In May, spring gives way to summer. Spring, which seems like it will never come during the long cold winter, is on the wane. As time goes by, the weather gets nicer and nicer. People search for places where they can enjoy the happiness only spring can bring.

A lot of various people gather in Yeouido Hangang Park. Some come for bicycles and some others for skateboards. Those who could not enjoy bikes and skateboards due to the lack of a wide, flat and empty place in their daily routines look pretty excited.

Yeouido Hangang Park is really located right in the middle of the “concrete jungle.” On the grass spread throughout the park surrounded by numerous towering buildings, people lay down a mat or pitch a tent and smell the roses. Most of them enjoy delicious food such as chicken and pizza.
The taste would be certainly different and maybe much more enjoyable if the food is eaten right next to someone you love. Looking at the scenery of Han River with the pleasant spring breeze, people find tranquility.

Two people busk with the Han River at their back, and the audience enjoys their song merrily giving them a big hand. All people look for small happiness in their daily routines, and maybe that is why so many people gather here: a small rest among hectic lives. How about thinking of the true meaning of happiness Hermann Hesse described in his poem? Why not try to recharge your batteries for a while in Hangang Park or wherever you like to be, dwelling on the poem?

Happiness

                                       Hermann Hesse

As long as you chase happiness,
you are not ready to be happy,
even if you owned everything.

As long as you lament a loss,
run after prizes in restless races,
you have not yet known peace.

But when you have moved beyond desire,
become a stranger to your goals and longings
and call no longer on happiness by name,

then your heart rises calmly
above the ebb and flow of action,
and peace has reached your soul.

By Jeon Nu-ri
Associate Editor of Culture Section