Seoraksan National Park

Last Friday was a Korean national holiday (Founder's Day), which meant that we had a long weekend to take advantage of.  I think I had this long weekend marked off in my mind since last spring as the time I wanted to go see Seoraksan National Park.  Why did I want to go there? Just do a quick Google image search and you can see for yourself--Seoraksan is Korea's most famous national park because it's absolutely beautiful.  Seoraksan is located in Gangwondo, a particularly difficult to reach province in the northern part of the country.  Since Seoraksan is difficult to get to from Jeomchon, I knew that is was a trip that required a long weekend.  There's no better time to hike than in the fall, so when it came time to make plans for the long weekend I convinced my friend Tony to come along with me for an adventure to some of Korea's most famous mountains.

Tony had a class Thursday night, so we left Jeomchon at 6:40 AM Friday morning.  My online research told me that buses to Sokcho (the town next to Seoraksan) left from Seoul every 30 minutes.  We thought we would catch a bus around 9-9:30 and arrive in Seoraksan by the early afternoon.  Well, things didn't turn out that way.  We arrived in Seoul around 8:30, but when we went to buy our bus tickets we were told there was nothing available until 11:30.  What?!  Apparently we weren't the only ones planning on going to Seoraksan over the long weekend.

With no other option, we bought the bus tickets and waited around Seoul's Express Bus Terminal until our departure time.

Once we got on the bus it was supposed to be a 2 1/2-3 hour bus ride to Sokcho.  Well, again it didn't work this way.  The traffic leaving Seoul was absolutely horrendous and we moved slowly pretty much the entire time.  In the end, our bus ride was about 5 1/2 hours.  Needless to say, we were happy when we finally arrived in Sokcho.  By that point it was already evening, which killed our original plan to get some hiking in on Friday. Instead, we found a place to stay and got some dinner.  There wasn't a whole lot to do in Sokcho, but we got some food and watched a bit of TV in our room before heading to bed somewhat early.

We woke up bright and early on Saturday morning to head to Seoraksan.  Again, we realized just how many people had the same idea as us to go to Seoraksan over the long weekend because the traffic heading to the park was outrageous, even with the somewhat damp weather.

Once we got to the park there were floods of people, but we kept to our plan to hike Ulsanwabi.  This is one of the most difficult trails in Seoraksan National Park, and while Tony was convinced we HAD to do this trail, I was a bit afraid after reading about it and talking to some friends who had done the same trail in the past.  All I read/heard about was how it was SO steep and scary.  I was also worried because I'm not exactly in the best shape, but Tony is an exercise enthusiast who enjoys running for miles and miles each day.  Throw in the drizzly weather and I was somewhat convinced I was going to die on this trail.

As we made our way to the trail we saw a huge Buddha and a temple, as you come to expect when hiking in Korea.    

Everything is cute in Korea...even monks on signs for temples.

Huge Buddha.

 
We continued on the trail, which in the beginning wasn't bad at all.  The trail got steeper as we continued, and eventually just became stairs.  Lots and lots of stairs.  This actually isn't uncommon when hiking in Korea, but while there are often stairs along trails in Korea, I've never experienced THIS many.  It was exhausting, but I have to say the dozens of reviews I read about this trail set my expectations really high.  When it got tough I kept telling myself (and Tony) that we weren't really at the difficult part yet--that it was going to get even harder and the worst was yet to come.

However, I was shocked when we reached one platform and suddenly we were at the top.  I literally said "Wait....this is the top?! Really? That was it?!"

The trail was difficult and exhausting, but not what I was expecting. It took us just over two hours to get to the top, so it's not the length of the trail that is difficult, it's just the fact that it's really steep for the majority of the time.  However, the view was awesome, even though it was really cloudy.

After resting for a bit at the top (actually there were two different points to go to), we made our way back down.  Although my legs were tired when we go to the top, but the time we got back to the bottom my legs were really shaking.  Since it was only around 1:00 by that point, we had planned on taking the cable car to another part of the mountain.

We saw a long line by the cable cars in the morning, but we figured those people were waiting to go up then.  We thought it worked like a ride--you wait in line then get on the next available one when it's your turn.  Well, once again it wasn't what we expected.  Instead, you had to buy your ticket ahead of time and go back at your assigned time.  Since it was a crazy holiday weekend, by the time we got to the ticket office the day was completely sold out.

With that plan ruined, we decided to go back to Sokcho and see if we could get an earlier bus back to Seoul.  Tony had a paper to write for his grad class, so he needed all the time he could get on Sunday to get some work done.

Luckily, we didn't have to wait long for a bus back to Seoul.  While we thought that surely this time our bus ride would be much shorter, it was just as bad on the way back to Seoul.  Again, it took over five hours from Sokcho to Seoul.  We were less than excited about this, but luckily we didn't have to wait long for a bus back to Jeomchon once we arrived to Seoul.

We arrived back home around 10:30, at which point I stumbled back into my apartment and eagerly jumped into bed.

Overall, this weekend definitely didn't go as I thought it would.  I thought we would have way more time to do more hiking and exploring around the park, but sometimes you just can't plan for these things.  I'm really glad we did get to see some of the park because it was absolutely beautiful. I'm already thinking of returning on another long weekend in the spring.  I would love to Seoraksan again in some sunnier weather and at a time when there are less people!

Songnisan National Park

After returning from Busan I only had two days of school before having a day off on Wednesday for election day.  Megan, Nate, and I opted for hiking on day off, which meant we had a rather early morning.  Our destination was Songnisan National Park in Boeun, so our trip included three different buses. Our travel route went a little like this: Jeomchon-->Sangju-->Boeun-->Songnisan.

At the entrance of Songnisan there was a temple along with a HUGE Buddha statue and a large pagoda.  The pagoda was unlike anything I've seen in Korea, and actually reminded me of something I'd expect to see in China.

Impressive Pagoda.  My first time seeing anything like it in Korea!

After we spent some time at the temple, we began to move towards the trail. However, we didn't know it was going to be such a huge journey just to get to the trail of the mountain.  It took us a considerable amount of time to actually begin hiking, and once we did it was pretty steep.  Nothing kills me while hiking in Korea like the STAIRS that are everywhere on mountains.  Yes, stairs are frequently built along the trails of the mountains, and they're mentally and physically KILLER.

After a while of hiking we found a little temple with a small view.  We met some very friendly Koreans there who we tried to talk to (ok Sarah, really need to crack down on that Korean studying!) They of course shared some snacks with us before they went on their way. 

After that temple we continued for a while. Unfortunately, I was the dead weight in the group by this point.  My pure exhaustion from the past few weeks wasn't really the best foundation for a day of steep Korean hiking.  We didn't have time to get to the top of the mountain because we still had a considerable way to go and we knew it would take quite a while to get down, especially since it was still a little slippery from the rain the night before.  As a result, we turned around and started to make our way down.  I hate hiking and not getting to the top, but sometimes it's just not possible to do everything in one day, especially when you have to work around bus times.

Before catching a bus we got some bibimbap and makgeolli (because you can't hike in Korea without makgeolli!) After catching the three buses back to Jeomchon, we hit the showers and met up with some other Jeomchoners for dinner and ice cream.  Definitely a busy day off from school, but I was happy to see Songnisan.  I hope to be back in the fall to get to the top of the mountain!

Beautiful Bijindo

Last weekend we had a long weekend due to Children's Day and Buddha's Birthday.  Just about every teacher and student had been eagerly awaiting this long weekend, and I had been especially looking forward to it because of the trip we had planned to visit a small island named Bijindo.  All I had to do was look at some pictures of this island and I knew I wanted in on the trip months ago, and at long last the time finally came to pack my bag and set out on the journey to Bijindo.

The weekend started as soon as the bell rang at school at 5:00.  I bolted out the door as quickly as I could, rushed home to drop off my school bag and replace it with my weekend bag, and did my best speed walking across town to make it in time to meet up with my friends for the 5:40 bus to Daegu.

After a bus ride that turned out to be longer than expected, we didn't arrive in Daegu with quite the cushion of time that we had been hoping for.  Once we got to Daegu we had to take a taxi to a different bus terminal, which wasn't quite the speedy process given the Friday night traffic.  Once we finally got to the bus terminal, we had missed the 8:00 bus to Tongyeong, so we had to stick around and wait for the next bus, which didn't leave until 11:20.  All in all, I was ok with it because I was starving at that point, and was happy to have some time to get a bite to eat before getting on another bus.

Finally, we got on the 11:20 bus and less than two hours later we reached our destination of Tongyeong.  Since it was really late by that point, we found the nearest motel and promptly crashed for the night.

The next morning we headed off to the nearest E-Mart to stock up on food for the weekend.  Bijindo is such a small island that there's only really one restaurant there and one or two VERY small stores, so we had to buy just about everything before taking the ferry to the island.

After doing some serious damage at E-Mart, we met up with the other Jeomchoners who were accompanying us on the trip.  We took a taxi to the ferry terminal and after a little wait we were on the ferry to Bijindo.

We arrived at our pension in the afternoon, and after taking in the amazing views for a bit we began our first braai (South African BBQ), which included lots of awesome food.  After eating way too much food, we spent the remainder of the evening hanging out. It wasn't a late night though--we were all definitely ready for some sleep.

Braai number one!

Sunset on our first night.  

The next morning we decided to explore the island a bit.  We walked along some roads with beautiful views, and eventually found the small town part of the island.  And by small, I mean VERY small.  We could tell they don't see many foreigners around there because everyone we came across was eager to talk to us.  Talk about feeling like a celebrity. When we stopped at a small place for some coffee, one man suddenly came up to feed me a piece of seafood that he was holding with his chopsticks (yes, this is a Korean thing. It's kind of a polite thing to feed someone else food).  With no other choice, I opened up wide and hoped that whatever I just ate was at least dead.  Although the sea critter wasn't moving, let's just say it wasn't the most delicious thing I've ever had...but I guess it's the thought that counts.  

As we continued our walk we came across a small school.  We're not entirely sure if it's still in use, but there were tons of local kids playing outside in the yard.

Yes, this is at the entrance to the school.  Very interesting. 

The school.  Can I be the NET here?

Unfortunately, the rest of the afternoon was pretty cloudy, but I was still happy to spend some time reading on the beach.  We had braai number two for dinner, which was just as awesome as the previous night's.  This time we were also given some fresh fish by one of the Koreans.  Although I'm not a huge fan of seafood, it was once again just another example of how generous Koreans can be.  After dinner, we spent the night hanging out, but went to bed early, as we planned to watch the sunrise the next morning.

Our sunny morning turned into a cloudy afternoon.  

Cloudy, but still beautiful.  

The fish that were given to us.  

The wonderful thing about Bijindo was that we had the ocean on both sides of us, making it a perfect place to watch both sunrises and sunsets.  Although it was still cloudy on Monday morning, we still saw a pretty decent sunrise. It's not everyday that you get to watch a sunrise on an island, after all.

Just before sunrise. 

Here comes the sun!

After our sunrise viewing, we went back to the pension and while some people decided to go back to sleep, I decided to try getting in the shower because the previous morning I had had nothing but ice cold water.  I was hoping that if I got up and beat the rush I would get some warm water.  I was only somewhat successful in this endeavor, but at least I was up and ready for the day nice and early.

After eating some breakfast I headed out with two others for a hike along the opposite side of the island.  This was hands down my favorite part of the trip.  The hike went straight up the mountain, then back down and around.  The views were stunning the whole way along--it was really the perfect morning hike.

Just beautiful. 

There's really not much on Bijindo!

After finishing our hike, it was time for some beach time.  One ajumma had made herself comfortable with two of my friends who were already on the beach--apparently she was shocked by my male friend's really pale skin.  She made herself comfortable lying right on the sand, and when I put my towel down on the sand she also told me that I should l just sit right on the sand.  If there's on thing I've learned in Korea it's don't disobey the ajummas, so I also plopped down on the sand and made myself comfortable for the remainder of the afternoon.

The ajjuma sure did make herself comfortable with us!

With the sunshine, vivid blue water, and mountains in the distance, who could be unhappy?  There's something truly therapeutic about being at the beach.

Can I go back now?

As two members of our group left that afternoon, it was just me and two of the guys for the last night.  We had pre-ordered Mexican food to bring with us to the island (yeah, you can do that), and we had ourselves quite the delicious fiesta for our last night.  It was definitely a wonderful way to end our mini-vacation.

Sunset on the last night.  

We were totally exhausted not long after dinner since we had been up since 5 AM, so we were in bed by 9 PM.  Yes, 9 PM.  I'm really not sure the last time I was in bed so early.

The next morning we sadly had to leave--it was time to get back to reality, although I'm sure we all would have preferred to keep living the island life.

Overall, I have to say Bijindo is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to.  The island was so small and quiet, and pretty much just the perfect place to really GET AWAY from everything.  It wasn't a crazy partying weekend, and I am actually really glad for that (am I getting old?)  It was lovely to go to sleep with the sound of the ocean in the background, and to wake up with the blue sea and sunshine right outside the window.  I was reminded of just how much I love being by the ocean, and of how lucky I am to be able to be in Korea and able to take trips like this.

When my time in Korea comes to an end, I sure am going to miss being able to pack up for the weekend and go places like this:

This is a picture of the view from our room.  It doesn't even do justice to the beauty of the view.  

A hidden gem in Jeomchon

Despite the fact that I've been living in Jeomchon for 8 months now, I'm constantly amazed by how much I still don't know.  For example, I had no idea we had places to hike only ten minutes away from our apartment building, but sure enough, we do.  My friend Jen was nice enough to show me the way to a mountain in our neighborhood this morning.

The entrance to Dondal Mountain(돈달산)  is less than ten minutes away from our place, and although it's not the largest mountain, the whole way to the top is pretty much just all stairs.  It's a short hike, but certainly enough to wake your legs up and make you realize that you're pretty out of shape.  Not that I'm out of shape at all.....  ;)

At the top is a great view of Jeomchon. Although it was cloudy this morning, we still had a beautiful sight to see. 

Panoramic view

On our way down we stopped by a temple that is at about the halfway point of the mountain.  There were people in the temple, and we could hear some of the Buddhist chants in progress.  Pretty interesting to hear, and definitely something that you don't typically stumble across when you're hiking back in the US.

On our walk back to our apartment we stopped to look at some of the flowers that are in bloom all over the place.  I absolutely love the fact that there are so many beautiful flowers EVERYWHERE right now, and I especially love that so many of these flowers are purple! Just fantastic.

Beautiful purple flowers everywhere!

I love these trees! Kind of similar looking to the cherry blossoms, but the flowers are different. 

Love these flowers!

Just look at those colors!

Flowers like these are everywhere right now.  I love the way they grow between the rocks.


Overall, I had a great start to my day.  I'll definitely be returning to this mountain again--perhaps with a book on a sunnier and warmer day.  Jeomchon may be small, but I still am discovering new wonderful things all the time.