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September 2013

Hiking Bukhansan

DSCN2327Hiking is one most popular pastimes in Korea, not surprising considering that Korea is 70% mountainous. And that includes Seoul, home to South Korea's most popular National Park, Bukhansan.  Every weekend, thousands of Koreans head for the hills, most folks kitted out in expensive designer hiking clothing and equipment. Not wanting to feel left out, we donned our REI hiking shoes and clothing before heading to Bukhansan on Day 3 of the Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) holiday.

Bukhan-eng-Bibong(0) Bukhansan is a HUGE park, with hundreds of miles of trails ranging from easy to crazy steep, criss-crossing the mountain peaks, streams, forests and Buddist temples. The day before the hike, we spent considerable time planning where to hike and how to get there. For foreigners, the main problem with hiking in Korea is the lack of English-language information. The Korean National Park Service (KNPS) English website is barebones. And information from English tour guides is scant; Lonely Planet Korea guide has only a small box of information about Bukhansan, and curiously there is no mention of Bukhansan in the Lonely Planet Seoul city guide.  Most of the English information about hiking in Korea can be found in blogs, like this one

But if you can read even a little Korean, your options increase 100x. The KNPS Korean website is fantastic. If you click on the Google Earth icon on the official Bukhansan Korean website, it will download an app that you can install on Google Earth, featuring 3D trail maps. The labeling is all in Korean but it's pretty self-explanatory. 

Given that this was our first time hiking in Korea, and the fact that we haven't hiked since our last trip to Shenandoah National Park, we opted for a short hike on the periphery of Bukhansan. We decided to head to 족두리봉 / Jukduribong, with a peak of 370m (1,213 feet). 

Here's the route we took, thanks to Bing Maps, which has some of the best street maps of Korea, including elevation contour lines. Green was uphill, red was downhill:

HikingmapTo get here, take the metro Line 6 to Dokbawi station. The trail head at the Boolgwang Ranger Station is about a 15 minute walk from Dokbawi. When you come out of Dokbawi metro station, turn left. Walk about 5 blocks and when you get to the main intersection at the traffic light, turn right. You'll pass a middle school. Veer left at the fork in the road, passing a few restaurants, hiking shops and a dirt parking lot until you read the Boolwang Ranger Station. Unfortunately, the station was unmanned on our visit. But fortunately, a nice gentleman gave us a copy of his pocket trail map.

The first major attraction you'll reach is this gorgeous Buddhist temple, 불광사 / Boolgwang-sa. 

DSCN2279At each park entrance, you'll find a Korean/English trail map, like this one taken at the end of our route: 

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A few steps after passing the temple, you'll reach a 3-way intersection. Your choices are to go straight on the more level but longer trail, or take the shortcut up the steep set of stairs. We went up! Eventually the trail levels off a bit, but it's still a very steep climb. The climb to Jukduribong was a steady climb, but it was relatively easy. Much of the trail features rock or wooden steps, handrails, ropes or paving stones. This uphill trail is forested and shaded from the Indian Summer sun. Most intersections are marked by signs in Korean & English.

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DSCN2287We started our hike about 9am and the trail was relatively empty. As we slowly pushed our creaky bodies uphill, the crowds picked up. Scores of well-trained hikers quickly passed us, including several ajumas (older women) and ajoshis (older men) well in their 60s or 70s!

By the time we reached the top, we just followed the sounds of people making their way to the peak. The trail opens up to flat granite area where many folks were having a picnic lunch. A side trail leads up to the peak, reachable only by scaling large boulders. In some sections, you need to use both arms and legs to pull yourself up to the top!  The Jokduribong peak is a bald granite mountaintop with 360 degree views of Seoul and the northern reaches of Bukhansan. 

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Yes, that's a cellphone tower with branches. Which means 5 bars of perfect reception even in the woods for your smartphone GPS (download NAVER maps!). 

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After posing for obligatory Rocky-style photos at the top of the peak, it was time to make our descent. We headed back to the open area where folks were having their picnics. Scouting our map, we could see there was a more direct trail leading back down to Bulwang metro station. But unlike most trail intersections, there was no sign for this particular trail. We wandered around in circles for a bit and finally found the trail; If the Jukdoribong peak is to your back, walk just past the open area and the trail will be on your left. 

Thank goodness we didn't walk UP this hill because it was WAY STEEP. Unlike the previous trail we took, this trail was open to the sun, and no stairs or handrails to help you down. There was a surprising number of folks climbing UP, but nowhere near as crowded as the easier uphill trail we took. 

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This scenic trail featured some amazing geographical features.

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Here's a view looking back to the top. Holy crap, we climbed down that spine! And you can't even see the bald top of Jokduribong, which is beyond the top ridge of this photo.

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Eventually the trail levels off into the woods, past some more big boulders, finally emerging in a neighborhood of small apartment buildings. 

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When you reach the street level, turn right and follow the street until you get to the main road. Turn left and walk a few blocks until you get to Bulwang metro station. Before the metro, you'll pass a few shops and restaurants. After a long hike, it was time to celebrate our accomplishment!

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Chuseok Day 2: Korean War Museum

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Day 2 of our Chuseok Korean Thanksgiving stay-cation. Today we took a short walk off the base to the Korean War Memorial Museum. As the name implies, the museum traces the history of the Korean War with lots of interactive displays. Unfortunately because it was Chuseok, the museum was operating on a skeleton crew so all the fun "4D" attraction rooms were closed.

This is a very family-friendly, hands-on museum, featuring tanks, planes, artillery pieces and even a boat that visitors can actually enter. Some of the more interesting vehicles on static display include a B-52, and the Bell H-13 Sioux helicopter, which fans of M*A*S*H will immediately recognize. 

The museum is free to enter and is open 0900-1800 everyday except Monday. A few more scenes from the museum:

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Day trip to Seoul Namsan Tower

IMG_0353 Today is the first day of Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving.  For foreigners, this means a 5-day weekend.  For Koreans, it's the busiest travel day of the year. According to Arrirang News, 400,000 cars departed Seoul today. Highways are parking lots, and every train and plane ticket is sold out. Bad news for travelers, but great news for those of us opting for a stay-cation in Seoul. This city of 10.5 million is practically a ghost town now! 

Today, the Two Crabs took a day trip to N Tower, better known as Seoul Tower, the most prominent landmark in South Korea's capital city, located atop Namsan mountain. The tower is some 777 feet tall and features several restaurants and bars at the top and base, and even a teddy bear museum (??).

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We decided to take the Gondola up and hike down. We took the metro to Myeong-dong station. Riding a practically empty metro car to our destination. 

Leave the station at Exit 3, and turn left down the road with the CU convenience store. You'll see Pacific Hotel. Go up the steep road to the right of Pacific Hotel for about 15 minutes until you reach the Gondola station. A one-way ride is 6,000W, and roundtrip ride is 8,000W.

Then the sucky part: apparently every Seoulite and tourist decided to visit Seoul Tower today.

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We managed to get there at a decent time that we only had to wait about 20 minutes for the gondola. But soon after we arrived, the line grew until it stretched twice as long as when we started. The ride itself was only about 3 minutes long. 

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When you come out of the gondola, you have two options: turn left to go up to Seoul tower, or turn right to head to a library and Namdaemun (more on that later). Turn left and walk up the stairs to the base station, featuring a gazebo, kitschy souvenir shops, kids games, and a few snack shops and a few bars.

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By far the most popular attraction at the base station are padlocks. Yes, padlocks. It is a tradition for lovers to place padlocks on the fence around Seoul Tower, as a symbol of enduring love for each other. There are so many locks that some have been removed and used to create sculptures.

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For us, the main reason to visit Seoul Tower are the amazing views of the city below:

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To actually go up to the top of Seoul Tower, you'll need to shell out 9,000W per person. Or 20,000W for packages that include admission to the Teddy Bear Museum (why??).  We opted not to go up this time, because the thought of waiting in another long line was not our idea of a good time. But we did make an obligatory stop at the base station bar for a tasty beverage!

Afterward, we walked back toward the gondola station and followed the stairs down, following the signs for "library."  The trail down this path is shady, and we noticed there are lights along the trail so presumably you can hike up & down even at night. There were only a handful of people on the trail, as most visitors opted to ride the gondola up & down. The trail runs alongside the old city walls, part of which have been reconstructed since the were originally built in the 14th century. 

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TIP: When you get to the Y intersection, go LEFT toward "library" to reach Hoehyeon metro station / Namdaemun market.  The right trail returns to the parking lot. 

At the bottom of the left library trail, you'll emerge at a little park and main road. Turn RIGHT, you'll pass said library, and walk about 200 yards until you get to a road tunel. Don't go through the tunel. Instead, cross the street at the crosswalk to reach another park, where you'll find a large section of the old city wall.

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We continued down the stairs until we reached the Hilton Hotel, turned right and continued walking until we reached Namdaemun, one of the largest traditional markets in Seoul. By the time we got there, it was after 7pm so most of the market stalls and shops were closed, but the food stalls were just getting started. This was the reason we came to Namdaemun: Street Food!

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The Crabs have always been huge fans of street food, and Asia has some of the best in the world. We dined on bbq chicken, steak, and stir-fried octopus with glass noodles, washed down with way too many bottles of cheap Cass beer. Our total bill for food & booze was about $30 USD.

For desert, don't miss eating a "hoteok" (호떡), a Korean doughy pancake filled with honey & peanuts and covered in cinnamon. A perfect ending to the night!