Hiking in Korea

Hiking in Korea is unlike hiking anywhere else. I had seen signs of if before on my first walks up nearby hills and mountains but a hike through north-Seoul's national park, Bukhansan, really displayed the culture around hiking here in Korea. Hordes of middle-late aged florescently dressed Koreans slowly followed those in front of them first off the subway, then through the market, finally into with woods, and eventually to the peak. The experience is very different from the Adirondacks that sparked my passion in hiking but its interesting to see none-the-less.

Background

According to the Korea Herald the start of the hiking frenzy in South Korea happened in the late 90s on account of an economic crisis that hit the country (1). I suppose I'm more like those Koreans of the late 90s, hiking not only for the nice experience in nature but also for some good CHEAP fun. When perusing the outdoor equipment stores it is hard to believe that current hikers, decked out in their brand new gear, choose their sport for its inexpensive quality. Either way, it seems like the sport has come a long way since the first boom of the late 90s. At the base of every trail you find a nice satellite-view trail map (of which I have not been able to find on the net, if a hiker in Korea is reading this and knows where I can find these maps online I would be very grateful for this info). The trails are in great shape. They are clean and well-marked. Walkways and stairs are built to those hard-to-reach places and in some of the more fragile mountain areas.

Access

Mountain access clearly has an impact on crowds and culture around hiking. Though located slightly north of Seoul, Dobong peak has its own stop in the Seoul metro system. For about two dollars I could travel mostly underground trains for nearly two hours and arrive at the base of the mountain. Breaking that down, its about an hour from my subway stop in Incheon to Seoul and then another hour crossing Seoul and arrive at Dobong, north of Seoul. The subway system goes far beyond servicing Seoul's nearly 10 million inhabitants by providing easy and cheap transportation to and from nearby cities as well. All with a nice little drop off point at the base of the mountain. In contrasting this with the Adirondacks, it took me about five hours of 65mph highway driving to get to the high peaks region from my home town and its nearly the same from New York City.

So, your at the base of the mountain when you step out of the subway but you still have to somehow make it up to the rocky peak. Looking at Dobong from the subway it is quite intimidating. Its one of those mountains that you look at from far away and think “It looks like I need rock climbing gear to make it up that but there is probably some trail that gets me up there”. Yet, when I look around me, I'm surrounded by old folks geared up and ready to hike this. Is there something I'm missing? Well the mountain access that the subways system provides extends past the base, into the woods, and as I saw on Dobong, clear up to the peak. Any place on the trail where you may need to cross water, there is a bridge. Any place where hiking seems to get steep, there are stairs. The peak itself had stairs and ropes. With a lot of time and not a whole lot of effort both the old and the young have access to the views from Dobong peak.

Hiking Culture

Hiking culture seems quite serious in Korea. I noticed this in my first few walks up nearby hills but since then I have realized that the seriousness in which Koreans take hiking extends not only to trails on the mountains but to any sporting activity. This seriousness is first evident in the numbers. The trails, no matter where you are, have a lot of people on them. If you get out really early there will be fewer people but in the middle of the day on a nice Saturday or Sunday you won't be able to hike any mountain or hill in Incheon or Seoul without following or being followed by a slew of hikers. This seriousness in sporting activity is also evident in the gear. Everybody you see on the trails has nearly brand new hiking gear. From the boots to the hat they are covered in waterproof, breathable, state-of-the-art and usually florescent hiking gear. Not to mention they all have some pretty fancy walking sticks and gloves as well.

Despite the seriousness and the multitudes of people on the trail, Koreans that hike seem to be quite nice and they know how to have fun. Many of the older folks will say hi when they see that I'm a foreigner and any personnel working at the mountain are very happy to help if you have any questions. I have been offered rice cake patties on the trail before, a common dried snack for Koreans on the mountain. Often times you will also see Koreans sitting down together to nice meal and some magkeolli. Magkeolli being a kind of official drink of hiking, its an extremely refreshing milky white rice wine. With so many people hitting the trails on the weekend, the base of the mountain often offers a kind of festival atmosphere with vendors pushing hiking gear, others selling street food, magkeolli joints that resemble the old man bars (circiuma) of Romania.

As South Korea hiking is a far cry from what I am used to in New York State as well as Romania I still find it interesting. A lot of what I like about hiking I must give up here in South Korea. The solitude, the wildlife, the feeling of being out in the wild. Those are things that can't be replaced and I will always be longing for a night near John's Brook at the base of Big Slide in the heart of the high peaks region. The nice thing that South Korea offers is the access for me. I live in a city of 2.5 million people next to a city of 10 million and I can walk 10 minutes out the door of my apartment and find trails that will lead me to a nice view and a short but strenuous ascent. Furthermore, I can take an easy and cheap subway ride to the base of big, beautiful, rocky havens.

(1) http://m.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20130516000881&ntn=0