http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=266932
BEFORE YOU READ ANYMORE, PLEASE NOTE THAT WE NEVER GOT TO TAKE THIS CRUISE!
We knew we could get on at the Jamsil Ferry, located over by Olympic Park, so we decided to use that port since we were in the area. The afternoon we decided to take our cruise was the afternoon of June 17, 2014. We had just come from Naksan Park where we climbed a REALLY high hill to take pictures of painted fish stairs. It was hot and there was so much smog in the air, we couldn't even see across the river. We were tired, sweaty, thirsty, and hungry. In addition, it was a little bit of a walk from the subway station over to the ferry entrance, so our already deflated energy was on empty by the time we arrived. We just wanted to sit and relax a bit before the cruise and eat something. According to the online schedule, a ferry cruise was supposed to take place at 4:40 and it was about 3 when we got there.
As I mentioned, it was a bit of a walk from the subway to the Jamsil Park area. The first thing we noticed when we got to Jamsil Park was how neglected it was. It was overrun with weeds and you could see where sand volleyball courts must have been at one time. It looked like a scene that could have been written into Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief because it was exactly as creepy and deserted as the scene when they ran into Medusa in the stone shop. There was nobody down there except for few bikers (not Harley bikers...bicycle bikers) covered from head to toe in biking gear along with surgical masks...in the 85 degree heat! This was VERY surprising, because NO PLACE in Seoul is deserted, no matter what time of day! I had spent the prior 2 weeks trying to move far enough away from people so I could fart in public (which is a near impossibility). But here, well, here is a great place to be if you have gas in Seoul! Empty. Almost like there is a toxic dome over the area and a huge sign adorns the entrance that says KEEP OUT, but since it's in Korean, we couldn't heed the warning! I am 100% positive that during the olympics, this was a happening place. That was 30 years ago though. The city of Seoul seriously let this place go to hell in a handbasket and they should be ashamed. If they had continued to maintain it, it could have been a happening hangout on the Han River.
We spotted the cheerless, dilapidated ferry facility bobbing sadly on the water. There was some loud melancholic k-drama music being pumped out over the speakers (I recognized it from Master's Sun). We still didn't see anyone and upon walking to the ticket booth, discovered it, too, was empty. We continued inside where we located a convenience store and a few tables and chairs. The convenience store was being operated by the ticket lady and her trainee. ( I assumed this girl was the trainee, because she could not operate the cash register and I had to return my items to the floor because she was unable to ring me up.) After Teppy purchased her items (because the ticket lady actually wrang her up and then disappeared), we sat at the table and waited to purchase our tickets. At about 4:30, 10 minutes prior to setting sail, I approached the ticket lady to buy tickets. (The reason we hadn't bought tickets earlier is because the ticket lady would not go into the ticket booth..she was somehow conveniently MIA, leaving her unqualified trainee to man the convenience store). I used my nifty app to ask for 2 tickets and she informed me that the next cruise was at 6:00.
The straw had just broken the camel's back. There was no way we were waiting another 1.5 hours for the ferry. The internet schedule we consulted was obviously wrong (It did say that times were subject to change..we HAD read the fine print but didn't expect it to happen to us;)). We were hot, tired, and hungry. There was no a/c in the facility and our mood had boiled over from tolerance to meltdown mode. I thanked the lady and we proceeded to walk toward Olympic Stadium along the forlorn path to where we caught subway line 2 and called it a day.
If you ever get to Seoul and want to take a river ferry cruise, I highly recommend catching it over at the Yeouido Ferry and skipping the Jamsil area all together! But hey, at least these people were having fun down there......see below!