Olympic Park Seoul: The Lonely Tree & Flag Plaza

I went to Olympic Park (올림픽공원) for one reason: that famous tree. You know the one — the single, perfectly-shaped tree standing alone in a huge green field, all over everyone's Instagram. The Lonely Tree (나홀로나무).

I did find the tree. It's great. But the thing that actually got me — the thing I didn't see coming at all — was walking through a plaza of flags near the entrance and suddenly stopping dead, because there it was. My country's flag. Flying in the middle of Seoul. It's been flying there since 1988, and somehow that hit harder than any landmark I'd visited so far. 🥹

This is my honest, foreigner-friendly guide to a slow afternoon at Olympic Park. 👇

What Is Olympic Park in Seoul?

Quick context for fellow newcomers: Olympic Park (올림픽공원) in Songpa-gu is the massive park built for the 1988 Seoul Olympics — and it's now one of Seoul's biggest green escapes, often compared to Central Park. Inside you'll find the old Olympic stadiums, a world-class outdoor sculpture park, an actual Baekje-era earthen fortress (몽촌토성) from ~2,000 years ago, a lake, endless lawns... and of course, the Lonely Tree.

For students, the best part: entry to the park is free. A whole afternoon of wandering costs you exactly one subway fare. 🫰

📍 Olympic Park (Lonely Tree & Flag Plaza) — Quick Info

• Where: Songpa-gu, Seoul — main entrance at the World Peace Gate (세계평화의문)
• Getting there: Line 8 Mongchontoseong Station (몽촌토성역) — right at the Peace Gate; also Line 5 Olympic Park Station (올림픽공원역) or Line 9 Hanseong Baekje Station (한성백제역)
• From Konkuk: Line 2 from Konkuk University Station → transfer at Jamsil to Line 8 → one stop to Mongchontoseong. ~20 minutes, easy.
• Cost: Park entry is free 🎉
• Time needed: 2–3 relaxed hours to hit the flags, the fortress walls, and the tree
• Best time: late afternoon — golden hour at the Lonely Tree is the shot

Stop 1: The Flag Plaza — Go Find YOUR Flag 🇰🇷🌍

Right past the huge winged World Peace Gate, there's a plaza ringed with flagpoles — the flags of the 160 nations that participated in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, all flying together.

And here's the game every international student needs to play: go find your country's flag.

I'm not exaggerating when I say I got emotional. When you're an exchange student, you spend a lot of days feeling slightly invisible — fumbling the language, being "the foreigner" in every room. And then you turn a corner in a Seoul park and your flag is just there, waving next to everyone else's, because almost forty years ago your country sent people here too. It's a weirdly powerful "you belong here" moment. I made my friends take about thirty photos. Zero regrets. 📸

Two details that make this spot even cooler:

• 🕰️ Some flags are frozen in 1988. The plaza has historically flown flags as they looked at the time of the Games — meaning East Germany and West Germany, and North and South Yemen, appeared as separate flags. It's like a little time capsule of the world as it was.
• 🪨 The stone monument in the middle is built from thousands of stones donated by the participating countries, with each nation's nameplate around it — so even if you somehow can't spot your flag, go find your country's stone and name.

Stop 2: The Walk — Fortress Walls & Very Judgmental Geese 🦢

From the flag plaza, don't rush straight to the tree. The path toward it winds through Mongchontoseong (몽촌토성) — grassy fortress walls from the ancient Baekje kingdom that you can actually walk on top of. Rolling green hills, the Lotte Tower poking up in the distance, joggers, picnic blankets, the occasional extremely confident goose. It's the least "big city" Seoul gets while still technically being Seoul.

This is also prime "멍때리기" territory — the Korean art of blissfully zoning out. Bring a mat, bring a convenience-store kimbap, thank me later.

Stop 3: The Lonely Tree (나홀로나무) — Yes, It Lives Up to the Hype 🌳

And then, finally: a huge open meadow, and in the middle of it, one single tree.

The Lonely Tree is exactly what it sounds like and somehow more than that. There's something about all that empty green space around one calm tree that makes everyone — couples, grandmas, exhausted students — slow down and just look at it. At golden hour, when the light goes soft and long shadows stretch across the field, every photo looks like an album cover.

Photo etiquette tip: on nice weekends there's often a polite little line of people waiting to take turns at the classic spot. Join the line, take your shots, and step aside — the system works and it's honestly kind of wholesome. 😄

What It's Actually Like (Honest Review) 💬

What I loved:

• 🆓 Completely free — one of the best zero-won afternoons in Seoul
• 🇺🇳 The flag plaza is unexpectedly emotional for foreigners — genuinely, go find your flag
• 🌳 The Lonely Tree + fortress walls + lake make it feel like several parks in one
• 🚇 Easy subway access, and only ~20 minutes from the Konkuk area

Be ready for:

• 🚶 It's BIG. Like, "wear real shoes" big. The tree is a solid walk from the entrance — pace yourself or budget time.
• 📸 Weekend crowds at the tree — the photo line can get long on pretty days; weekday afternoons are much calmer
• ☀️ Very little shade on the open lawns — in summer, bring water and sunscreen or aim for late afternoon
• 🌸 It's extremely seasonal — stunning in spring and autumn, more muted in deep winter

❓ Olympic Park Seoul — Quick Questions

Q. Is Olympic Park in Seoul free to enter?

A. Yes — entry to the park itself is completely free. You only pay if you visit paid facilities like the SOMA art museum inside.

Q. Where is the Lonely Tree in Olympic Park?

A. The Lonely Tree (나홀로나무) stands in a wide meadow in the middle of the park, a pleasant walk from the World Peace Gate entrance past the Mongchontoseong fortress walls. Follow the crowds with cameras — you can't miss it.

Q. Can I find my country's flag at Olympic Park?

A. Very likely yes — the flag plaza near the World Peace Gate flies the flags of the 160 nations that took part in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, plus a stone monument with each country's nameplate.

Is Olympic Park Worth It for International Students? ✅

Completely. It's free, it's beautiful, and it quietly does something no palace or tower did for me: it reminded me that my country and Korea have been connected since before I was born — and that I'm just the newest little thread in that connection. I came for a famous tree and left feeling weirdly, wonderfully at home.

If you're building your list of things I actually love about Korea — put a golden-hour walk through Olympic Park on it. And say hi to your flag for me. 🇺🇳🌳