양천구청역 , or My Local Subway Station

양천구청역, Yangcheon gu cheong yeok literally means Western stream district office station. It is the middle of five stations on the "Kkachisan spur" of line 2, the circle line in Seoul's awesome Metro system.

I've been meaning to do a pictorial on this station for a while, not really because it's "my" station, but because it is a really attractive subway station. Especially in Spring, when it is draped in jindalae or azaleas. Below are some shots of my entrance:


It looks pretty good from the other side, too. Most subway stations in Seoul have a number of exits--commonly eight, and those that are transfers often have twelve or more--but Yangcheon-gu cheong has only two.


You see those glass pyramids at left? They are among the most interesting features of the station. There's no trick to getting natural light to an above-ground station, but Yangcheon-gu cheong yeok has an underground platform ... fed sunshine through these skylights!


It is the only station I have been in (there may be others) which has a "viewing deck" on the ticket mezzanine where you can actually overlook the tracks!


So now we know what a subway train looks like from on top.

The architecture is stylish: rather reminiscent of Art Deco with rounded corners, tile wall covering, chrome-and-glass fixtures. It's not, of course, having been built in 1992, but I applaud the effort.


And of course it has all the features you want and need in a station, from the station office (above) to maps, a convenience store and a Dunkin Donuts (not shown--it's too tempting!)


The Metro mascot even puts in a flighty appearance:


This post was mainly to celebrate this subway station, but I can't deny the timing served two other purposes: 1) another chance to get some photos of flowers in Seoul, now spring has sprung, and 2) to commemorate what is blog post number 900 here at The Seoul Patch. So, finally, a bit of rhododendron porn: