Lisa Kolumna: Hiking in Seoul: The peak of Bukhansan

Me and my friend Carina decided to get out of the buzzing city of Seoul to climb one of the many mountains in Korea. Seoul itself is well-known for Bukhansan national park, which is only a few metro stops away from the city center. During the Joseon era (1392-1895), it marked the northern border of the city of Seoul.

Last Saturday, we met in the morning to climb the roughly 800m high mountain. The start was not that hard, although we had some trouble finding the right entrance. Generally, if you get to Gireum Subway station and follow the fully equipped Korean hikers, you'll get to where you want to be. At first both of us were making fun of all the Koreans in full gear. In all honesty, hiking sticks and water proof outfits from 'The North Face' for an 800 meter mountain/hill seemed a bit too much. I had my hicking shoes but that was about all the equipment I was able to bring from back home. As for the rest, Jeans and a t-shirt had to suffice. I made sure to buy some Kimpab (the Korean equivalent of a sandwich / rice roll) and some rice cake for lunch, which we wanted to eat on top of Bukhansan.

Once we had found the entrance, by following the swarm of Korean hikers, we took it slow and enjoyed the nature. It's amazing that Seoul is still all around us and I can understand the many Seoullites who come here to escape the hectic city life.

Me, before we start the hike

Carina, before we start the hike!

Soon, the trail got more and more rocky. We started to sweat, a lot! The trail started to look more like a never ending slope of stairs that slowly lost itself in the woods.It was endless. I finally understood why the Koreans had their hiking gear, it was actually appropriate. In hindsight, they must have laughed more at us than we at them, pitying the two German girls who had nothing more than a normal schoolbag, jeans and a sweaty shirt.

Finally, a well-deserved break

Finally, we reached the old city wall that used to mark the northern border of Seoul. The view was breathtaking!

the gate through the old city wall

Seoul

Namsan Tower

Once we were on top of the wall, it was no longer that exhausting. In comparison to the trail we took to get up there, it now seemed like a nice stroll. We passed an amazing Buddhist pavilion that was designed in traditional Korean manner with vivid greed and red colors. The two of us were having fun. It was a nice day and there were a lod of people on the road. It was a sunny weekend after all.

an old pavilion on the trail to the top of Bukhansan

Soon we saw the peak, which was the goal of our small excursion. We planned to have lunch on top of the peak and decided to go all the way before lunch break. Boy, was that a bad idea!

The peak is in sight!

The trail changed back to its old pattern. It was again covered in huge rocks which you had to climb over, rather than hike. I was very glad for my long legs because it was much easier for me to make bigger steps than it was for Carina. While we continued to climb upwards, we met a Korean company excursion. Yes, it is very common for company teams to have excursions and team building exercises in the form of short holiday trips. They were thrilled to meet foreigners and we got introduced to the employee which was responsible for English speaking clients. I wouldn't have been surprised if they would have given me their business card while jumping over a stone. I was glad we met them though, because the trail got really dangerous at this point. We had to cross huge rock formations which were only secured by some iron strings. We had to make our way hand over hand along the rope while, only one step next to us, the rock suddenly revealed a deep cliff. After we reached the peak, we finally had our well deserved lunch break and sore muscles for three consecutive days on top.