a marathon that he’ll be attending next week in Ganghwa-do.
The jogging course is where the festival is being held until Saturday. Most of the cherry blossom trees when I visited were just starting to bloom. There will be a show at 7PM tomorrow night at the area. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to go there since we’re accompanying my parents-in-law back to the province.
I went first to N Seoul Tower before going down on foot to the jogging course. There were so many people that day. It was like a circus with thousands (I’m pretty sure!) of young students, tourists and people like me who didn’t have anything better to do in attendance.
What caught my attention are the “Locks of Love” that I first saw back in 2007 when I visited the tower with my sister (who was in Korea for four days). We were amused to see them in the fence surrounding the N Seoul Tower area. Here’s how the fence looked like before:
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Last year (2008.04.20) , I was in the N Seoul Tower again with my parents-in-law, my husband’s aunt and my son. Of course, the “Locks of Love” was continuing to amuse visitors of the area:
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Last Wednesday (2009.04.07), I wasn’t surprised to see that the fence was totally “locked!” Locks of varying sizes and style have filled the fence.
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Aside from the fence on the second floor viewing deck, the management had also put up “trees” for the “locks of love” on the first floor viewing deck.
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This concept isn’t a Korean original. I read that “Lovers’ Locks” could also be found in Tokyo Tower in Japan.
What do the locks symbolize? They’re the lovers’ promise that they will never separate. Another interesting spot at N Seoul Tower is the “Lover’s Message Tile”. More on that later. 🙂
i have seen this in Tokyo too. i’m not sure if they throw away the key or keep it. it was a tradition for couples. did you and your husband placed your own locks there? 🙂
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Hi Marian! No we haven’t placed our locks there. Sayang ang lock 😀
wow interesting to ah
hi! quick question ~ are the locks purely for lovers’ promises? i think i watched a feature before when a girl who is going to have a major surgery placed her lock there … just not too sure what she wrote on it…
Chris and I did this when we visited Namsan back in ’06. ^^
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My husband and I went also there last Wednesday,(since It was my birthday) I actually took a glimpse on the said “lock of Love”, but didn’t care that much because it was a little bit late when we arrived there. It was my second time to visit Namsan park and tower but it was also my first time to have dinner at the highest floor of the tower, and what made me surprised was that I didn’t know that the tower is rotating for an hour with different views.It was a great dinner.(nothing to do with the topic,hehehe)
I’m really glad I came across your site. I’m getting a lot of helpful information from your site. This will be useful when I take my trip to Korea this year.
hi ms anne.. wow, how romantic 🙂
My hubby and I visited that place. We didn’t place any lock at all. But it was nice to see all those locks. Makes a charming attraction too.
I went there also. I even have locks up there for me and my fiance. we both have a key to each lock. Seeing all those locks for all those couples, its so amazing.
and you surely mean 2009 on the last picture with that tree? because I just heard now that they have a lock-tree and in 2009 (october) they didnt had the tree there yet. isnt it possible its 2010.04.07? lol
well I had left a lock there last year as well :>
Hmm… I posted this April 10, 2009 🙂
THIS IS SO COOL!!!! 🙂 ♥
is like a Ho voglia di te(is a italian novel by federico moccia)…but the italians put the lock in a bridge (ponto di milvio)…i think the novel was published in 2006
meron din ganyan sa Guam, napanud ko sa Taiwanese version ng “They Kissed Again”.
do you bring your own lock?or someone sells it there?
hi kiki! you can buy the lock in one of the souvenir shops at Namsan, or you can also bring your own ;p
This information is so informative for me who haven’t visit Korea yet 🙂 thank’s a lot for the post. Now I can finish my presentation about Korea.
Once again, thanks a lot! 😀