Centuries ago, Nodeulseom Island was a place to relax and for recreation, where culture flourished alongside nature. Today, the island mainly attracts sunset seekers sitting under willow trees. This is an ideal spot to relish the island¡¯s hallmark, a panoramic vista of the setting sun girded by cityscapes of building silhouettes and trains or subways crossing an iron bridge 120 years old. Luminous colors of the waning daylight saturate the backdrop for about an hour before disappearing into the night.

Sunset Sightings

The bridge¡¯s pedestrian overpass glimmers in the evening sky. © JUNLEE PHOTOS

Shin Jung-il, the leader of a prominent hiking group in Seoul, said, ¡°A port called Noryangjin was poised underneath today¡¯s Hangangdaegyo Bridge — the part of the Hangang River flanked by Yongsan-gu District to the north and the Tombs of Six Martyred Ministers to the south. Of these locale names, some say name ¡®Noryangjin¡¯ originated from the Nodeulgang River, based on Chinese characters denoting ¡®dark and old stones.¡¯ Others say the name indicated white herons that strolled on the ferry.¡±

Under Japanese colonial rule, Nodeulseom became an island after an iron footbridge was built in 1917 to link Seoul¡¯s Ichon-dong neighborhood at the river¡¯s northernmost tip to Noryangjin at its southernmost. Residents at the time piled heaps of sand towering up to bridge level, dubbing it the ¡°midland.¡±

¡°Luminous colors of the waning daylight saturate the backdrop
for about an hour before disappearing into the night.¡±

Stalled Renewal

Until the 1960s, Nodeulseom was a favored destination to enjoy the river, providing a waterside playground in summer and a skating rink in winter. Upon the river¡¯s privatization under the urbanization efforts of the 1970s, plans to commercialize the island cropped up. Blueprints to revamp the island into a midland resort, a large-scale tourist zone or the like were never followed through, however, leaving the island a forgotten relic of the past.

In 2004, the island was put up for sale and marketed as the site of a proposed opera house. After finalists of international design competitions demanded more than USD 418 million in construction fees, however, the proposal collapsed. A project to build Hangang River Arts Island started in 2008 but was delayed in 2012 due to construction costs exceeding KRW 1 trillion.

To ensure proper renovation, the Nodeulseom Forum was formed to upgrade the island into a public space for all to enjoy. After holding three tenders for construction and maintenance from mid-2015, construction began in October 2017 and the renovated island was opened in mid-2019.

Boksoondoga, a premium brand of homebrewed makgeolli (milky rice wine), runs a lounge bar called Music Lounge RYU and makgeolli tasting sessions. © JUNLEE PHOTOS (left)
Called a ¡°platform for creatives in publishing,¡± Nodeul Bookstore has shortened its operating hours due to COVID-19 (Wednesdays to Sundays, 1 p.m.-9 p.m.). © JUNLEE PHOTOS (right)

Variety of Venues

Space445 hosts eclectic exhibitions. © sam.bright.photo

Cutting through Nodeulseom¡¯s midsection is the Hangangdaegyo Bridge, which teems with traffic at all hours of the day. Look out toward Yongsan-gu District from the bridge for the island¡¯s mainstay: a three-story music-themed cultural complex housing Live House. From atop the popular music hall, the bridge¡¯s only pedestrian overpass is visible. The observation deck in the middle of the overpass is another prime lookout for sunset viewing. Watching vehicles cross the bridge and another arched bridge facing Noryangjin also present a pleasant perspective on Seoul¡¯s scenery.

Other sources of enjoyment include Nodeul Bookstore, which also allows reading; &Table, a food cultural space; and Plant Atelier, a plant workshop. Other facilities range from restaurants, cafes (including one for bicyclers), bars and convenience stores. Because of COVID-19, only a select number of these Nodeulseom facilities are open at either shortened hours or limited customer capacity.

Nodeulseom¡¯s main promotional Instagram (@nodeul.seoul) is linked to all the aforementioned spaces¡¯ accounts (@nodeul.book, @nodeul.livehouse, @nodeul.space445 and @nodeul.sikmuldo), which have the latest information on the status of these services. The site https://linktr.ee/nodeul.seoul is a handy guide (in Korean only) for events and programs.

Visitors wearing masks and wristbands take part in plant workshops hosted by Plant Atelier. © JUNLEE PHOTOS

Safety Measures & Accessibility

To maintain proper social distancing, Nodeulseom requires all entrants to wear wristbands after their temperatures are checked, put on masks and sanitize hands. © Nodeul Island

Nodeulseom has implemented stringent measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. After checking to see masks are worn by visitors, staff will have the visitors¡¯ temperatures checked and recorded, hands sanitized and wristbands worn before entering. Small-scale programs are mostly run on a reservation basis, and the number of visitors is limited to practice proper social distancing while on the island.

Since the island has no parking, Nodeulseom is best reached via public transportation. By bus, get off at the Nodeulseom stop or walk 10-15 minutes on the bridge¡¯s pedestrian walkway. The nearest subway station to the island is Nodeul on Line 9.