Alone in Seoul

By focusing like a laser beam on the Seoul subway map in my ‘Rough Guide to Korea’ and on the signs in the subway stations, listening to the English part of the trilingual directions piped into each car, standing in the middle of the traffic zone in the stations staring at my Guide until someone asked if I needed help and taking 21/2 hours, I managed to get from Jay’s place in Incheon to Gupabal station, one of the northern most stops on the vast Seoul subway network.  From there it was a short bus ride to the entrance to Bukhansan National Park, which is, next to Jay’s apartment, one of the main places I wanted to visit while in Korea.  Jay had bought me a subway pass, so I felt as free to fly as a kid with a new bike until I entered the Dongchun metro stop in Incheon.  Then all the reservations I had had when thinking about my first foray alone in Korea came down on me.  I always talk a good fight, but as soon as the action starts, I freeze.  The only thing that keeps me moving forward is the fear of having to face the hollowness of my own words.  For a woman who’s been retired for almost five years, this venture demanded much more concentration than I’m used to exerting on any matter.  I was helped twice by people who really knew what they were talking about and spoke English quite well and once by a man who hardly spoke English at all and pointed me in a direction that even I knew was wrong.

 I left Jay’s at 10:00am and was starting up the path to Baekundae, the highest peak in Bukhansan Park, by just after 1:00pm.  The trail was wide and well used.  Some sections were beautifully tiled with big stones that you could see from the drill holes in them had been blasted out to make the route.  Other parts were dry dirt, sometimes with steps made of logs the size of railway ties, sometimes with real metal stairs and sometimes with something I have only seen in Korea but which is quite common here, very heavy rubber matting.  The latter is used on moderate slopes and is especially helpful when descending, especially if it’s wet, I imagine.  The combination of stress and elation had tired me out even before I began the hike, so I went at a slow pace, took pictures and enjoyed finally being at Bukhansan.  There were not a lot of people on the trail by Korean standards, but I was rarely alone.  I can understand why they say that hiking is the Korean national sport.  If the whole country is like Seoul and Incheon, there are hills and mountains at regular intervals so that from almost anywhere you can walk, bike or take a bus or subway to a place to trek.  And Koreans do just that.  They are usually dressed in the latest gear, but there’s something in the way they hike in groups, talking and laughing, that makes it appear to be as natural as a stroll down the street.  The men huff and puff on the long uphill sections and stop at times on the flats to do some weird fast-paced arm and leg jerks, but the women just seem to carry on, perhaps a bit more slowly uphill but not talking less.  They seem very matter-of-fact about the whole thing, as if to say, “This is what we do.”  In Bukhansan the trail often parallels a stream that flows over enormous rocks; many people stop to picnic on them.  On this first visit I only went as far as the Buddhist Temple at Yaksuam.  If I had looked at the guide, I would have discovered that I was really close to the top, but I didn’t.  I wanted to make sure that I got back to the bus stop before dark because I didn’t want to have to navigate back to Incheon in the dark.  I reached Jay’s neighborhood around 8:00pm, had a delicious soup in a small restaurant full of Korean families and was home by 9:15.  Jay and May work late most nights, so the girls were there with their friends raising a little hell, which my presence put an end to.    The girls have best friends, sisters, who live across the hall.  It’s a perfect pairing because these neighbors are Koreans who can help Min-Hee and Jin-Hee with their homework as they make the difficult transition back to the rigorous Korean education system.  Usually they do their homework first and then play.  May cooks a lot on Sundays and the girls eat it through the week, along with a bit of junk food. 

We’re going to take the subway into Seoul as a family on Saturday to see a few sites and meet Frank, a friend of Jay’s from Gatineau who lives there with his Korean wife, for a Korean  barbecue dinner.

The first hill at Bukhansan, many of the others are craggier

Near the beginning of the trail, a gate left from the fortress wall of Seoul

A part of the path tiled with big stones

Little figures, mostly buddhas but some Hindu gods and elephants and even an Irish leprechaun and a broken china pony left in cracks in the rocks near the temple

Yaksuam, a hermitage just off the path

A detail of the turtle

All of Korea's national treasures are numbered. This turtle at Yaksuam was the first I had seen.  It's number 611, so I have a lot to see on either side.

A beautiful bush and an apparently random pile of small rocks near the hermitage at Bukhansan.  I've since seen such piles at a temple on the hill near Jay's apartment.  It appears as if they are created as worshippers each pile one stone upon the others when they visit.

A well on the path where you can fill your water bottle with good cold water