Changing Seasons – April 2026

Hi friends! Welcome to another monthly roundup. We’re fully into Spring now–the weather is gorgeous, the flowers are blooming, and there’s a sense of fresh starts and possibility in the air. Wait, is Spring my favorite season now? I think right now it is. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could say that for every season? (I will try my best come the sweltering month of July.)

April was truly chock-full for me, thanks to the changing of the seasons, BTS concerts, and ARMY friends visiting for said concerts. My friend N from Argentina was in town for most of the month, so I got to play tourist in my own city as I accompanied her around Seoul.

BTS

BTS kicked off their Arirang World Tour in Goyang, and I was there for it on Day 1, rain and all! I initially only had a ticket for D2 from the Army Membership presale, but was lucky enough to snag a D1 ticket too when they released cancelled and restricted view seats the week before the show. I’m so glad I got to go this day, my seat was close to the center of the stage and I had so much fun singing and jumping around with the Korean Army next to me. We both immediately stood up when the show started and didn’t sit down ’til the end.

I wanted to stay present as much as possible during the performances, so I didn’t film much of the songs, but did film little bits of the ments (talk times), which I’ve already shared on my YT channel.

After taking Friday to recover from the concert (oh my goodness my calves were so so sore from all the jumping–I’m looking at you FYA-Fire transition), we were back in Goyang for D2! This time the weather was gorgeous, not a cloud in sight. Although it did get quite chilly towards the end of the night. N and my other ARMY friend S met up a bit earlier to grab a kimbap and hang around the stadium before going in.

This time my seat was literally the last row of the third level. The space was a bit too steep and high up to stand up and jump, but I did my best bouncing around in my seat all the same. It was cool to see the whole stadium from the nose bleeds, I got a better sense of the whole production from this view. It was also nice to see all the pyrotechnics that they couldn’t do on D1 because of the rain.

I could write reams and reams just about the concert, but in a nutshell, like with Comeback Live, it was just so awesome to be back at a concert and see new music being performed and meet up with friends. (Annnnd I get to see them again in June in Busan!)

In addition to the concerts, I checked out some of the Arirang the City events that were held around Seoul before the concert. N and I went to the ARMY Madang at DDP (which I underestimated the lines for even though we had reservations), and got some of the gifts (ribbon, postcard, stickers) that were provided.

We also went to the SWIM installation outside the MMCA, which was fun to hang out inside and try to take cool videos. (Note the use of the word ‘try’ to take cool videos lol.)

I think that’s it for the expressly BTS activities. It was lovely to meet up with ARMY friends again and spend time together sharing our love for this group.

Spring

The cherry blossoms were doing their thing at the beginning of the month.

And so were the potted plants.

In a lovely moment of serendipity, as N and I were coming down from a mountain (after a short barefoot walk on red clay), we came across all these daffodils in full bloom all across the mountain path.

And then we came across this magnificent tulip and flower garden planted on the side of the mountain. Clearly it was famous because there were tourists and locals alike all over the place, but I had no idea it was there. It felt like walking through Disney World, so much vibrant color everywhere. But I think the experience was made infinitely better because we stumbled upon it, instead of planning to go.

Art

I also stopped by a few art exhibits this month. The first was called the Print-making Garden: Six Gardeners. This one really reignited the desire to create more things inspired by my natural environment.

There were a variety of print-making techniques showcased, and I was inspired by all, but especially the pieces made by cyanotype on fabric!

After the concert weekend, my Army friend S, who is an art curator/creative director, took N and I on a tour of some exhibits and galleries. It was a real treat to have an expert take us around, and we got to see a variety of art in interesting spaces.

This exhibit, Where time has passed, the shadows deepen, featured the paintings and sculptures of Miwha Park and the flower arrangements of Leo Kim, alongside Korean antiques. It was cool to see the interplay of art, floristry, antiques in this unique space.

We also checked out Jimin Lim’s solo exhibit of her drawings and paintings. I had been to two of her other exhibits in the past, which showed her more tight, precise painting style on canvas. This exhibit showcased her current, more looser works on paper.

A quilted sky above the WWNN gallery.

And light hitting this painting of the river in such a striking way.

Lastly, on my own I checked out the Yeonhui Art Fair and had a grand ol’ time wandering around the neighborhood and appreciating art in all the small galleries. My spontaneous glimmer from this day was catching the performance of a traditional Korean music quartet and singing Arirang together.

There were several pieces that caught my eye in the fair, but I was intrigued by the delicate embroidery on these canvases. I was especially struck by the polar bear and desert fox pieces conveying a sense of habitat or species loss.

Playing tourist

N and I stopped by Deoksugung Palace one evening, which was very atmospheric in its own way. There happened to be the Night of Seokjojeon event taking place then, so we got to hear a classical music recital outside of the Seokjojeon building. N joked it was my Bridgerton moment, and it was another one of those serendipitous glimmers that I will remember fondly.

Another day my Army friends and I visited the National Folk Museum (I had never been). There’s an outdoor section that recreates the shops and buildings of Seoul in the 70s and 80s, which is fun to walk around.

On yet another day, N and I visited Gyeongbukgung Palace. Our aim was to check out the King’s Library, except it wasn’t open on the day we went. But every day is a good day to walk around the palaces. Although, my oh my, there were a lot of people. I think there are more tourists in Seoul than even before the pandemic. The palace was full of tourists in hanbok, which is always fun to see.

And on yet another day, I stumbled into a side quest of visiting every palace and Jongmyo shrine in Seoul to complete a stamp rally as part of the Palace Festival. It took two hours of walking around but I got it done, and my prize was this keychain.

Jongmyo is probably my favorite tourist attraction of the five palaces (Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Deoksugung, Changgyeonggung, and Gyeonghuigung) and shrines in the heart of Seoul. This view on the path from Jongmyo to Changgyeonggung is my favorite moment in the grounds.

N also told me about the view from the rooftop of the National Museum of Contemporary History in Gwanghwamun. I hadn’t been to the museum yet, so we quickly checked it out and the view was amazing! You can see the plaza, Gyeongbokgung, the Blue House (president’s residence) and Bugaksan mountain.

And we also saw the time capsule BTS made in 2020, to be opened in 2039. It was a surreal moment to see Kim Namjoon alongside independence fighters and historical figures in the brochures explaining contemporary history.

Birds

I signed up for a two-part bird-watching and drawing course at a local library here in Seoul. This day was a glorious morning of walking along the stream and observing the natural wildlife. We saw a few different birds this day, including: Little egret, Oriental turtle dove, and Marsh tit.

But the highlight for me was seeing this Mallard duck mama with her ducklings! I can’t remember the last time I saw baby ducks, so it was a real treat! Another happy glimmer moment. The photos don’t do their cuteness justice. I did take some videos which better show how busy and fast the little ducklings were swimming and pattering around the stream.

Scrolling through my camera roll I also discovered this lil guy we saw trying to drink water from the fountain basin inside the grounds of the Folk Museum. It is a Brown-eared bulbul (I believe).

Earth Day

For Earth Day, I signed up to do a plant walk/litter pick up event in a neighboring district in Seoul. I felt a bit of social anxiety before going, but it turned out to be a good experience. We walked around the neighborhood taking photos of the plants we saw, and picked up trash as we went. It was quite surprising to see the variety of flora you can find even in the city streets; they’re there in plain sight if only you’re ready to look for them.

In Korea these days, picking up trash is called ‘plogging’, which apparently originates from Sweden, to describe jogging and picking up litter (‘plocka up’ being Swedish for ‘pick up’). I’m glad I forced myself out of my comfort zone to do a bit of volunteer work and meet new people. After plogging, we had a vegan potluck (I made the carrot salad) and watched a documentary about the plight of the Asiatic black bears (“moon bears”) in Korea.

Marche is the weekly farmer’s market in Seoul, and the location of the market rotates among a few places around Seoul. This week it was held at the DDP and there were more green and eco-friendly vendors in honor of Earth Day.

I really liked this vendor selling reusable pouches and bags–ended up buying a little pouch to carry tissues with me. In addition to my birding era, I am also in my sewing era so I appreciate these handmade items more now.

This day I had to go somewhere afterwards so couldn’t buy any fresh produce, but I did grab lunch from the prepared food vendors and had a nice picnic on the lawn.

Speaking of sewing, I also signed up for an open studio day at the atelier where I took my sewing machine class earlier in the year. The studio has an emphasis on mending, transforming, and upcylcing the clothes you already have, instead of buying new things.

For the open studio, I had brought a pair of socks to darn, but seeing another participant start applique influenced me to do the same. Luckily I had brought my brown denim coat with me, and decided to applique some scraps onto it to liven it up. I think you’ll agree, it turned out so so cute. I am obsessed, and wish I had a fabric scrap supply so I could applique all the things on everything.

Crafts

The crocheting also continued in April. I finished the light scarf I had been working on since March. It was quite easy once I got over the foundation and getting used to the different yarn.

I had my first real battle with a big ol yarn barf. It was quite rough to untangle, but I persevered and managed to undo the twists and knots without cutting the yarn.

In class we also started our first doll- these adorable Miffys. Mine is the one in front. I learned I have quite tight stitches as it is about 15% smaller than the instructor’s. Now all it needs is some cute clothes!

And I saw that a local crochet studio was having a closing sale, so I may have bought a skein… or 20. The yarns were priced anywhere from half to a tenth of their sticker price, but in hindsight I do see I may have gotten a bit carried away. But do look forward to what creations will come forth from this haul!

And that wraps up what is probably my longest Changing Seasons post ever. Life is obviously lived in the moment, not photos, but it was nice to have all these pictures to refer to as I reflected on this very full and joyful month. Wishing you all a wonderful start to May!

This post was written as part of the Changing Seasons challenge. You can visit Ju-Lyn’s post to see how other creatives around the world spent their April.