Liberation Day

Today is the national holiday Gwangbok-jeol which celebrates the liberation of Korea from Japanese colonial rule in 1945 and the establishment of the Republic of Korea exactly three years later. The Japanese occupation of Korea was quite horrible, and many Koreans still have a strong animosity toward the Japanese.

Since it was a holiday, I decided to follow the mountain trails that Edward (see the post on 8/13) pointed out to me. He said the route should be 4-5 hours. Exactly 8 and a half hours after leaving my apartment this morning, I returned hot and sweaty and dirty and sore but thoroughly satisfied with my day in the mountains.

I left home at 11 AM. According to Edward, the route I was on went along a ridgeline to three separate peaks. Seulgi-bong, which I visit frequently, is the first peak. I made it to the top by 12 PM. The trail is in good shape, and though it's a steep climb, it's really not that difficult. From Seulgi-bong, I found the trail leading in the direction of Suam-bong (the second peak) after a little bit of searching. It wasn't particularly well-marked. This trail was a lot more rugged and very steep with some places that required using a ladder (bolted into the rock) or a rope (also well-maintained by the park system) to make my away along it. I scraped up my knee on a rock and was sweating so much that a bandage wouldn't stick. I rubbed some alcohol-based hand sanitizer on the cut (OUCH!!!!) and kept walking.

At about 1:30 PM, I passed two men and a woman who were having a picnic just off the trail. I nodded to them and said "anyounghasayo" ("hello") and kept walking. They called after me, and one of the men stood up and motioned for me to come over to them.

"Where you from?" he asked.

"America." (No one understands "United States" here.)

"AH! America! I love America!" Then he lifted his paper cup in the air. "Toast to America!"

"Toast to America!" the other man and woman echoed and raised their paper cups in a toast.

"What your name?" he asked.

"Ellen."

"AH! Ellen! Toast to Ellen!"

"Toast to Ellen!" the others echoed.

"Ellen, you like kimchi?"

"Yes." Kimchi is Korea's national dish. It's a very spicy pickled vegetable, usually cabbage. I usually like it. Even if you don't like it, though, the answer to "Do you like kimchi?" is always "Yes."

"AH! Kimchi! Toast to kimchi!"

"Toast to kimchi!"

They insisted that I sit down and join them. It had been a steep climb, and I was tired, so I did. They offered me some of their lunch (bulgogi, which is Korean barbeque--really good stuff--kimchi and rice), and I shared my nectarines and apples with them. They laughed at how sweaty I was, since my clothes were completely soaked by this point. I also had dried blood from my knee and dirt all over me, too. I must have been a sight! After about 20 minutes, I explained that I had to be on my way to make it to the top of Suam-bong, and off I went while my three picnicking friends hollered "Toast to Suam-bong!" behind me. Remember these three, "the picnickers." They will make another appearance in this story.

It's about time for a photo. Here's what I saw on my way to Suam-bong:
Above: I felt sorry for the donkey since it was a really hot day, and he didn't have any water. A little farther down the trail were some vendors selling cold drinks, popsicles, and snacks. I'm guessing he was used to haul the stuff up there. I gave him some of my apple.

Below: The ridgeline trail from Seulgi-bong to Suam-bong went along the fence of some kind of military observation post, hence the barbed wire. The peak in the distance is Suam-bong.
Here's Suam-bong from a helicopter pad a little closer:
This is my route as seen from the top of Suam-bong. Note that my apartment is on the other side of Seulgi-bong. You can see the helicopter landing pad from the photo above:

I had to climb all the way down Suam-bong into the valley and then climb back up to the third peak, Taeeul-bong. Here's the route:

By the time I made it down to the valley, the last thing I wanted to do was climb back up a mountain. At this point, it was 4 PM, and I was starting to get sore and ready to go home. However, since "home" is on the other side of those mountains, "up and over" was the only choice, other than a rather expensive cab ride. (Mom, you'll be glad to know that I carried enough cash for a cab "just in case.") There was a nice park in the valley with several restaurants and lots and lots of people. Among those lots and lots of people, guess who I ran into. The picnickers from a whole two hours ago! They must have stayed and picnicked for quite a while, since their route to the valley was much shorter than mine since it bypassed Suam-bong.

"Ellen!" I heard someone shout my name.

"AH! Picnickers! Toast to picnickers!" I shouted in return. They laughed and toasted imaginary paper cups in my direction. We talked for a few minutes. Then they headed down the valley to a different city, and I began my ascent to the ridge that led to Taeeul-bong.

The trail up to the ridge was steep but not too difficult, except for the fact that I was tired and sore. The ridgeline trail was another matter. It was very strenuous and rocky with several places that required climbing ladders (once again, bolted into the rocks) or using ropes. The view, however, was beautiful, and it was starting to cool down.

Time for some more pictures:
Above: I passed several of these pine trees on the ridgeline trail. It's amazing how they grow out of the rocks. Their bark is really smooth from people using them for support while climbing the trail.

Below: A tired, sweaty, sore, but nonetheless happy, hiker.
I made it to the top of Taeeul-bong by 6 PM. Here's the view of my city from the peak. Home is within sight!
I walked through my apartment door at 7:30 PM. I had a great day, but I know I'm going to be hurting tomorrow!