Kingfisher Park: An Urban Oasis in Cheonan
Cheonan Urban Wind Path Forest Kingfisher Park
1643, Buldang-dong, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do
This year, winter feels particularly late in arriving.
Although it's past mid-November, a visit to the maple tree forest path at the Independence Hall, famous for its autumn foliage, revealed almost no color change, leaving me only with views of lush greenery.
In reality, if you're determined, you can see autumn foliage without having to go to famous spots.
With the air crisper and clearer, I visited Kingfisher Park in Buldang-dong, Cheonan.
It's a park I visit quite often as it's not far from home, and I can feel it changing little by little each time I come.
I seem to recall there being a wooden information board, but it's been upgraded to a sleek metal sign providing simple information such as fine dust levels, temperature, humidity, and time.
Printing on materials like metal or plastic is definitely cleaner and easier to maintain than wood.
If you come up from the entrance on the left, in a northwest direction, there's a promenade with red pavement and a street of trees stretching northeast.
Just across the street is Buldang-dong's cafe street, with numerous restaurants in addition to cafes, making it perfect for a walk with a coffee after a meal.
A large loop around the park is about 1 km, a perfect distance for enjoying a cup of coffee. If you divide it into upper and lower paths, you can walk a longer 2-3 km, offering various options.
The rabbit-shaped and moon-reminiscent sphere-shaped lights turn on at night, but they are painted white, making them quite visible even during the day.
I wonder if truly good design shouldn't stand out even when it's not functioning?
Seeing the coconut mats on the ground almost gone makes me realize that there's not much of the year left.
Despite the many fallen leaves, seeing that they've been cleared from the walking paths and piled on the sides, I'm grateful for those who work behind the scenes to keep the park clean.
When I think of autumn, I think of reeds and silver grass.
Kingfisher Park is connected to Jangjaecheon Stream, which runs through Buldang-dong, and also functions as a reservoir, so you can easily see grasses like silver grass in the artificially created wetlands.
During the monsoon season, when it rains a lot, the flatlands below are all submerged, serving the function of a reservoir. When I see the park full of water, I wonder where all that water would have gone if this park didn't exist.
There are also outdoor exercise equipment and benches that you can see anywhere.
The black and beige-toned exercise equipment in the back appears to be newly installed, and like the newly installed smart information board replacing the wooden one, I can see the park being upgraded with something new little by little.
It's a light that turns on at night and also serves as a bench.
Putting too many functions into one thing can sometimes make it neither one thing nor the other, but this light-cum-bench has been quietly performing both jobs well for several years.
During dry spells like this, you can also go down to the dried-up reservoir area.
Since it's a place that gets submerged in water, you can see that the floor has been paved firmly to prevent slipping or getting soggy.
There are also stairs leading from the reservoir up to the promenade on the embankment.
It must be difficult to maintain something so close to white, but it's always kept clean, which is amazing.
Above the embankment, there's a soft walking path, and about half a level below, there's a well-paved bike path.
Seeing such a straight path makes me feel good and refreshed, which makes me think that even though I like nature, I'm still an urban person at heart.
Due to its location at the lowest point in the city, where water collects, you can see some water flowing even during dry spells when humidity is low.
I even cross the stepping stones that are submerged and impassable when it rains a lot.
It's only natural to go up to the small two-story observation deck.
To utilize the space, bicycle racks and benches are placed under the observation deck, using it like a bunk bed.
Beyond the park, you can see high-rise apartments and commercial complexes, and cars constantly passing by, but just a step away on a park bench, there's plenty of relaxation and nature.
Perhaps it's when the city and nature are together that they become more valuable than when either is alone.
Urban Wind Path Forest Kingfisher Park
○ Location: 1643, Buldang-dong, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do
○ Features: Bike path, walking path, artificial wetland, small observation deck,
○ Outdoor exercise equipment, proximity to commercial district (cafe street), no restrooms
○ Parking: Cheonan Citizen's Sports Complex (approx. 300m distance)
○ Visited: November 19
Source :https://blog.naver.com/sinmunman/224089566943
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