Autumn has finally arrived as the month of October passes the midpoint and the leaves sport varied hues of yellow and red. Most people associate fall with brilliant foliage, but for some the fall season is typified by the whitish rolling waves of silver grass.

A field of tall silver grass sways in the wind. The undulating waves of silver grass bring a sense of calm and harmony with nature to most people. And residents of Seoul are treated to this peaceful ambience every autumn in Haneul Park located within the Seoul World Cup Park in Sangam-dong in western Seoul. Let’s visit the vast field of silver grass in the middle of metropolis.

Visitors walking out of the World Cup Stadium Station of subway Line 6 are greeted by the sparkling blue sky and the bright sunshine. They soon join a crowd of people busily heading somewhere. Let’s ask where they’re going.

- I’m going to Haneul Park to see the silver grass.
- I heard there was a field of silver grass as tall as me. I’m going to take a walk and eat my lunch and read a book. I’m going to have a great time.
- It’s my first time at Haneul Park. I think it will be different, so much more refreshing and open. Let’s walk all the way to the sky!

People are walking up the steps named Haneul Stairs. The wooden steps are shaped like a series of Zs. The stairs are so crowded with people that public announcements are aired every few minutes to warn people to be extra careful and go with the flow when walking up to Haneul Park.

It takes about 20 minutes to climb 291 steps. Each step takes people closer to a place in the top aptly named Haneul Park, or the Sky Park. When they at last reach the top of the hill, they gasp at the vast sea of rolling waves of silver grass.

- It’s so beautiful. I’ve heard so much about it, but I didn’t realize the silver grass field was so large. It was kind of hard to climb all the way up, but it was well worth it.
- It’s really nice. I feel like I can breathe here after seeing only buildings and apartments all this time. The sight is worth the climb.

About two-thirds of the 330 thousand square meters of Haneul Park is covered with silver grass. It’s quite a spectacle to see an expanse of almost luminous grass waving at the visitors as if to invite them to jump in to the shining pool of tall grass. The annual Seoul Silver Grass Festival, which opened on October 16th this year, has grown into a must-see event for Seoul residents and visitors over the past nine years.

Here’s Mr. Im Byeong-wook in charge of environmental preservation at the Green Seoul Bureau affiliated with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to tell us more about the featival.

This place used to be a landfill in the 1970s and 1980s where all the garbage from Seoul neighborhoods was buried. The landfill was turned into a park and silver grass was planted here to give the people of Seoul a natural environment. The city launched the silver grass festival to celebrate the area’s flora and the fall season.

Silver grass was planted at Haneul Park for a reason. Here’s Mr. Bae Young-ho of the Green Seoul Bureau to tell us about why the weedy plants were brought to the former landfill site.

The city of Seoul started burying trash here in 1976. I started working here around 1990, and I remember that I couldn’t work in the office during summer because of the awful smell from the landfill. Also, the gas generated from the landfill caused fire at least two or three times a week.

Methane gas emitted from the buried trash frequently started fire and caused bad odor. It was the hosting of the 2002 World Cup that prompted the city authorities to transform the landfill into the city’s greatest ecological park. The project first began with solidifying the ground and building the sewage and drainage systems. Large grassland was created on top of the flattened land and that’s when silver grass was planted. Here’s Mr. Bae Young-ho of the Green Seoul Bureau again.

Silver grass was just right for this soil type. The landfill was covered with plastic tarps and earth to stop the gas from escaping up to the ground. This has made the soil very dry, which made the conditions optimal for silver grass.

Now let’s take a walk through the silver grass field. From afar it appeared as if the silver grass was all there was, but once inside the field of tall plants, you realize that there are just as many people as the tall stalks. Swimming among the rolling grass presents a perfect photo op.

- It feels like the waves or like I’m waltzing.
- Hey, the silver grass is taller than you. It’s really nice. Now it really feels like autumn.

It feels like you’re walking among the clouds. There is another way to enjoy the silver grass and that’s from an observatory.

The observatory is one of the most popular attractions of Haneul Park. It was set up last fall and named “the vessel containing the sky,” because the steel structure is shaped like a bowl measuring 3.7 meters in diameter at the bottom and 13.5 meters in diameter at the upper part. The lip part of the bowl is open to the sky and the three-tiered observatory is equipped with benches to allow visitors to take a short break. The observatory offers a breathtaking view of the park itself as well as the Han River to the south and Mt. Bukhan to the northeast.

- It’s wonderful. I can see the Han River and feel the ambience of autumn. Is that a boat? Wow, it was worthwhile to come up here. The sky seems to near.
- I can see just about everything from up here. The Han River seen from Sangam-dong is very beautiful, and all the silver grass makes the atmosphere more autumn-like.

Seen from the observatory, the silver grass field appears to take on different atmospheres. It seems to be dancing one minute and then waving at people the next. The silver grass even seems somewhat sorrowful when they are left at the mercy of the wind. The whitish plants leave different impressions on onlookers.

- It looks like white clouds.
- It’s beautiful and sad at the same time, as if they’re waving handkerchiefs to their loved ones.
- It looks like a giant waving at me.

The sun slowly sets as visitors are immersed in their own thoughts amid the silver grass field. Watching the sunset is another must-see spectacle at the park seemingly situated so close to the sky. People hurry over to the small hill behind the observatory to capture the sun setting beyond the Han River in its last blazing glory.

- It’s so beautiful.
- The sunset is very pretty. I think it goes well with the silver grass. I feel as if I’m going through puberty again. Sunset is like our lives. We must send it off with grace.
- I feel great and everything’s so nice. It’s fantastic. The cosmos are beautiful, too. I didn’t think I would have a good time like this.

From the right spot the reddish sun appears to be falling into “the vessel containing the sky.” At this time of the day the observatory is not the vessel containing the sky, but the vessel containing the sunset. The fiery sunset, the shimmering field of silver grass, and the gentle breeze from the Han River bring the fall sentiments closer to us.

When the dark finally settles, romantic lights are turned on in the park. Visitors particularly like the blue and red traditional Korean lanterns lighting up the wooden steps near the park entrance. The colorful lights are serviced only through the Silver Grass Festival, so visitors busily take photos against the lanterns to preserve the day’s memory. Haneul Park is opened until 10 at night during the festival period to allow people to enjoy the city’s night scenery. Here’s Mr. Im Byeong-wook of the Green Seoul Bureau again.

The park is usually open until eight in the evening. After that it’s resting time for the wild animals and plants living in the park. Also, gas and leachate still seep out in the area, so we need to keep people out at night for safety reasons.

Once regarded with contempt and disgust for its noxious smell and adverse environmental impact, the Nanjido landfill has undergone a tremendous facelift to be reborn as an ecological park. Now it’s a beloved attraction for nature lovers and tourists alike. People come to realize how important nature is and the city is working hard to remind people of its importance through various ecological classes and hands-on experience programs. Here’s Ms. Park Ji-young of Green Seoul Bureau to explain more about the park’s ecological programs.

There are four themed programs offered by the park, including an ecological tour program, an ecological class, and the civic green program. The ecological tourprogram has many components, such as studying the history of Nanjido’s transformation from a landfill to a park and watching videos on the treatment of methane gas or leachate and actually visiting several sites in the park. The ecological class teaches young children about the importance of the animals, insects, and plants inhabiting the Haneul Park.

An ecologist accompanies visitors in each of these programs. People participating in these programs soon learn how to appreciate nature and feel thankful that efforts are being made continuously to preserve nature in the urban setting.

- I can’t believe this place used to be a dump site. I’m glad that I got to have a good time with my mother by coming here.
- It’s nice that a landfill was turned into a beautiful park.
- It’s nice that silver grass was planted on top of the landfill to give us something to enjoy. We’re practically on top of our trash. But now that the silver grass is here, I feel great. Come visit Haneul Park!

The land was abandoned as a garbage dump for 15 years, but thanks to the visionary environmental workers, the landfill is now a picturesque nature park. The silver grass growing there seems to be waving their hands to thank them for giving them a chance to live and give humans a chance to enjoy nature.