What Do People Actually Do at the Han River? A First-Time Guide to Seoul's Han River Parks


Crowds relaxing on picnic mats beside the Han River at sunset, with a bridge and train in the background

The Han River is on most Seoul travel lists.

In Korean dramas, people sit by the river eating ramyeon, ride bikes along the riverside, and watch the city lights spread across the water at night.

But when you look at photos before you visit, other things stand out before the river itself: picnic mats spread across the grass, steaming bowls of ramyeon, and boxes of fried chicken beside them. Cyclists and runners pass along the riverside path.

This is where first-time visitors pause.

What are you supposed to do once you get there? Where do people rent those bikes? Where was that ramyeon cooked? Do people really get fried chicken delivered out on the grass?

After a few hours at Yeouido Hangang Park, the answers to those questions become clear one by one.

You Get Off the Train, but You Have Not Arrived

Yeouido Hangang Park has no main entrance.

There is no ticket booth or entrance gate. When you walk out of Yeouinaru Station on Line 5, you see roads and pedestrian paths instead of the river. Follow the people ahead of you, and before long you are standing on the grass. You are already inside the park without knowing exactly where it began.

At first, you look around again, wondering whether this is already the park and where the river is.

The river lies beyond the grass. Walk a few more minutes toward the water, and the river opens up in front of you. Turn around, and Yeouido's tall buildings are still behind you. You have not left the city, yet a wide riverside lies between the buildings.

Seoul has several Hangang parks along the river. Yeouido works well for ramyeon from a convenience store and a picnic on the grass, while Banpo Hangang Park is another option if bridges and night views are what you came for. There is no need to compare them all before your first visit.

People Sit on the Grass While Others Move Along the Riverside

As you get closer to the river, two different scenes appear side by side.

People sit on picnic mats across the grass. Just beside them, walkers, runners, and cyclists continue along the riverside path. Some people stay in one place while others keep moving past them.

Green bicycles keep passing among them. They are Ttareungi, Seoul's public bike system.

Can tourists ride them too? Do they have to return them to the same place?

Ttareungi is available to foreign visitors too.

The Ttareungi app includes a menu for foreign visitors to buy a pass. To pay, you need a credit card issued outside Korea.

Return the bike to any nearby Ttareungi station. It does not have to be the station where you rented it. Parking it beside the path or on the edge of the grass does not count as returning it.

This Is Where People Eat Convenience Store Ramyeon

When you walk into a convenience store inside the park, the ramyeon cooker stands out.

After choosing your ramyeon, you use the container and cooker provided in the store. Your hand pauses for a moment in front of the unfamiliar machine.

Where does the water come from, and what do you press first?

The steps vary slightly from one store or machine to another, but follow the order shown on the screen or posted beside the cooker, and the ramyeon is ready in a few minutes.

The important part comes after it is cooked.

People carry their freshly cooked ramyeon out of the convenience store.

Holding the hot container carefully, they walk to the grass or a bench by the river. Instead of eating in a hurry inside the store, they find a place to sit and then open the lid. The steam scatters quickly in the wind, and the river stretches out in front of them.

Ramyeon cookers are not the only thing that makes first-time visitors pause in a Korean convenience store. Microwaves and ice cups are two more. 

Fried Chicken Is Delivered to the Park, but You Need a Meeting Point

If ramyeon is something you buy at a convenience store and eat inside the park, fried chicken is something you order from outside and have delivered.

The park has an address, but it has no building or unit numbers. An address alone cannot tell a delivery driver where someone is sitting on a wide stretch of grass.

You start wondering how to explain your location. Should you say you are beside a tree? Should you describe the color of your picnic mat?

Neither is necessary. Yeouido Hangang Park has delivery zones. Seoul designated these food pickup points to prevent accidents caused by delivery motorcycles traveling through the park.

According to Seoul's official guidance, there are three: in front of Parking Lot 2, in front of the Yeouido Nadeulmok entrance, and beside the entrance to Mulbit Plaza.

Before ordering, check which delivery zone is closest to your spot. You meet the driver at a designated location, so there is no need to mention a tree or the color of your picnic mat.

When you hear that the food has arrived, the driver does not come to your mat. You get up and walk to the delivery zone. After picking up the food, you carry it back to your spot by the river.

That said, foreign visitors may get stuck at app registration or payment before they ever reach the pickup stage. Without a Korean phone number or payment method, they cannot even start an order. The delivery guide explains the ordering process, while the fried chicken guide helps with choosing what to order. 

When the meal is over, chicken boxes, cups, and plastic bags remain. Before you leave, gather the packaging and sort it according to the signs on site.

You Do Not Need a Picnic Mat or a Tent

Shops around the park rent out picnic mats, folding chairs, and tents. Out on the grass, people who came prepared are settled in for a long stay. If you brought nothing, you wonder whether you should rent something too.


A tent, picnic mat, folding chairs, and food set up on the grass at a riverside park

Rent something if you want, or go without.

To sit for a while, rent a picnic mat from one of the shops. Prices and rental arrangements differ by shop, so check with the one you use.

To look around and head back, walk along the riverside without a mat.

Tents and sunshades do not follow the same rules as picnic mats. Seoul allows them only in designated areas and within set periods and hours. Renting a tent does not mean you can pitch it anywhere on the grass, so check the signs on site first.

It Is Hard to Find a Good Spot at Night

As the sun begins to set, lights come on one by one across the buildings and bridges on the other side of the river, and their light spreads across the water.

Then the crowds arrive. Picnic mats cover the grass, and walkers and cyclists keep moving along the riverside path. The spots with a view of the river fill up first. Arrive late, and you end up walking around looking for a place to sit.

Some scenes begin only after dark, and not just at the Han River. Pojangmacha are another example. Tents and tables that were nowhere to be seen during the day line the roadside at night. 

Visitor Information

  • Location: Yeouido Hangang Park, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul
  • Subway: Yeouinaru Station on Line 5, Exit 2 or 3
  • Admission: No ticket required
  • Note: This guide covers Yeouido Hangang Park. Other Hangang parks may differ in facilities, delivery zones, Ttareungi stations, and tent areas.

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