KEY POINTS:
When people in Korea get engaged they lock their hearts together and throw away the key ... literally.
The signs of this approach to love can be seen on a visit to South Korea's 237m tall N Seoul Tower, perched on the summit of Mt Namsan, and offering spectacular views of Seoul.
At the base of the tower is a viewing platform surrounded by a wire mesh fence which is covered with small padlocks.
On one section several dozen pink padlocks have been locked onto the fence in the shape of a heart. Elsewhere the random mix of colours creates a rainbow effect.
What is this? "Ah," said our guide, Hyun Sook Park, "this is the love fence. When young people get engaged they come here and symbolise the permanence of their relationship by fastening a padlock to the fence and throwing away the key."
Sure enough, while I watched, a young couple walked up to the fence, clipped on a padlock, turned the key together, then tossed the key into the bushes below.
The young man pulled out a marker pen and, while his lady watched, wrote a slogan of love on the wooden base just below the padlock.
