Skateboarding Through the Seoul Night
Since I moved to Seoul I felt a bit lifeless at times. City life seemed to have gotten to me, and I felt the need to have some active (and possibly risky) activity that I could do regularly... I thought for a while, and skateboarding seemed like the best balance of fun and function. I decided to get a cruiser for traveling, and I must say... I love it! I go out two or three nights a week, and just enjoy life without worries.
I've skated in New Zealand before, but that was always with normal skateboards, a cruiser was totally different for me, and it took a long time to get used to. I've had some near misses and accidents, but it's addicting after a while. I usually skate at 11pm-4am to avoid the crowds and traffic. At this time all the roads are empty and I can pretty much go where I want!
My other hobby of course though, is photography! It's taken me a long time to be confident enough to carry my camera in my hand while skating, but I'm finally there. Three nights ago, I went out for my first time, taking my camera in hand! The streets are a totally new place at night time, and to me are also much nicer. Let me take you on a journey of the back streets of Seoul, in the early morning hours.
Let the Journey Begin!
Nikon D5300 | Seoul | Original Photography
I started off heading to the local stream. There's a pretty big differentiation between the sides... One side has wide open (and busy) streets, while the other side is covered in alleyways and small footpaths... Much more fun to skate on! Along the stream are also some nice paths to walk, bike or skate. But I wanted something more fun! So I headed across the stream.
These pictures where taken at around 2am, and you can still see people out and about. It's true that the city never sleeps! Even at this time you still have to be careful and look out for vehicles and people. It's usually okay, but always keep an eye out!
Crossing the bridge brings me to the beginning of the alleyways that I wanted to explore! I've been here a few times, but this time I wanted to go a bit further than usual. These streets are pretty smooth (relatively speaking anyway!), and they have few obstacles, which means they are great for skating! Also, they are pretty much abandoned at this time which is also perfect!
This area of Seoul is especially cool to me, because lots of the buildings are older, and some even seem traditional (although I am not sure how true this is). At this point I was about 30 minutes from my house, and it must have been about 2:30am. But being too curious and sleep depriving myself, I decided to go further!
Another, darker alley! What could possibly go wrong? Another thing about Seoul is that it is a rather safe city. Crime here is very low, and even skating in the wee hours of the morning I feel safe. Admittedly, in places like this I don't feel so safe, but that's just me. I try to go down these streets quietly because I don't want to wake everyone up at this hour..
As I skate I sorta just take snaps... Skate and take a photo. These aren't the best quality pictures, but that isn't my intention. They were all taken at a high shutter with high iso, but I think they turned out okay? I didn't think it would be so fun to just skate around and take pictures, but it really is! And it means I am always on the move, finding new places, and new vistas and views!
By this time it finally seemed reasonable to head home! I was about 45 minutes to an hour away from home, and this time I wanted to skate fast without taking photos. So just before turning back I took this photo!
And the final image of the day! I saw the steam and couldn't help but stop to take a photo (although not a very good one, I didn't bother to change any of the camera settings...). I don't know how so much steam can come out of a house..? I can't imagine ever having a shower that hot...
Hopefully my photos got to show everyone a bit more about what the streets of Seoul are like at nighttime! Not all of the streets are like this of course, and there are many very busy and modern streets. However, places like this are also common in Seoul, and they are for sure my favourite places to explore!
Thanks for reading everyone :)