By Na Hoang
There are certain things you have to do before you leave Korea:
You have to spend a summer weekend away in Jeju Island, swallow down a live squirmy octopus, waste away a chunk of your paycheck haggling in Dondaemun market, battle your way through a full blown mud fight in Boryeong, get blacked-out on soju during a school night, spend a Friday night in the heart of Hongdae, and then recover the next morning in a jimjilbong sauna.
And you definitely cannot leave this country until you’ve stood atop one of Korea’s many mountains and screamed until the earth shook.
After all, South Korea is a tiny peninsula made up mostly of mountainous terrain. With a stubborn spring finally upon us, what better time is there to gather your friends up, get into hiking gear, and take a weekend trip to one of the country’s many beautiful mountains?
The reasons to hike:
Staying fit: After hibernating through the vicious winter, succumbing to delicious Korean cuisine, and falling victim to those teasingly low-priced pints on a Friday night in Itaewon, I have gained a lot of weight since arriving here. What better way to burn off all those Cass Beer calories than trading in the treadmill for a 400-meter high mountain.
Natural wonders: If you’re like me and get excited when you see a rare patch of grass somewhere around the city or if you’ve been feeling a little dizzy from all the high-rise office towers and six-lane congested roads, nothing cures it better than sitting on the highest peak of a mountain and looking down. I promise.
Inexpensive fun: Except for transportation costs and sometimes small entrance fees, hiking is a cost-effective way to spend your weekends. If you do it like the avid Korean hikers and pack a lunch for picnic pit-stops along the way, you can spend the entire day out on the mountain. There are so many mountains here too that you can hike a different one every weekend and never get bored.
Friends and laughter: I have gone hiking with several travel groups and it’s the easiest way to meet like-minded people.
You have hours of chat time as you climb up mountain sides and through thickets of bushes to get to know each other, bond, and build never-ending friendships.
Read more from Na Hoang
Na Hoang is a Canadian who currently teaches English in a rural town up north in the middle of nowhere. Although her apartment is tiny, she continues to fill it with animals, including her two dogs, Keiko and Alma, and her cat, Beatrice. She likes climbing mountains, drinking heavily, stargazing, sarcasm, and blogging (na-and-keiko.blogspot.com).
Great article. I too have developed an addiction to mountain climbing since my arrival here. It’s become one of my favorite things to do. Oh And who is that handsome guy at the top of the page? Is he available?
brilliant sweetheart— i love the description of you. where’s the next hike trip?
Of all the people, I would never have guessed you’d get into climbing. I am a very proud sister =)