Chuseok in Sokcho: Day 1 Sept. 29

Saturday morning, we got up early and took a 30-minute bus, which cost 1,100 KRW to Seoraksan Park. There are four main hiking trails at the park. At the base, there is a giant Buddha, around 6-stories tall! All throughout the park there are also several temples that were really beautiful.

                Once we got to the park, we hiked Ulsanbawi, one of the more intense hiking trails. Part way up the trail, there is temple and the famous “Rocking Rock”. It is a very large boulder that sits on the edge of a cliff. We were told it has been there for thousands of years. You can try pushing the rock and surprisingly it actually can rock back and forth, but no one has ever been able to push it down the cliff. We both obviously tried, and the boulder rocked a little but did not move. As we continued up the trail of make shift stone steps, we suddenly came face to face with the “stairs” to the peak. The final stretch to the peak consisted of ~800 steps. The stairs were so steep that it felt more as if we were climbing a ladder. We were both extremely tired by this point, but we made it to the peak! The view is unbelievable! It is beautiful seeing Sokcho in the distance, the sea and mountain range together.

                We had lunch on the base of the trails, and then proceeded to take a cable car to Gwongeumseong Mountain. From the cable car, we climbed to the peak, which again had an incredible view. This climb was pretty scary as there really wasn’t anything dividing us from the edge of the cliff. Climbing to the peak also involved holding onto an old rope. The absolute peak was approximately 1m² and it was windy. It was quite an experience.

                After a day of hiking, our bodies were tired. We heard there was a famous hot spring so we decided to check it out. Upon arrival, we discovered that by hot spring, they mean “Jimjalbang” – a Korean naked bathhouse that simply uses the hot spring to heat the water. I was picturing the Banff Hot Springs, so this news came as quite a shock. In Korea, jimjalbangs are very common. It is a place where people come to shower, soak in hot tubs and relax….completely naked! We figured we might as well give it a try. I was handed a towel the size of a regular hand towel in Canada and went on my own. It was a character building experience for sure.

                For dinner later, we met up with a few friends from Queen’s that are teachers in Seoul. They had made the trek to Sokcho for Chuseok as well. It was nice catching up with them and hearing about their experiences teaching in a private school.