Namsan Tower: Where Promises Are Made and Kept Forever

     Before coming to Seoul this semester I watched the movie, To All the Boys: Always and Forever, and fell in love with every place Lara Jean and her family visited while on vacation in South Korea. One place that really sparked my curiosity was the scene where they visited the Namsan Tower and put locks, representing love and promise, on a fence looking over Seoul's horizon. When I arrived in Korea, this was an adventure on the top of my list I was ready to take part in. Last week, since the weather was finally staying at a constant 50 degrees, I decided it was the perfect time to hike up to Namsan Tower. With my friend from Yonsei University, we took the bus about thirty minutes to the Namsan Public Library, then started our hike. This hike is filled with cherry blossom trees, viewpoints of the Seoul skyline, and many families enjoying a leisurely walk. There are busses available to go up to the tower, but I decided it was a nice day to be in the sun, and took the thirty minute hike. When we finally got the the bottom of the tower, I could already see why this attraction was so popular and different. Namsan Tower is filled with coffee shops, restaurants, desserts cafes, convenient stores, lounging areas, and much much more. There are about four levels to explore with a flower and food market on the highest floor. All of this is free to enter, but if you want the best view, you can pay to go to the very top of the tower. My main goal was not to see the views, but to take part in the tradition of putting a lock on the fence near the tower. At your convenience there is a store in the tower that sells locks, so you do not have to buy one before you travel all the way there. Even though I do not have a soulmate at the very moment I wanted to dedicate my lock to my future family and love. I hope that one day I can take who ever that may be and see if I can find the lock I put on the fence. I think the most interesting part about this whole experience was seeing how old some of the locks were. This means that I got to take part in a very old tradition, and I will have left my mark that will stay there for years to come. This moment in time really felt like I was in the movie I mentioned before. I really love how Korea is such a romantic culture that sees love as precious and long lasting. I highly recommend coming to Namsan Tower either by yourself, with friends, with family, or with your partner to take part in this activity. Now I have this amazing memory and Namsan Tower will forever have the lock I left behind.