Tigers & Magpies

On June 9, 2012, after nearly 6 years of living and 3 years of travel writing in South Korea, I’ll be moving to Beijing, China to start a new chapter in my life.

Even though I’ll be in China, I plan to continue to develop my Korean language skills so that I can pass level 6, the highest level of the Test of Proficiency In Korean (TOPIK). I currently only hold a level 4 certificate and it’s a life dream of mine to become bilingual so I am determined to push forward. With the Korean language becoming increasingly popular worldwide, I’m sure I’ll have no problems finding a language program in a big city like Beijing. There’s a huge population of Koreans living in Beijing as well so I’m sure I’ll be able to make Korean friends to speak with while I’m there.

Whether or not my life path takes me back to South Korea, I don’t know, but I do know that I’ll always stay connected to the Korean community. It would simply be impossible for me to just walk away from South Korea without any attachments. This travel journal which I’ve built, and the Korean language skills that I’ve developed over the years have in some ways deeply tied me to Korea, its people, and culture.

At this point in time, the only new posts that I can imagine writing on Tigers & Magpies are going to come from my future trips to North Korea with Young Pioneer Tours. However, I will keep updating the Tigers & Magpies Facebook Page with interesting things I find online about the two Koreas. So for the most part, this travel journal will be a kind of reference for visitors to use for generating inspiration and ideas in planning their own adventures on the peninsula.

My last three hikes in Seoul which were to Bukhansan’s Dobongsan and Insubong peaks, and then to nearby Suraksan Mountain, were really fantastic. Hoping to continue the streak of quality hikes in Seoul, I went to Gwanaksan Mountain (관악산/632m) on May 20. Before going there, I was aware of a particularly scenic shrine called Yeonjudae, and wanted to check it out myself.

Spectacular view from the peak of Gwanaksan Mountain

I went on a Sunday which meant I was going with hundreds of Koreans. That was evident when I reached the bus stop outside of Seoul National University Station. There were like 50 people waiting in each of the two lines that were formed. Being impatient, I hailed a taxi and paid for a speedy 5 minute delivery to the trail head.

Taking in the view on Gwanaksan Mountain

Except for seeing a tagged Great Tit (pink bracelet) at the beginning of the hike, I can’t say I saw anything special until reaching the peak an hour later. The peak itself is an ugly radio tower, but as long as you look away from it, you get to see pretty far. Radio towers aren’t that cool so I left promptly, looking for a better place to have lunch.

I continued along the same path in hopes of coming across the shrine, Yeonjudae. Not long after, I found a decent place to eat. There weren’t too many of the kind of places that I like to sit and eat, and that was a little bit of a disappointment for me.

Best seat in the house

I ate and pushed on. I had given up on finding the shrine and simply wanted to come down the mountain in a convenient location for getting home, but that didn’t appear to have happened. Because the signs on Gwanaksan were few and far between, I found myself in an area that I didn’t expect. Fortunately, I was able to ask somebody to point me to a bus stop and, amazingly, there was a bus that was going directly to my apartment.

Sitting at my desk and looking back, I wasn’t too impressed with Gwanaksan. I would still like to see the shrine and possibly some of the other rock outcroppings in koreasanha.net’s photo sets, so a return trip may be in my future, but that’s going on the bottom of my list of to-do mountain trips.

Resources
Gwanaksan Mountain (Korea Tourism Organization)

I recently claimed that Insubong in Bukhansan National Park may be the best hike in Seoul and a likely candidate for top 10 hikes in Korea, but now that I’ve been to Suraksan (수락산/637.7m), I think Insubong has some competition. I went hiking on Suraksan on May 18, and boy was I impressed at the top.

My first view on Suraksan, near Doksuri Bawi. Obong is in the distance.

I started at Suraksan Station (Line 7/Exit 1) where a short walk got me to the entrance of the park. From there it was about one hour of hiking along a tree covered trail before the great views started. The first of which was around Doksuri Bawi (독수리바위/Eagle Rock), one of four really cool, named rocks I saw on this hike.

Just before getting to Doksuri Bawi, a Korean gentleman I was speaking with told me that Suraksan is a popular mountain because it is made ‘manly’ by all the rock scrambling you have to do. Whether that makes it manly or not, I don’t know, but I do know that it makes a fun hike.

Baenang Bawi (배낭바위/Backpack Rock)

Soon after I stumbled upon Baenang Bawi (배낭바위/Backpack Rock), a humongous set of boulders. There is a set of stairs that you can take around the boulders, but I saw one man who passed around it like a rock climber.

Hiker climbs around Baenang Bawi (배낭바위/Backpack Rock)

Once again, I crossed another rock formation called Cheolmo Bawi (철모바위/Steel Helmet Rock). There were a couple of places in that area that looked great for having a picnic and so I made a mental note and proceeded to the peak. Oftentimes, the peak area is not the best place for relaxing because there may not be enough space or shade.

The peak of Suraksan.

After just over an hour and a half of hiking, I had reached the peak. It was an attractive rock outcropping with a Korean flag planted at the top. I considered staying there and eating, but really wanted to find more shade because it was like 30 degrees Celsius that afternoon.

Great Tit

I continued my hike in the same direction until I found a suitable place to eat. There were many decent places all over the mountain, but at this point, I was being picky. I wound up walking to a secluded area beneath some rocks to have my lunch. Midway through my lunch, two Great Tits flew into a nearby tree and I captured a few photos of this lovely looking and sounding bird.

Rocky crags on Suraksan Mountain.

After eating, I decided to keep going in the same direction and eventually follow the trail signs down to one of the nearby subway stations. Taking this alternate route down the mountain afforded me even more stunning views.

People are small, but not insignificant.

The problem with that plan, however, was that the signs on the mountain are too far and few between. I wound up at the bottom of the mountain on the other side and didn’t have a clue how to get back to the subway. That didn’t matter because I called Seoul information at 1330 and told them the name of the bus stop I was at and they helped me to choose the right one to take!

Sitting at my desk and looking back, Suraksan ranks pretty high among hikes in Korea for me because it’s so convenient to get to from Seoul and is a ‘manly’ rock scrambling hike with some really nice views. At this point, if I had to recommend two hikes in Seoul, I would choose Insubong and Suraksan. Both were really enjoyable for me.

Recources
Suraksan Mountain (Korea Tourism Organization)
Bukhansan National Park: Insubong (Tigers & Magpies)