Walk about 15 minutes from World Cup Stadium Station and a hill rises in front of you. Climb the 291 steps of the Haneul Stairs or hop on the "Maengkkongi" electric shuttle, and a silver grass field of about 60,000 pyeong (roughly 200,000㎡) spreads across the 98m summit. From 1978, this hill was the Nanjido landfill, where Seoul buried its trash for 15 years. Ecological restoration began with the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and today Haneul Park (하늘공원) is a hill where silver waves ripple every autumn. Every October, the Seoul Silver Grass Festival (서울억새축제) is held here, with silver waves by day and illuminated grass fields by night. The colorful kochia (summer cypress) field across from the silver grass and the cosmos field on one side of the park are also popular photo spots, so be sure to look around. As the sun sets, the silver plumes turn gold, and the Han River and downtown Seoul open up before you. On the way down, take a walk along the 1km Metasequoia Forest Trail on the south side of the park and wrap up your autumn among the reddening trees.

Walk a little over 10 minutes from Exit 2 of Hanseong Baekje Station, and a pink mist appears, hanging low between wide grassy hills. Olympic Park (올림픽공원), opened in 1986 for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, spreads stadiums and sculptures across about 430,000 pyeong (roughly 1.4 million㎡). At its heart lies Mongchontoseong (몽촌토성), a restored earthen fortress built during the Baekje period. Between the legacy of the modern Olympics and this Baekje fortress, the pink muhly in the wildflower garden stays green all summer, then turns soft pink and purple in autumn. Kochia and chrysanthemums grow alongside the pink muhly as well. Pink muhly in the Seoul metropolitan area lasts from mid-October to early November, taking on a lovelier hue as autumn deepens. Continue on to the pampas grass at the 88 Lawn and the "Lone Tree" on the Mongchontoseong trail, and half a day will fly by. Since there's no admission fee, why not stop by in the late afternoon and watch the sun set over the fortress?

If you've walked through Seoul's autumn, board the KTX and head down to Gyeongju, the thousand-year-old ancient capital. Take a city bus from Gyeongju Station and get off at the "Cheomseongdae" stop, and an observatory about 9m tall, made of stones stacked in a rounded form, catches your eye first. This is Cheomseongdae (첨성대), believed to have been built during the reign of Queen Seondeok of Silla. At its foot lies a pink muhly field of about 4,200㎡, planted by the city of Gyeongju in 2017. An observatory more than a thousand years old standing behind 80,000 pink muhly plants. It's a place where something very old and something relatively new fit into a single photo. Pink muhly isn't the only thing here. Around Cheomseongdae, about 100,000 purple Brazilian vervain plants bloom from June to October, followed by cosmos, zinnias, and even sunflowers through the seasons. The pink muhly here shows its deepest pink between late September and mid-October. The field is open 24 hours with no admission fee, so after enjoying the flowers, take a slow walk along the rounded ridges of the ancient tombs to Wolseong, Gyerim, and Daereungwon.

If you've walked the flower paths of the ancient capital, shall we head to a flower festival by the southern sea next? Masan is a city of the sea and its fish market. But when autumn ripens, the scent of chrysanthemums replaces the smell of fish in this harbor for nine days. Now in its 26th year, the Masan Gagopa Chrysanthemum Festival (마산가고파국화축제) fills about 2.3km of coastal walkway along Masan Port with some 100,000 chrysanthemums. With about 900,000 visitors last year alone, it's one of the festivals that best represents autumn in Korea. By day, walk among yellow and red chrysanthemums with the sea beside you. A chrysanthemum bonsai exhibition, carefully tended by hand, is also held, so you can take your time admiring the shape of each plant. After sunset, a multimedia fireworks show and a fire-drop performance over the sea, where sparks rain down onto the water, carry on into the night. This year's festival runs from October 31 to November 8. Take your time enjoying the autumn scenery created by the sea and the chrysanthemums together.

Carrying the scent of chrysanthemums on to Busan, another flower path awaits, stretching long along the Nakdonggang River. Walk about 20 minutes from Gangseo-gu Office Station toward the river, and the sky widens as the riverbank stretches endlessly ahead. Daejeo Ecological Park (대저생태공원) is a riverside park covering 3.43㎢ and stretching 7.62km, about 15 times the size of Seoul's Yeouido Park. In spring, about 370,000㎡ of this riverbank is blanketed in yellow canola flowers; in autumn, it changes into three kinds of flowers: pink muhly, silver pampas grass, and orange sulfur cosmos. The pink muhly runs for about 1,000m between Gupo Bridge and Gupo Nakdonggang Bridge, and the wide field near Parking Lot 2 blends with a bamboo forest trail, so the scenery shifts little by little as you walk. The pampas grass, growing taller than a person and swaying silver, and the quiet reed beds also keep making you stop. Since the park stretches so far, renting a bike is a great way to explore, and as it extends toward Gimhae International Airport, it's worth adding as an afternoon walk on the day you arrive in or leave Busan.

Our final stop is Jeju, across the sea. Board a plane and head for the foot of Hallasan Mountain. Take a bus from downtown Seogwipo and get off at the "Hueree Natural Park" stop, and a path paved with dark red Jeju volcanic scoria leads into the garden. Hueree Natural Park (휴애리 자연생활공원) is a garden that holds a flower festival every season against the backdrop of Hallasan, and in autumn it hosts its Pink Muhly Festival (핑크뮬리 축제). The Sky Garden, the Palm Forest Garden, and the Cafe Garden. Pink muhly blooms in each area, so you can enjoy a tropical-looking scene where palm trees and pink waves fit into one frame. Pink spreading over a black volcanic-stone path. Jeju's pink muhly is at its loveliest from mid to late October. Chrysanthemums bloom in October and November, and from November red camellias take over, so flowers never stop even as the seasons change. During harvest season, there's tangerine picking and a black pig show too, making it a great spot to visit with kids. From October, last entry moves up to 4:30 p.m., so plan to drop by in the morning or early afternoon with plenty of time.

Capturing the autumn light on a pink hill beneath Hallasan, we bring our journey to a close. Silver grass on a hill that was once a landfill, pink muhly beside a Baekje earthen fortress and a Silla observatory, chrysanthemums filling a harbor, and pink along a volcanic-stone path. Each of Korea's autumn flowers blooms on top of an old story. Is there any other country that greets autumn with so many different faces? This autumn, why not take your time walking a flower path of your own?