Reply 1988 | Marronnier Park — The Horse Chestnut Where Daehangno Starts

The horse chestnut in the middle of the park was planted on 5 April 1929, on ground that still belonged to Keijo Imperial University. Seoul National University left for Gwanak in 1975. The city kept the tree and called the park Marronnier. From May into June the candles come out white and rose. The benches face Daehak-ro and the small theatres that took the campus's place.

Bo-ra walked this district as a law student who had already failed once and was going to sit the exam again. Deok-sun came down from Ssangmun to see a world that sold tickets instead of tteokbokki. Hyehwa Station Exit 2 is a few minutes on foot. The outdoor stage still holds the student crowds the street was rebuilt to hold.

You do not need a marker board. The tree is older than the drama, older than the Olympics inside it, older than the families who argued over who would walk Deok-sun home. Sit under it until the next troupe carries a set across the paving. That is the scene the cameras borrowed.

Photo: Seefooddiet, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.