Many people cite "beautiful scenery" as one of the attractive points of University of Seoul (UOS). The UOS campus has a similar appearance and role to that of a city park as a resting place for citizens and students. As a university with prestigious departments for architecture and landscaping, UOS boasts beautiful scenery throughout the year. Unlike other universities, which are limited to several specific plant species and concentrate on the exterior designs of buildings, UOS pleases visitors with a wide variety of seasonal arrangements. Various trees are well harmonized on a gentle flat area of 426,799 square meters.

Today, we would like to introduce a place on campus that particularly catches people's eyes: the Roof Garden. Walking around the streets of the campus and enjoying the scenery up close is definitely a pleasure, but The UOS Times can assure you that looking at the campus from above is much prettier than from up close. It especially shows off its beauty at night with shining lights.

<Roof Garden>

A roof garden refers to a garden on the roof of a building, as its name indicates. In addition to the decorative advantage, roof gardens contribute to controlling temperature, raising food, and providing habitats for wildlife and may even have ecological benefits. UOS added roof gardens to most of its buildings, and many students visit these spaces when they want to enjoy their free time in the cool breeze.

The roof gardens that we will introduce today are those famous for their beauty.

<Design and Sculpture Building>

The Design and Sculpture Building is the first building on the left side along the main street. As it is primarily used by the Department of Environmental Sculpture and Department of Industrial and Visual Design, students from other departments do not have much opportunity to access this building. However, students visit this building to enjoy the roof garden, which is the largest on campus and has many benches and flowers.

The roof garden is located on the 6th floor of the building rather than at the top of the building, which is unusual. If you get off the elevator and look to the left, the entrance is next to you.

It is also where the last scene of the popular recent promotional video for UOS, the "Tiger is coming down" parody, was set.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Elhf5BREXc

In this roof garden, you can take pictures of the signboards of UOS. At night, this sign shines, so it is even more beautiful.

<The Centennial Memorial Hall>

This building was built as a commemorative project to celebrate UOS’s 100th anniversary. The building is divided into three buildings along the slope, and each of them is independent but connected to another. There is a garden between each of the three buildings, referred to as the Memorial Garden and the Reading Garden.

As the Centennial Memorial Hall is located closest to the main gate, you can see people entering and leaving through the main gate from here.

When we visited the Memorial Garden, we spotted a cat enjoying the sunlight. She ran away quickly, but we were able to take a picture of her. As such, it is a place where the sun was warm and peaceful.

When the sun sets, you can see the entire school turning orange in color and the sky changing as each minute passes. Therefore, many people visit here at sunset to enjoy the daily background tinted with a different color. At this time, in particular, you can spot many couples enjoying the scene.

<Science and Technology Building>

The Science and Technology Building was constructed in 1999. Many students are not familiar with this building because it is far from the main street, but it also has a nice roof garden. From here, you can see the schoolyard at a glance, and beyond the yard, the small alleys of Cheongnyang-ni can be seen widely.

The roof garden of this building is currently designated as one of the allowed smoking areas at UOS. Nevertheless, this has been well managed, allowing people to enjoy the fresh air.

In addition to the garden, many flower pots have been placed along the entrance, providing an organized yet nature-friendly look. Here, we could meet a bird that was about to fly. Because the roof garden is an open space, with its excellent accessibility, it has become an ecological space for animals.

<Natural Science Building>

Unlike some of the roof gardens, where people can enjoy such relaxation, others have not been properly managed: namely, the roof garden of the Natural Science Building.

Considering the ivy vine that completely covers the outer wall of the Natural Science Building, we initially thought the roof garden would surely be well managed. However, the actual state was revealed from the stairs leading to the roof garden, which were in bad condition. There were numerous experimental products scattered randomly with a thick layer of dust. In other words, it seems as if no one had visited there for a long time.

When we opened the door and entered the roof garden, we discovered the situation was more serious. Unlike when it was first formed, the roof was not green in color; instead, it was in a lifeless brown. Only a cherry blossom tree that was surrounded by cigarette butts pitifully held its place.

There were cigarette butts everywhere. The garden was no longer able to fulfill its original purpose and was now only used for smoking.

<Liberal Arts Building>

There was also a roof garden that is temporarily blocked from entry due to COVID-19: the roof garden of the Liberal Arts Building. The Liberal Arts Building has its main gate on the second floor as it is located on sloping ground. In 2007, the school added a new building to its left. On the fourth floor of the new building, there is a roof garden. Because the roof garden of the Liberal Arts Building is only accessible through the student lounge, it is now unavailable for entry because all of the lounges have been blocked off to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Nevertheless, the scenery through the windows showed that garden management was relatively good.

Although there were some bad and unavailable cases such as the latter two, it is clear that the roof gardens provide students a breathing place on campus. In some cases, a roof garden can be a place for love. Although COVID-19 has prevented exchanges between people, it cannot prevent love between people! If you like someone, show your love to him or her while enjoying the beautiful scenery in the roof garden. Simply hanging out and spending some time together in the roof garden can lead you to success.

The roof garden is a place where grass leaves shake whenever the wind blows, catching people's eyes. It is a place that makes UOS a little more of a nature-friendly university. It is a place where you can create beautiful memories and even start loving someone.

If you are a student who has never been to the roof gardens at UOS, we recommend you go up there on a sunny day. You will feel free as you look down upon the sight of UOS in front of you.