Sangdangsanseong Fortress

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Sangdangsanseong

I know it’s been a while since our last post. We’ve spent the last few weeks settling into our school and getting over our various illnesses. Rachel and I both got the flu... On top of that Rachel also got some kind of bronchitis for an extra week and a half. Awesome! Naturally we didn’t do much with our free time except relax and recover, which I am happy to report, we have!

This weekend we had ourselves some fun. On Friday night we went out with four of our fellow teachers to a Noraebang—aka a karaoke bar. On Saturday we sat around all day and recovered from our previous night’s exploits. On Sunday we went to Sangdangsanseong the mountain fortress just east of Cheongju. This entry will be about our fortress trip because it’s still very fresh in my mind, and ill fill you in on our Noraebang experience at a later date.

Well then... Sunday was a bright, hot but overcast day with high humidity but also a nice breeze. We’ve been told that we are just getting into the rainy season here. Sometimes it feels like you’re swimming instead of walking... it’s gross.

Anyways, Sangdangsanseong was awesome. To get there we (Rachel, two fellow teachers and I) jumped on a city bus, which was cheap (1000₩, just under 1 CAD) and fairly convenient. The best part was that this bus was almost exclusively for the fortress. It took us about thirty minutes in total to get to the Southern entrance of the fort. About twenty minutes into the ride we found ourselves winding up the side of a mountain on a very steep and twisting road. Each hairpin turn (these turns were the literal definition of “hairpin turn”) was almost completely blind, save for a mirror. The road itself was also very narrow and there were a few close calls with other vehicles on their way down. The bus driver was a great driver though, and we made it through unscathed. A little light headed and a little queasy we exited the bus at the southern entrance. We stopped quickly to use the facilities and grab a sugary beverage, and started our climb to the gate. Oh, yeah... no entrance fee!

There isn’t much I can say that the pictures I’ve posted can say better... especially the picture of the plaque. Sangdangsanseong was built in the Three Kingdoms period of Korean history which dates the fortress to (as Wikipedia has told me) 57CE to 668CE (Common Era). However, the fortress in its current state is dated to around 1716-1747 when it was rebuilt/renovated.

It was a beautiful and at times painfully sweaty and hot walk around the perimeter, which is approximately 4 kilometers. There were plenty of resting spots along the way and some absolutely stunning views. I’ve uploaded the best images I took as well as a panoramic of the southern entrance. I’ll add more if I can too! Not much to say really... It was very relaxing (although you might not think so). It is basically just a big hiking trail. There was also an awesome view of the city, but it was so humid and misty in the distance the photos didn’t turn out too well.

In the centre of the fortress were rice fields and a small village. They were congested and traditional looking buildings with lots of people walking about. We were really hungry after our long walk so we decided to grab some food. We stopped at a little outdoor tent-like structure where we ordered some yummy food. We bought a “Korean pizza” which is similar to a latka, and is packed full of thinly sliced veggies. We also ordered Bibimbap, and Kalguksu. Bibimbap is a big bowl filled with rice various veggies and an egg which you mix together with a spicy paste. It was very delicious. Kalguksu is a basic looking noodle soup with a tasty broth. To the soup you add a soya sauce, hot pepper and sesame oil sauce, which makes it extra tasty. I could probably eat it all day long. Anyways, after eating we took a little walk around and then waited for the bus back into the city.

All in all we had a great day! I would definitely go back again just for the views.

I’ll post about our first noraebang experience within a couple of days, so check back soon.


NOW THAT I HAVE FIGURED OUT HOW TO MAKE PANORAMIC PHOTOS I'VE ADDED 3 MORE TO OUR PREVIOUS POSTS. PLEASE CHECK THEM OUT!!

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Photos

TIRED!
We had only just started...

Big curve
Vendors selling drinks and some food. It would have been tough to carry that up here...

Trail
See the small line at the top, that's were we just came from!

Comments

[Cindy Becker]

The Hike
Fabulous pictures - it looks so beautiful. The bibimbap looks interesting - particularly what's under the egg(?)

[Dorina]

you guys are awesome!
Did you figure out your address yet? <3

[Dorina]

hehe
what do you call a fish with no eye? FSHHHHHHH!