January 1st, the year of the new year
There was no need to see the sunrise on New Year's Day.
This year, I had some time left,
and I decided to spend it on New Year's Day with my family to watch the sunrise.
It took too long to go far away,
and I hated the crowds at the famous sunrise spots.
I thought about a nice place near Seoul the day before.
I thought it would be okay around the Han River.
You don't have to go through the trouble of climbing a mountain
A place with a clear view
Seonyudo Park came up in the search
There was also Hangang Park,
which I used to go to a lot after I got my driver's license,
but I decided to go to Seonyudo Park.
The sunrise in Seoul on New Year's Day 2025 was at 7:45 AM.
Holiday morning
It only took 30 minutes because it was a slow time.
We set off, expecting it to take about 40 minutes,
taking into account ample parking time.
My brother drove and
my mother prepared a warm car and set off.
As we get closer to the Han River,
I wonder if it's just the three of us standing alone
in that wide Han River Park
and staring blankly at the sun.
I was a little worried.
The moment I entered the Han River Bridge toward Seonyudo Park,
there were a lot of people on the bridge.
A feeling that somehow touches the heart
There was also a lot of illegal parking
on the bridge where cars could be parked.
I thought there wouldn't be many cars in the park parking lot.
There was news of a plane crash at the end of the year,
and the issue of President Yoon,
so the minds of our people were in turmoil.
Was everyone's heart the same as this,
trying to greet the new day?
I didn't really have any thoughts about watching the sunrise.
Suddenly ,
I thought it was meaningful that these
people all gathered in one place and
shared their positive expectations and energy for the new year.
It felt like the new year was coming
I felt excited about the future.
The Seonyudo Park parking lot was already packed from the entrance.
3 minutes before sunrise
My brother said he would come after parking the car,
so my mom and I went first and took our seats.
There isn't a place where the sun is
particularly visible or anything like that.
But I found a place with a clear view..
The weather itself
was already very cloudy.
My brother parked his car just in time to join us,
and so the new year came, covered in clouds.
Orange water was floating between the clouds,
and everyone was a little bland,
but we welcomed the new year with such anticipation.
We hung around for another ten minutes after the sun rose,
and quickly got out of the car before the others left.
It was now 8am on a holiday morning.
Since we don't eat breakfast often,
we decided to go to a tteokguk or dumpling soup restaurant
and eat breakfast before heading out.
In 2025,
I hope many good things will happen
in the Republic of Korea...
