Hot Spot News

‘Let’s walk Seoul’

Participants in the 442nd Turtle Marathon yell out a cheer and start the race on August 24 at the Cultural Plaza of the National Theater of Korea located on Namsan Mountain, Seoul. (photo: Jeon Han)

The Turtle Marathon involving overseas tourists was held on August 24. The race began at the Cultural Plaza of the National Theater of Korea situated on Namsan Mountain, Seoul. The course spanned the National Theater of Korea, N Seoul Tower and both the north and south sides of the road surrounding the mountain. The marathon participants included overseas tourists and 2014 beauty pageant winners. 

The marathon participants were unable to fully enjoy the view of Seoul due to the cloudy weather but enjoyed walking along the forest road and watching the buildings in the heart of the city. Some of them brought their family members. Others began the race before the official start time of 8 a.m. or tried different walking paths rather than the race course. 

One of the marathon participants was Andrew Plelchach who joined the race with his wife. Plelchach said that the marathon features “a beautiful trail course.” He said that he is happy to join the race since he has not yet been able to see Seoul after moving to the city on August 20 from Washington D.C. His wife said she got to know about the event through Facebook. She added that the race was a little hard for her but she enjoyed it. 

Ryu So-ra, one of the beauty pageant winners, said “The spirit of this marathon is in line with the spirit of Miss Korea as it is good for health and promotes the beautiful side of Korea. I hope many overseas travelers can fully enjoy Korea’s beauty in various sides.” 

By Jeon Han, Yoon Sojung 
Korea.net Staff Writers 
hanjeon@korea.kr

Beauty pageant winners pose for photos while cheering on the participants of the Turtle Marathon. (photo: Jeon Han)