승학산 (Seung Hak San) |
Looking back at my time here in Korea, I definitely wish I had gone hiking more. So when my North Korean father (by proxy!) finally convinced me to go, we coordinated a mini outing with friends from my church – Hosanna International Ministry in Hadan.
North Korean hiking faction |
It’s springtime now and we’ve had an odd cold snap the past week or so. This past Saturday (4/13/2013) was a bit warmer and as sunny as could be. I couldn’t have asked for better weather for hiking. Cool, crisp, a little bit windy at the top but when you’re hot from hiking it’s a welcome thing. We hiked up a mountain in Hadan near the church. It’s name is 승학산 (Seung Hak San). The summit is 496 meters so it wasn’t a killer which was good since we were mostly made up of amateurs, like myself.
It’s days like this one that remind me how truly fortunate I am to have this opportunity in my life. I mean c’mon – I’m hiking in South Korea!
승학산 (Seung Hak San mountain) – Look at that view! |
All mountains in Korea have trails cleared out. There are little places to take breaks and snap pictures of the beautiful scenes. There’s usually some sort of underwater fountain that has a spout coming to the surface. Along with it is the all infamous plastic cup for drinking the water. Korea is so community-minded that every hiker uses THAT ONE cup to take a swig of water from. One of the women who was with us (from Brazil) was about to go for the cup when I reminded her of the 6,000 people who had drank from it before her – this weekend alone. Out came the empty water bottle. Good choice!
At the summit |
Taking this hike made me realize one thing – I need to hike more. It’s such a great way to blow off steam, spend quality time with friends, and see the awesome Korean landscape. I can’t recommend it enough. I took so many photos and video clips I could’ve made a full-length feature presentation. Instead, I made this 3 minute video/photo montage…
I've really enjoyed this blog and have even thought about the possibility of teaching in S.Korea. With the rising tension in that region how safe would you think it would be to work there with epik? Someone I know has attempted to sign up via Teachaway, but says that every time they try to call them no one picks up the phone. Do you think it would be okay to work with more than one recruiting agency?
The North Koreans are not a concern, but the shrinking budget in SK is. At the moment, South Korea is the only country involved with ESL that is shrinking.
I would say yes about more than 1 recruiter. Just be sure not to have two recruiters submitting you for the same job. That is a no-no.
It's overdue, but thanks for the information. Truly Helpful, I enjoy your blog.
Thank you! It really was overdue.
lol. Yes it was.
Hiking is fun. I’ve been in Korea 2 weeks, staying in Guri and I went hiking yesterday. I was going up mount Achasan, and was probably 1hr from the top before I had to head down. Turns out, as much as I love hiking, and I’m a country girl that LOVES the outdoors, slipping and splitting my hand on a shark rock wasn’t fun. As soon as I’m all healed, I’m going back up. Any good hiking spots you could suggest? And possibly how to get to them?
Yikes! Be careful. The terrain is definitely more rocky here in Korea. You should get some hiking gloves. Here in Busan there are so many hiking options. There are the large mountains, but also tons of smaller mountains you can do in just a couple hours total.