Seoraksan National Park!

Many cultures have an annual celebration of the autumn harvest, like the United State’s Thanksgiving. In Korea we have Chuseok, a three day long celebration where the people return to their ancestral home towns to visit family and eat traditional foods and drink rice wine. For foreign English teachers however it is a much needed vacation and chance to explore. This year I decided to visit the famed Seoraksan National Park in Northeast, Korea.

After an all night party in Seoul with my friends from Daegu, I arrived bright and early to the small coastal fishing village of Sokcho.  On the local bus to the park entrance, other foreigners, deceived by my backpack covered in world flags, were asking me for information about the park. The truth was I had no idea where I was going or what I was doing.

 The entrance to the park is home to an impressive bronze statue of Buddha, where locals come to pay homage and tourists snap their first photos. Knowing nothing about the park I began to follow the masses towards the first trail where a man pushing his baby in a carriage pointed me in a direction where the masses were not headed, to climb to the highest and most beautiful point in the mountain range.

Once again I proved that the world is smaller than it seems as the first person I ran into on the trail was a fellow Western New Yorker from Buffalo and his mate from Maryland. Slightly hung over the three of us began our ascent to unknown locations.

The hike towards Daechongbong Peak at 1,708m, and the third highest point in Korea proved to be quite difficult after an all nighter in Seoul; however the spectacular vistas around every bend was reason enough to keep pushing on. It also helped that the spire peaks of the Taebaek Mountain range are lost in a halo of clouds, leaving one with a sense of mysticism in the mountains.

The winding trail crossed numerous bridges through deep ravines carved out by powerful mountain streams. The wildlife was a bit lacking with only a few spotting of chipmunks, which the Koreans stop to take pictures of, and a few interesting and vibrant frogs. Regardless of the lack of excitement, the sheer beauty of the granite cliff faces, deep forests, and flowing streams are enough to motivate anyone to go further and higher.

As we reached the summit of an adjacent mountain the local backpackers warned us to turn back. The day was turning to night and we were given ample warning that if we continued we would be stuck on the mountain with no shelter in the cold, and to turn back. After about 30 minutes of debate we made the undesirable but responsible decision to turn back and so we began the arduous hike back to base.

Although an unsuccessful attempt to summit the highest peak, the day was a success. New friends were made, personal physical limits were exceeded after a night of partying and one of the wonders of the world was seen! Seoraksan is a beautiful mountain range that I undoubtedly will return to again!