Happy 추석, everyone!!!!!
Chuseok is basically the American equivalent of Thanksgiving and Memorial Day all wrapped into one 2 to 3-day holiday. Families get together and the women make a huge feast and the men sit around and watch television. The similarities between East and West are so obvious sometimes. On one of the days, families visit their ancestor’s burial sites and bow to the mounds of earth where their loved ones are buried.
Last year for Chuseok my friend, Lucy, and I decided to go on a hiking trip. We wanted to hike Seoraksan (Snow Peak Mountain), which is a famous and very big mountain in South Korea. We did little planning and decided to leave our city quite early to try to combat the heavy Chuseok traffic. We left Dangjin at about 7 a.m. and had to take a bus to Seoul and then another bus to Sokcho, which is on the northeast coast of South Korea and then once we got to Sokcho we had to take another bus to the base of Seoraksan. By the time we got there it was about 2 p.m.
On the bus ride from Seoul to Sokcho, we had been having very colorful conversations about many not-so-polite subjects. I had been telling Lucy about this TV show I had watched which had to do with strange ways to die. In one of the episodes one of the people who died was a woman who used a carrot for something quite graphic and consequently died due to a sharp edge of the carrot. We were talking about various subjects on this very long bus ride and, assuming like dumbasses, that we were the only ones within earshot who could speak English, we didn’t think anything of it. Then the person in front of me on the bus put his seatback in the reclining position and his head was practically in my lap. I very audibly told my friend how annoyed I get when people in front of me on planes or busses put their seats all the way back to which they’re practically laying on top of me. I’m tall as it is and traveling is always uncomfortable, but then when you get a jackass who has no regard for anyone else puts his or her seat back it makes everything that much more uncomfortable. My friend and I discussed this topic at length while Seemingly Native Korean Guy in front of me had his head in my crotch.
We stopped at a rest area at one point and when Lucy and I got back on the bus we could hear two men speaking English in the back of the bus. Ever since coming to Korea, I’ve noticed I have bat-like hearing ability for anyone speaking English. It was like a heat-sensing device and I immediately homed in on the guys speaking English and when one of them came to sit down in his designated seat (there is assigned seating in Korean busses) he sat directly in front of me and turned out to be the head-in-my-crotch guy. Shit.
Turns out head-in-my-crotch guy was an Asian American who, obviously, spoke perfect English. My friend and I snapped our heads to look at each other, both registered what had happened and then died in fits of laughter. Oops. Note to self, don’t assume just because someone is Asian it means they don’t speak English. But the guy did continue to leave his seat all the way back so I don’t feel that bad about bad-mouthing him.
When we finally arrived in Sokcho, Lucy and I desperately had to pee. Bus station bathrooms are pretty sketchy no matter where you are, but when you’re in a small South Korean town, bus station bathrooms are one of the foulest places you will encounter. I’m so thankful I got a rabies booster before arriving in Korea. Most of the toilets were squatters (where the toilet is in the floor and one must “squat” over the toilet in order to use it). I hate squatters and I was waiting ever so patiently for the one toilet that wasn’t a squatter. When that toilet became available I rushed in not paying attention to any of my surroundings. Colossal mistake.
When I sat down I got a very rude awakening. The toilet had, apparently, become clogged and filled with water and in my rush to pee I didn’t notice any of this and I sat on a toilet that was full of water up to the toilet seat. I certainly wasn’t expecting this and I let out a little yelp and then wracked my brain for the last time I had a tetanus shot. So epic fail on the bathroom excursion. I was so disgusted and my friend couldn’t stop giggling about it for the rest of the day. I wanted to disinfect my entire body, but there was no time for such frivolous pursuits.
Lucy had forgotten a sweatshirt and it was becoming quite chilly so we set off to find a department store that was open so she could buy one. During Chuseok everything shuts down for 2 or 3 days. We walked by a few clothing shops, but absolutely NOTHING was open. We tried to find a Lottemart, Home Plus or EMart, but alas our search was fruitless. She was just going to have to make due.
When we finally caught the bus to the trailhead of Seoroksan it was getting quite late and we vastly underestimated the time it would take us to hike the mountain. We stopped at the small grocery store area and bought a couple bottles of water, a can of nuts and a few other small things. We then purchased ajumma hats, which look absolutely ridiculous – they shield your entire face – we thought it would be funny. Then we set out on our journey. We really only thought it would take a few hours to get up the mountain and back down.
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| At the beginning of our hike with the ridiculous ajumma hats. |
Seoroksan is in the extreme northeast corner of the South Korean peninsula. It is in Gangwon-do province and the countries 3rd-highest peak Daecheong-bong (Great Green Peak) is located within the Seoraksan National Park. Daecheong-bong is 1,708 meters (about 5,600 feet) high and it was our goal for the weekend. Seoraksan National Park is the second-largest land-based national park in South Korea and is 373 square kilometers (about 144 square miles).
We started up the mountain all sorts of excited and there were tons of people there, which we didn’t really expect because most Koreans stay home for the Chuseok holiday. The weather was a bit overcast and, in some areas, it rained a little bit, but that felt lovely. We made our way up the mountain and met many people along the way. We were taking pictures and I noticed a family speaking a language other than Korean or English. It was Spanish! I was so excited! I yelled, “That’s a language I understand!” and they all looked at me with frozen half-smiles and laughing lightly and a bit awkwardly. It’s been awhile since I’ve heard Spanish and I get really excited when I understand what someone is saying these days. We met an older man who was hiking with his wife, son and his son’s family. The man spoke very good English and him and his family kept us company for awhile on the hike up the mountain. He and his entire family were very friendly. We eventually parted ways and made our way up the beautiful peak.
It was nearly fall and a few of the trees were beginning to show the rusty red, muted yellow and amber of autumn. There were grey jagged rocks poking out from the evergreen and leafy trees and it was truly a beautiful hike. When you live in and travel among the very industrialized areas of Korea you forget that Korea truly is a beautiful country and can be breathtaking at times.
Sometimes it can be very odd hiking in Korea, though. There is many a paved pathway and there were many staircases throughout the hike. I’m not used to such amenities back in the States. But we passed many a stream, waterfalls and water pools. I’ve heard rumors about the government building a gondola to the highest peak at Seoraksan too, which is something I sincerely hope they don’t do. You really lose so much of the experience by ruining it with a 20-minute gondola to the top of a mountain.
As we made our way up the trail the faces we saw on their way down became less and less foreign and more and more Korean. Turns out most of the foreigners we saw at the trailhead weren’t planning on making the climb. When we did run into people on the trail their faces went from shocked surprise at seeing our white faces, then huge smiles spread across their faces and then we got a fist-pump in the air with a scream of “fighting!” “Fighting!” is the quintessential Korean battle cry. We say “fighting” for so many things here. Koreans say “fighting” against their enemies to the death: Japan, they say “fighting” when they’re playing at the World Cup, we say “fighting” when hiking up mountains, we say “fighting” when having pictures taken and I even hear “fighting” in commercials here. “Fighting” is a term used so frequently in Korea. The appearance of being strong must always be exuded no matter the circumstance. I can’t even begin to count how many times I heard or said “fighting!” on that hike up and down Seoraksan.
The hike was difficult and we had no idea how far the hike actually was. Evening was fast approaching and we really hadn’t planned to be on the mountain at night. We had no overnight gear and Lucy didn’t have anything warm to wear. Such an epic fail in the planning department. We knew there were a couple shelters on the mountain and we had already passed the first one so we were trying to make it to the second one for the night. We stopped on the side of the trail to eat a small bit of the food we had left and we ran into a few men who were on their way down. They weren’t Korean and ended up being from the Philippines. They had been on their way to the second shelter as well and informed us that it was full. They were headed back down to the first shelter. They suggested we join them and we had no better option; we took them up on it.
So we all hiked back down to the first shelter and thankfully there was room for all of us. Lucy and I were freezing at this point and huddled under the blankets issued to us when we checked into the shelter. We took stock of what sustenance we had left. We had about a half bottle of water, half a can of peanuts, a small bag of chips and some cookies. We decided to ration them until tomorrow afternoon when we could get to the second shelter where we heard there was food for sale. Did I mention epic fail in the planning department? It’s a wonder I’ve survived as long as I have with the stupid shit I do sometimes.
We ran into the Philippino boys and they invited us to eat with them. I’m convinced these boys literally saved our lives. They were nothing but awesome from the time we met them until today. While we were waiting for dinner another foreigner arrived at the shelter. She was a fellow American English teacher in Korea. She shared what food she had with us and then disappeared and came back with more food. We asked her where her magic re-supply of food came from. She looked at us like the morons that we were and said there was a small shop at the main office of the shelter.
“What?!?! We can BUY food here?!” we exclaimed. Complete idiots.
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| The Philippino boys who saved our lives!!!!!! |
We were sharing cooking space on a little porch with several Koreans who were very loudly enjoying themselves with every bottle of soju they consumed. At one point, a Korean man came over to our group and began drunkenly practicing his English and asking us many questions. He wanted to know who we were, what we were doing in Korea and what we were doing hiking Seoraksan. He was quite a chatty little man and very, very drunk. He talked to us for what seemed like hours. The whole time he was talking to us, he had an entire dinner roll in his cheek and kept spitting little bits of roll out of his mouth. He used to live in California, he told us, and during one of his stories about his job Lucy said, "Oh, California, that sounds nice," and then just out of nowhere he screamed, “FUUUUUCK YOOOUUUU!” All of us were completely caught off guard and the surprise made us all burst into fits of laughter. Apparently he didn't like California.
When we finally calmed down the Philippino boys began to apologize to us on behalf of the crazy Tourette’s-suffering Korean drunkard. The boys were rather religious and thought the outburst would have offended our delicate sensibilities.
The crazy drunk Korean eventually left us and we all decided it was time for bed. We said our goodnights to the Philippino boys and thanked them effusely for the meal and headed to our little wooden cubbyhole in the shelter. It was quite cold and both Lucy and I were wearing all the clothes we had with us and we had the fleece blankets issued to us when we arrived at the shelter. It was a cold night with little sleep, especially with the drunkard Koreans yelling and singing all night long.
We got up early and wanted to get an early start. When we were leaving the Philippino boys were out on the deck getting their things together and making breakfast. They offered us breakfast, but we decided to make our way up the mountain instead. We said our goodbyes and expressed our undying gratitude to the boys for saving our lives and made our way up the rest of the mountain. Our bunkmate, Kelsey, the American English teacher we met the previous night, joined us for part of the hike, but eventually we parted ways.
We didn’t see any more foreigners for quite awhile. We made our way up the mountain and ran into Koreans making their way down and we came upon the same reactions each time. Surprise, happiness and “fighting!” Many of the Koreans offered us snacks along the way. We got crackers, chocolate, nuts, so many things. Koreans can be so welcoming and generous. At one point, Lucy and I ran into two Korean women making their way down. One of the women spoke very good English and she gave us chocolate and then she asked, “Do you ever wonder who makes these beautiful places like Seoroksan?”
Are you freaking kidding me?! I even run into the Bible beaters on the side of a bloody mountain. Lucy and I gave each other quick glances and then I said, “Uhh, sure,” to the woman and then she pulled out pamphlets on the belief of God and she went on a shpeal about the Lord and how we should be thankful for having nature. I can’t seem to escape the religious fanatics. Thanks for the chocolate and have a lovely hike down, but we should be moving on. It was nice to meet you. Blah, blah, blah. Eventually she let us go and Lucy and I continued on.
We were almost to the second shelter and we passed a line of several older Koreans and they all did the rubbing their arms and pretending they were cold action at Lucy because she was wearing a T-shirt. She turned to me and said, “I think I’m getting hypothermia and all the Koreans thing I’m a frozen moron.”
We took a break and happened to see a foreigner in the midst. We began chatting with him and it turned out he was from Russia and working for a company in Korea. He loaned Lucy a sweatshirt he had and continued hiking with us. So many people saved us from dying of our own stupidity on this trip.
Eventually he went ahead of us because we were moving at a snail’s pace. Lucy and I made it to the second shelter, which was ridiculously close to the summit of the peak. We stopped at the shelter and had a bowl of rice and some water and then continued to the peak.
The Russian dude, Ivan, was relaxing on some rocks as we made our way up the last bit to the summit. He had already made it to the summit, but walked the rest of the way with us. We made it to the top and we were so excited!!! We actually made it despite our ridiculousness, stupidity and atrocious lack of planning! There were hordes of Koreans lounging around eating and drinking beer and soju. The three of us waited our turn to have our picture taken at the peak and the Koreans were so excited to see us and many a “fighting!” was heard. We didn’t spend too much time at the peak. We looked around at the valley below us and relaxed a little bit, but eventually made our way down the opposite side we came up.
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| We made it!!! |
I checked for injuries and recovered somewhat quickly hoping no others had seen the ridiculousness that was me falling face down on the trail. Korean hikers were passing us on the way up and they were giving me disgusted sneers and some were laughing at me. I could hear Lucy still unable to stifle the laughter behind me as we continued down the trail. Awesome. So glad that particular memory was not captured on film.
The hike down was obviously much quicker, but my kneecaps began to feel like they were separating from my body. It became increasingly more painful to continue the descent. My hiking became hobbling and I had to take frequent stops so my legs didn't collapse. I'm such a badass.
Lucy and I stopped at a small pool near the end of the hike and took a dip in the water to rest our sore feet. We caught up with Ivan there who was doing the same and the three of us hung out in the water for a bit.
Eventually we decided to continue on the path down and I had to keep holding on to trees on the way down because my knees were crapping out. We ran into some Korean men along the trail, who were also headed down, and they kept encouraging us. "So close! Almost there! Fighting!"
We made if off the mountain safely and in one piece, despite our complete idiocy and it was a fantastic way to experience one of Korea's more beautiful settings. We were definitely walking funny for a few days afterward, however.
