About 70% of South Korea is mountaineous which is somewhat hard to imagine when one is standing amidst the cement and skycrapers of downtown Seoul. As one looks and east however, large mountains are readily visible and provide a scenic backdrop for the city. By pure dumb luck and a bit of gut instinct, we chose to live in Seongbukdong, a part of the city that is just outside the inner city fortress walls and closest to the northern mountains in Bukhansan National Park. We love it as a respite from the big city and often feel as if the mountains are calling us (cue in “The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music”) as we head home by car or foot. A 10 minute walk up several steep streets from our house, with a pitch akin to some of San Francisco’s steepest blocks and perspiration on our brows to prove it, we arrive at the Bugak Skyway, road which encircles the top of the city like the Beltway surrounds Washington, D.C. From there, we can access many local trails, the outer city fortress wall, Bukhansan and Dobogsan National Parks and if we wanted, the forests/mountains beyond all the way to the DMZ which is only 41 kms/26 miles north of us. When my good friend Sharon Altmeyer came for a visit, I suggested a quick walk on these wooded trails and before we knew it, we had hiked for an hour and a half. Admittedly, this is a known problem I have… but Sharon was “fair game” and a good sport!
In the winter, the mountains are too cold, icy and snow covered for me to hike, but I still pass hikers DAILY who are headed for treks, complete with their hiking poles and warm gear and am often jealous. Hiking is serious business here in Korea. Some of the first vocabulary I’ve learned are verbs for walking/hiking/”reading on a park bench”(as opposed to the verb “to read”) since these are all common activities. All year long, the local restaurants in Seongbukdong on the weekends are full of groups of hikers who share a meal after a day’s outing. There is great commraderie among hikers in Seoul who often hike together in groups and even wear matching hats/scarves/jackets. A typical Korean hiker in the peak of summer looks like he/she is ready to go treking in the snow to us, with hat, scarves, gloves, long pants/sleeves, heavy boots and hiking poles. Below you can see not only the crowds of hikers, but also the food stalls selling provisions and the serious hiking attire worn by most everyone. This is in fact all for sun-protection as we now understand and we certainly get stares (glares, even!) as we hike past in our shorts and t-shirts (suncreen applied though I promise!). The pictures below were taken when it was hot and roughly 80 degrees outside! I quickly snapped a group picnicing one day and I’m a big fan of the compressed air stations to de-dust after hiking.
Often Koreans carry radios playing music for their group to enjoy and opera is frequently playing on loud speakers along the inner city fortress walls. I walk on these walls several times a week the entire year, often to and from my pottery classes. In the winter, the stairs are a bit more icy and treacherous and the stone piles (“san shin”or cairns located adjacent to Buddhist temples ) a bit more noticeable in the stark landscape.
I’ve been on several day-long treks with Seoul International Women’s Association (SIWA) and always enjoy the folks I meet, the exercise, views and sense of achievement once we reach the peak and look down at the city. Here are a few of the photos I’s snapped this year from mountain tops:
At the end of one of our longest, most difficult hikes, our leader announced that there was a temple 2km away with a giant Buddha that was worth visiting. She herself had already been there so was not going to take the detour and most of our group elected to follow her down, but Cristina and I decided to “push ourselves” and were rewarded with these views of southeast Asia’s largest seated Buddha at Guknyeongsa Temple. Aside from the monks, we were the only people at this temple and the Buddha was unbelievably majestic in this beautiful, peaceful setting.
As spring weather beckons, my hiking friends and I are already planning our outings. There’s nothing like a day long excursion away from Seoul’s bustle to rejuvinate one’s mind and body and Cristina and I have our hearts set on exploring Daedunsan Provincial Park outside of Seoul that has heart-stopping ravines and bridges like the one below. Anyone care to join us?
seoulfulsojourn.net 