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Published: December 13th 2010
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If you need to know one thing about Korean people, it's that they are CRAZY about hiking and shopping! I was rather surprised that they love the outdoors and didn't consider these two hobbies to go together until I went hiking in Seoul's national park- Bukhansan. It's on the far side of Seoul about an hour from where I live and the subway gets more packed with every stop. Hordes of "fashionable", label clad Koreans with walking sticks clamber on in anticipation of the mountain that awaits them. When the subway finally reaches our destination everyone swarms off like a school of fish and you are taken with the tide.
But don't be fooled. We do not immediately start hiking. Instead there is an agglomeration of stalls and shops selling everything from fried fish, to Makoli (a rice wine) to tramping boots, sticks, hats...you name it from stores claiming to be from Italy or the Swiss Alps. Everything you need to be well fed and well dressed for hiking is at your convenience. We seriously had to walk for about 20minutes though what can only be described as an outdoor mall in a forest to get to the track. Koreans
were loving it, stopping to eat some Pajeon (korean savory pancake) and drink some MAkoli before the big assent. I had never seen such a commercialized hike in my life! Though I had been warned that hikes like these could be like walking in a crowded shopping mall in peak season, walkers heel to toe. Nothing like some New Zealand hikes where you may not see another person for several hours.
Anyway after the maze of shops and noting which places we would go back to for a snack later, we began the assent. It was steep (or very steep according to my German friend who had never hiked in her life - how weird is that?!). Mostly bolders and very rocky with not many trees. The difference was we saw a hundred little budda statues and a beautiful Temple in the forest. We looked around it and admired it's design and the great view. The bathroom was named "the thinking room" in Korean which I though was a nice touch. "I'm just off to the thinking room guys. Depending on how many thoughts I have I may be some time...." I peaked inside a prayer room too, adorned
with flags, candles and cushions for kneeling on. It looked relaxing and made me more curious about the Buddhism religion. Buddhism made it's way from the Indian subcontinent to South East Asia and Korea but has now largely been replaced by Christianity here in Korea. Rough estimates by Korean friends say 30% of people may be Buddhist and 30-40% Christian. I found it very strage when the first knock on my door in Korea was a team of evalgelsts trying to convert me in a language I didn't understand, but I digress..
After we reached the summit and saw the sprawl of Seoul ahead of us, simmering in blue haze, we had a toast of Makoli. This is a fermented rice wine drink which tastes like a mix of yogurt and soda. You may have to take a few sips before you get used to it. The decent was quick and then we got into the main event of the day - the pajeon eating and Makoli drinking! Pajeon is a savory pancake made with Pa (green spring onion), various chopped seafood and other greens. It is a delicious snack or meal and can com with sause for dipping. We ate and talked and ate and talked for hours until the sun sank behind the mountain we had just climbed. Being a curious International Relations major I asked the Korean guy what he thought of North Korea. He said he felt sad for them as they were Koreans too but was dubious about the chances for reconciliation. They are so different now and if North Korea fell then it would negatively effect South Korea. Another Korean German friend who had lived through the fall of the Berlin wall, added that the Korean people are incredibly tough and just keep their heads down and withstand it. But how long can this go on, she pondered...there's got to be a breaking point where they either run out of food and resources or rise up. Someone suggested they may even put themselves in a position to be bombed simply to get out of this rut....Hmmm Food for thought.
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