The Dickinsons: Live From Seoul - Life: Chusok

Life in Korea - Chusok 2007

Bukhansan National Park

OK, so this section starts with an explanation. I have been wanting to go to Bukhansan (pronounced Boo - kahn - sahn) since we first arrived and heard good things about it from Korean friends. Our first plan was to visit with my brother but the weather then did not cooperate (too cold, yellow dust and rainy). Since then, having a full day with good weather and no other activity planned for the family just never seemed to line up.

What had me so interested are these items...

1) Bukhansan holds the Guinness Book of World Records entry for most National Park visitors in a year (it averages 5 million visitors per year).

2) The park is a large mountain range IN SEOUL. RIGHT IN SEOUL. I mean...you take the subway to get there. OK, well you COULD drive but that would be silly for anywhere close to the subway and Bukhansan is only a couple blocks from the subway stop. Why mess with Seoul traffic (think traffic around a stadium when a major event is ending) or $10/hour parking?

3) You see people on the subway dressed to climb Bukhansan like they are preparing to climb Half-dome in Yosemite. Boots, backpacks, gloves, climbing poles, technical clothing (Goretex, Northface, etc)...I even once saw a couple with ropes and carabineers. Now come on, how tough could a mountain you reach by subway be? All the Korean's I asked informed me that Bukhansan was a nice, mild day hiking area. So what's with all the gear? Something didn't add up.

4) You see the mountain from all over the city.. a big mountain range hovering in the background. Behind the Blue House (South Korea's presidential residence) and the main palace and with the old city wall marching up it's side it is always visible - so much so you often forget about it. But while bigger than, say the mountain I live on or Namsan (the mountain that serves as Seoul's Central Park) it doesn't look all that tough. So what's with the expedition gear?

So, all that said, when we final made it there on Chusok day what did we find? Well...I was just astonished. Right here on the northern side of my new home city is a mountain that rivals many I have seen in Colorado or in Lake Tahoe. A huge mass of hiking trails winding over the 3 main peaks which it turns out go up to 2700 feet high! Also, for a public access mountain park the trails are quiet difficult in some places with exposed 10 degree granite rock faces you have to scuttle across. There are steep, tough loose dirt and rock trails and if you wanted places to get out a rope and climb several hundred feet of sheer vertical rock face, that's there too - in fact we saw people doing so on two occasions. There are even a few places were the climbing is dangerous enough to warrant a warning sign...IN KOREA! Those of you who don't live here can't appreciate how rare a warning is at a dangerous place. I've seen beginners shoot steel headed arrows near a mass of people with no sign here. A warning because you might fall a few hundred feet? Unheard of!

An amazing place. And far to huge to explore in one day.

So, for now enjoy the pictures we shot of this amazing place. We are going to be heading back soon. First however, we are going to go to the local hiking store. I'm going to get us all hiking shoes, backpacks, climbing poles....