Templestay at Golgulsa

Droplet after droplet of rain tickling the roof tiles, simple yet nutritious bowls of rice and vegetables, working strange muscles, closed eyes, open hearts, the meditative bark of a Moktak, breath, chanting, bowing, and equalizing.  

This past weekend we spent two days/one night at Golgulsa Temple about 2 hours from Busan.  This temple was tucked back in a gorgeous mountain valley, as most temples are, but is special in the fact that it is known for teaching/practicing a Buddhist martial art called Sunmudo (Sun=zen, mu=martial art, do=way to enlightenment).  Buddhist martial art, you ask?  Aren't Buddhists supposed to be the peaceful ones of the religions?  Yes, they are peaceful.  But Sunmudo began as a form of protection when the Japanese invaded Korea during the Silla, Goryeo and Joseon dynasties.  During that time, monks were responsible for protecting people spiritually and physically. Currently, there is no sparring during Sunmudo training.  Instead it is simply another form of meditation, connecting one's mind, body, and breath through movements.  I would compare it to yoga in a way, but with a bit more jumping and kicking.

A pictorial representation of Sunmudo painted on the main shrine.

When we arrived to the temple on Saturday afternoon, it had been raining since the middle of the night (and it didn't stop until Sunday afternoon).  As a result, most of the afternoon activities had been cancelled. We were encouraged to rest and simply absorb the sounds of the rain. So after a glorious nap, we had a simple dinner of soup, rice, and vegetables. We were forewarned that there should be no food waste, so we must eat everything we take.  The food at the temple is not about taste, but simply providing just enough energy for the day.  

After our meal, we had an evening chanting service.  Four monks stood in the front, facing away from us, and, with their wooden percussion instrument (the Moktak) in hand, led the chants in varying rhythms.  The chants were extremely meditative, and I found myself able to relax quite easily. We did a lot of standing and full body bowing during this service.  However, the service is not intended to worship or praise anything.  Buddhism is very individualistic.  No one monk will ever give you any straight answers when it comes to your own beliefs, philosophies, or path to enlightenment.  It's about looking inward and finding a connection within yourself. 

A monk demonstrating his Sunmudo skills.

After the service, we began our Sunmudo class.  It was 90 minutes of stretching, squatting, flowing, kicking, and reaching.  We used muscles I wasn't sure I even had. Then, lights were out by 10:00pm in preparation for our morning chanting service at 4:00am.

We zombily made the steep, 10 minute climb up to the main temple at 4:20am. This service occurs everyday as part of their daily routine.  The chanting and bowing lasted for about 30 minutes.  Following the service, there was a 50 minute meditation time.  This was certainly the longest I'd ever gone "attempting" to meditate.  I say "attempting" because although no monk will ever really tell you how to meditate as it's all personal, I deem visualizing my grocery list, calculating how many times my legs had gone numb in the past 15 hours, and dreaming about french toast as a loose "attempt".  Nonetheless, I did find it incredibly relaxing and had moments of wholeness throughout the experience. 

Trying to stay awake at 5:30am for Barugongyang.

Following the meditation, we performed a very important Buddhist ritual done only on Sunday mornings called Barugongyang.  It is a ceremonial meal which focuses on appreciating, meditating on, and being fully present with your food.  It was quite the process.  It involved using four different bowls (one for rice, one for vegetables, one for soup, and another for clean water), eating out of each bowl and not mixing your food, cleaning the bowls with hot water and a leftover piece of kimchi, and drinking the water with which you clean the bowls.  You leave no leftovers, no waste, and do all of this in complete silence.  It really was one of my favorite parts of the experience as this is something I need to focus on more in my life.

Finally, we ended our experience with a short nap, tea with a monk, and doing 108 bows.  Yes, 108 full body bows meaning standing, knees to the ground, hands to the floor and back up.  It took about 40 minutes to do.  I have to admit, with my knees I was a bit apprehensive, but it turned out to be one of the highlights of my time there.  Each bow has a specific purpose.  I included the explanation of each below.  I think each purpose is worth meditating on and I really enjoy the various meanings. During this experience, I finally felt as though I could really feel my mind, body, and breath as one.  It was quite humbling and a ritual that I may repeat often in my life.

Before bowing, I prepare the proper mindset:

1.     Bowing is one way to purify myself.

2.     Through bowing, I learn how to humble myself and how to have a healthy body and mind.

3.     I bow to realize that others’ lives are just as valuable as mine.

4.     I bow to get rid of my selfishness.

5.     I bow because it is the desire of my true self.

6.     I bow for all living things, and for peace in the universe.

108 Bows

1.     I bow to wonder where I came from and where I am going.

2.     I bow to appreciate my parents for giving birth to me.

3.     I bow to think about who I am.

4.     I bow to find my true self.

5.     I bow to always appreciate my body and spirit.

6.     I bow for the well-being of my body and spirit.

7.     I bow to think about my true desires.

8.     I bow to find myself and to learn how to control myself.

9.     I bow to appreciate the life I live today.

10.   I bow to give thanks for being alive.

11.   I bow to think about how much I love myself.

12.   I bow to be able to always love my family.

13.   I bow to feel happiness and peace of mind through love.

14.   I bow to look for happiness only through love.

15.   I bow to know that unchangeable love is flowing through the universe.

16.   I bow to the teacher who has shown me the right way.

17.   I bow to feel that love originates inside me.

18.   I bow to reflect that my teacher’s lessons are inside me.

19.   I bow to feel that all living things, and the universe, are inside me.

20.   I bow to remember that my ancestors and gods are inside me.

21.   I bow to ask for forgiveness from the people I have hurt, because it hurts the whole universe.

22.   I bow to take care of myself and not to do bad things.

23.   I bow to rid myself of arrogance.

24.   I bow to rid myself of false humility, even if I am in bad circumstances.

25.   I bow to call attention to the good in others, but not the bad.

26.   I bow to keep others’ secrets.

27.   I bow to rid myself of hatred of others.

28.   I bow to rid myself of anger against others.

29.   I bow to not repeat anything I have not heard.

30.   I bow to not repeat anything I have not seen.

31.   I bow to always be ready, but not to expect things to be easy.

32.   I bow to avoid expecting obedience from others.

33.   I bow to avoid expecting difficulty in my life.

34.   I bow to make the best of each moment in my life.

35.   I bow to live a righteous life.

36.   I bow to repay even the smallest debt of gratitude.

37.   I bow to not put my own needs over the needs of others.

38.   I bow to not be stingy to others.

39.   I bow to not harm others in order to get ahead.

40.   I bow to try not to obtain valuable things with little effort.

41.   I bow to have the power to control my desires.

42.   I bow to reflect that life is more valuable than anything else.

43.   I bow to know that suffering comes from an attached mind.

44.   I bow to avoid making foolish mistakes out of ignorance.

45.   I bow to try to attain deep wisdom.

46.   I bow to learn to be nice to people, even if I have negative feelings toward them.

47.   I bow to avoid clinging to the strong in order to hurt those who are weaker than me.

48.   I bow to be honest with myself, and also to avoid flattering others.

49.   I bow to be true and honest with myself above all others.

50.   I bow to know that happiness, unhappiness and desire are all within my mind.

51.   I bow to know that happiness does not come from others, it comes from me.

52.   I bow to realize the value of living a smooth, peaceful life.

53.   I bow to avoid looking back at the past, and to not worry about the future.

54.   I bow to own possessions, but not to be controlled by them.

55.   I bow to know that I can find peace by being patient.

56.   I bow to know that having a repentant mind is the best mind.

57.   I bow to find freedom through wisdom.

58.   I bow to control my mind, not to be controlled by it.

59.   I bow to be diligent in my efforts to improve myself.

60.   I bow to be thankful for the hard times I have had, because they have made me strong.

61.   I bow to keep my original pure mind, even when time passes.

62.   I bow to pray with a thankful mind for everything.

63.   I bow to be thankful that I can find myself in silence.

64.   I bow to reflect on the value of living a pure, honest life.

65.   I bow for the people who are working in bad conditions.

66.   I bow for the people who are starving, poor and living hard lives.

67.   I bow for the people who work to provide me with healthy food.

68.   I bow to have a generous mind, even if I don’t have enough for myself.

69.   I bow for the precious lives of my children, who I have brought into the world.

70.   I bow for my partner, who became one with me through love.

71.   I bow for all disabled people.

72.   I bow for friends who have been beside me, sharing my laughter and tears.

73.   I bow for moderation, even when I have enough to waste.

74.   I bow for a humble mind.

75.   I bow for humility, so that I can always put others first.

76.   I bow to realize that nature is being destroyed.

77.   I bow to realize that all lives are interconnected.

78.   I bow for all the lives destroyed by the greed of humanity.

79.   I bow for all the ecosystems that are recovering after being hurt by humanity.

80.   I bow to listen to the sounds of life that are all around me.

81.   I bow to realize that my life is the movement of my soul.

82.   I bow to realize that the object of love and longing is life.

83.   I bow to feel my soul being purified when I hear the sound of a clean, clear stream.

84.   I bow to give thanks for being able to hear and enjoy the beautiful songs of birds.

85.   I bow to be refreshed by the feeling of a cool breeze.

86.   I bow to be thankful as I breathe in fresh air.

87.   I bow to be thankful for the sight of beautiful wildflowers that are always present.

88.   I bow to give thanks for the mountains and landscapes that speak to me through wind and snow.

89.   I bow to the Earth, which feeds all living things.

90.   I bow to the sky, which gives life to all living things.

91.   I bow for my own peace.

92.   I bow to hope for peace in everything around me.

93.   I bow for the peace of my neighbor.

94.   I bow for peace within countries that have been separated for no reason.

95.   I bow for peace between countries arguing for political reasons.

96.   I bow for peace and harmony among all religions.

97.   I bow to hope for peace in all dead and living things.

98.   I bow to hope for peace between human beings and nature.

99.   I bow for a mind that is enlightened and peaceful.

100. I bow for harmony between the poor and the rich.

101.        I bow for harmony between the sick and the healthy.

102.        I bow for harmony between those who have learned and those who have not.

103.        I bow for those who have fallen into darkness.

104.        I bow to accept all of the things I have done.

105.        I bow to be thankful for all of the people who love me and take care of me.

106.        I bow to be thankful for all of the good and beautiful things in my life.

107.        I bow to be thankful for my life and to reflect on the lives that are yet to be.

108.        I bow for myself, realizing that my own precious life is like the universe.

I'm sure we'll be sore tomorrow, I'm sure we'll keep eating meat, ice cream, and  coffee, but I do feel as though this experience changed each of us a bit.  It revealed new aspects of ourselves, our world, and each other.  And this we will keep with us for a very long time. 

Happy Birthday Buddha!

Pajeon with seafood.

Today is a misty, rainy day.  On these kinds of days, Koreans eat pajeon (Korean style pancake). It is basically a mixture of flour, water, green onion and seafood. You can also order kimchijeon which has kimchi instead of onion/seafood (it's my favorite) or gamjajeon which is all potato.  They drink it with a traditional rice drink called makgoeli. We must just indulge in some tonight.

Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.  -Buddha 

Lanterns outside of a temple near our house.

 Yesterday was Buddha's birthday and we had the day off.  Over the past week, lanterns have appeared lining the streets, buildings, and walkways around our neighborhood like Christmas lights.  It's a wonderful time to visit a temple.  On his actual birthday, many temples give free vegetarian food to visitors and the temple is illuminated in color. And as most temples are set up in the mountains, the lanterns are even more beautiful when set against the lush greenery fringing the temple. Temples are going to be one of the things I miss most about Korea. The idea that a place of meditation and spiritual peace should be isolated in a beautiful forest or up on a mountain top just makes sense to me.  They're one of our favorite places to go on a weekend or when we just need a break from city life.  In celebration of Buddha's day, I made "Buddha burgers" (lentil burgers) and carrot cake (and despite Buddha's teachings against overindulgence, I thoroughly overindulged in the carrot cake).  Maybe this will be a new tradition to bring back to the states?

View of the beach from the top of the mountain.  

THE FOG comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

-Carl Sandburg

On the weekend prior to Buddha's birthday we went camping on Gujora Beach about 1.5 hours away from Busan.  We played games around a campfire, ate way too much Western food, did some yoga on the beach, climbed, and enjoyed the ocean and mountain views. It was nice to get away.  

While there, Aaron, our friend Jake, and I went on a motorcycle ride to the other side of the island.  It was eerily creeping with fog and silence.  The only noise you could hear was the lapping of the waves against some docks and abandoned fishing boats.  But, we did find some beautiful rice paddies and an enormous pile of clams that had been cleaned and strung onto strings.  We'd never seen anything like it.  Clearly Korea must ship these somewhere, but we're not quite sure where or why. 

THE FOG comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

over harbor and city

on silent haunches

and then moves on.

-Carl Sandburg

Malaysia: a land of caves, curry, and cockroaches

A new school year has begun!  But I’d like to back up a bit and reminisce about our time in Malaysia. Check out our pictures here.

The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

Aaron, our friend Rachel (from Eau Claire, Wisconsin) and I traveled to Malaysia and Borneo during our vacation.  First, I must say, the country of Malaysia felt like the America of Asia.  Its religious and cultural diversity was refreshing and fascinating.  We spent our first and last few days of our trip in the giant city of Kuala Lumpur and, other than the blazing, tropical heat, perhaps what stuck out the most in this city were the beautiful people. You could walk down the same street for about a mile and pass a Hindu temple, Chinese Buddhist temple, a mosque, and a Christian church.  But even more beautiful than this diversity was the peaceful nature of each group walking down the street together--hijabs with saris, malas with rosaries. Some walked hand in hand and others simply exchanged conversation.  


From the bustling city of Kuala Lumpur, we headed to the island of Borneo.  Our first destination was Mulu National Park. Our propeller plane dropped us off at a small airport in the middle of the jungle. Then, we had about a 1km walk to the park headquarters where we stayed for most of our time there.  Probably my favorite part about staying there was the cacophony of insects lulling me to sleep every night while Aaron enjoyed collecting the enormous moths that congregated in our bathroom in the evening.

The famous jellyfish cave formation in Lang's Cave.

We saw the famous Deer Cave (the largest cave opening in the world and home to over 4 million bats) and the Clearwater Cave System-- both breathtaking!  But the highlight of my time at Mulu was our 2 day trek and overnight in the jungle.  The three of us had our own guide named Ishmael.  He was a short, little man with a contagious smile.  He grew up in the Penan tribe in the jungle, used a blow pipe for hunting, wore a loin cloth, and knew EVERY plant, animal, and organism in the jungle AND what it could be used for.  He had us eat various plants good for specific ailments and even showed us the tree from which they collect the poison that is put on the top of their blowpipe darts. He still uses the plants for healing and is considered a medicine man among other tribes who are still living nomadically.  He said he travels to these tribes on a volunteer basis to heal the sick and wounded.  Sometimes it takes him over 2 weeks on foot just to reach where they live in the jungle.  But according to Ishmael, when the Christian missionaries came from Australia they insisted the Penam live in more semi-permanent longhouse villages.  Ishmael now lives in a Penam village near the park.  And, when the park opened, he learned conversational English and began working as a guide.

A caterpillar in Mulu.

Our time on this 2 day trek with him was fantastic.  We bushwhacked our way about 6km in to the jungle, spent the night in a longhouse, and then about 6km back (we took a tribal trail “short cut” on the way back that I’m thinking was really more of a long cut).  The forest’s lush greenery and rich sounds and smells distracted us from the intense heat and humidity.  The leeches also distracted us…a little too much.  Aaron hadn’t told me that this rainforest was FAMOUS for its leeches.  And no, they are not in the water, they’re on land!  They attach themselves to every part of your body and begin sucking instantly.  At first we were stopping almost every 2 or 3 minutes to rip a leech off of a foot or ankle, but soon we just decided to wait and let them suck until we came to a break point.  Poor Rachel easily pulled off 80 during those 2 days.  For some reason they really liked her blood.  

A tiger leech feeling our warmth and reaching out to latch on to one of us.

After Mulu we headed to the other side of Borneo and did a homestay with a family along the Kinabatangan River.  On both sides of the river are strips of lush jungle crowded with elephants, monkeys, birds, lizards and other jungle animals.  For us, this was fantastic as we saw 5 different kinds of monkeys, pygmy elephants, owls, hornbills, lizards, and many many bats including the largest bat in the world.  But the reality is that this entire area is cursed by palm oil plantations.  The plantations have cut down the majority of jungle in this area forcing the wildlife including many endangered species into these narrow strips of land.  Osman, whose family we stayed with, refused to be part of the palm oil and supports his 6 children by giving tours to tourists and letting them stay at his house.  

Osman with elephant poop, a cigarette, and a leech in hand.

He and his family live in a longhouse and the only way to get to their home is by boat.  Upon arrival to his home, his 5 year old twin daughters greeted us with 6 kittens hanging off every part of their little bodies.  After we were handed a kitten, we played, drank delicious tea prepared by his wife, Yanti, and went on our first rainy river cruise on which we saw an orangutan, proboscis monkeys, a flying fox bat, trees filled with long-tailed macaques, owls, and hornbills.  It was unbelievable how much wildlife we saw from the river. Tree after tree filled with monkeys and birds.  And although I was squealing with excitement, there was something just not right about being able to see so much wildlife in a 3 hour boat ride when a few days earlier we hiked for 2 days in the middle of the rainforest and mostly just saw tracks.


Osman treated us like family.  Yanti fed us the best and freshest food we had in Malaysia (baby ferns are my new favorite vegetable) and Osman entertained us with his humor and enormous personality.  Aaron and I stayed at Osman's for 2 nights with a couple from Holland and 2 gals from Chile.  Although it rained almost the entire second day, we kept busy by teaching each other card and dice games, reading, sharing stories and playing with his adorable children.  Then, we managed to find a rainless window to go for a cruise and after some patience and adventure, we found elephants!

These guys were all over Batu Caves.

Next, Aaron and I headed to Kota Kinabalu to go snorkeling in the pristine waters off the coast of Borneo.  We ate fantastic grilled chicken, seafood, and drank fresh fruit juices in the night markets, swam in the warm water, and relaxed until it was back to Kuala Lumpur for the Chinese New Year.  In KL, we saw the Batu Caves (a Hindu Temple that is in a cave outside of the city) and ate ourselves silly.  Curry, curry, and more curry.  Yum.

Posing with our banana leaves full of delicious curry.

All three of us fell in love with the scenery, smells, and people of Malaysia.  Almost everyone we spoke to knew English or was incredibly confident when they tried. We would recommend Malaysia to anyone who is a nature lover and has an adventurous soul.


And, it seems the more we see of the world, the more we realize there is to see. So, Aaron and have decided to leave Korea when our contracts are up in August.  We will be traveling around Southeast Asia, Nepal, and India for about 3 months before heading home in November (don't worry mom, we'll be home for thanksgiving:).  


Love to all of our friends and family!

Oh fall, how I love thee

Our campsite at Gayasan National Park.

Fall is in full swing in Korea and it sure is breathtaking! Although we have no apple orchards with warm apple cider donuts and goats to pet, we're making do. It is still apple season here and I've already made a pie,  applesauce, and apple crisp. I also brought a can of pumpkin butter back from the US. When I get homesick, I just lather up a piece of toast with some of that sweet, buttery goodness and I'm back in the midwest.  


Among my other favorite things about fall are the colors. I remember taking Sunday family drives along Hwy. 2 to see the bright orange, red, and yellows of the Rock River Valley. So in order to get our fix, Aaron and I decided to head to one of the national parks about 2 hours from Busan. Gayasan National Park is known for its colors as well as its temple tucked up in the mountains. It was a BEAUTIFUL weekend and although it was cut short with a rainy Saturday night/Sunday, this park was worth the trek.   

Walking into Chi-in village from our campsite.

At beautiful Haeinsa, the temple within the national park.

Almost to the top!

We made it!

The waterfall right next to our campsite.  We'll be back when it's warm for swimming!

Just us and our backpacks

Okay, so I suppose that it is time I contribute to this thing.

As many of you probably know, it was my 25th birthday on the eighteenth of October. Holy crap! I know a quarter century old, right? It is scary for me to think about everything that I have done in that time and also to think about how much more I want to do and accomplish in my life. To be honest I really didn’t even think about my birthday till the Monday before. So the epic day / week starts like this…

I came home from school and Callie was at home already and for some reason she really wanted me to go and look at myself in the mirror. A little strange, I know, but as usual I did what she asked. I am glad too because there taped to the mirror was a sweet little note explaining that for the next week I would receive a gift every day till my birthday. Along with the note was a riddle that Callie herself conjured up to describe where my gift was hidden.

Cheese, new underwear, a wool outdoor jacket, a hiking shirt, and a trip to Jirisan National Park to hike the second highest peak in Korea were just the physical things that she gave me, along with copious amounts of love, happiness and the best company anyone could ever ask for. Yep, if you didn’t guess, she is amazing!

With all that being said, the thing I really want to talk about in this blog is the trip to Jirisan. Not only was it one of the single hardest days of hiking that Callie or I have ever experienced, it was also one of the most beautiful and inspirational days I have had in my quarter century of life. So here we go...only 1,915m to go.

On Friday Oct. 23^rd I took all of my camping gear for the weekend with me to school because I was going to meet Callie at the bus station after. It was hilarious how the students could care less that I was carrying a large backpack to school but were fixated on the idea that it was a North Face backpack. I had my backpack in my office all day and countless students walked in to go to class stopping and pointing, “oh teacher…The North Face, Good! How muchie?” My co-teacher was the only person all day to ask if I was going hiking, only after she commented on The North Face brand.

After school I met Callie in Sasang to catch our bus to Jong San Ri, the base of our hike to the summit of 천왕봉Chon Wong Bong. Everything went fairly smoothly. We had to transfer busses once and thanks to our first bus driver we got on the right one. After about 3 hours of winding through mountain roads we got to our first destination, Jong San Ri. That night we were planning to hike into the national park and camp, however Korea is dynamic. We asked a shop owner for directions and he informed us that the park was closed and we could not go that night. After a short deliberation, we decided to stay at the inn above his shop and leave early the next morning for the mountain.

5:30am…alarm rings, here we go. We packed our bags, laced up our boots and headed up the mountain. The first stretch was along the side of a road that wound up a beautiful hill and through a small mountain village. Many people told us that this is the best time of year to visit the park because of the amazing fall colors. None of them were wrong. The early morning sun coming through the trees and revealing the beauty that we drove through the night before was breathtaking. As we hiked up, more and more of the mountainous valleys were revealed in all of their color. When we got to the park about 45 min. later, we looked around and found the campsite. With no one around to pay or talk to, we set up our lonely tent. We would be the only ones camping that night. After we set camp and boiled water for oatmeal we set out for the summit.

While setting up our tent, there were literally droves of people heading up the trail. Until we set out for ourselves, we were unaware of the challenging nature of the trail to the top. The length of the hike for the day was only 5.5 miles but with over 6,000 feet of elevation change made for quite a hike. The number of people on this hike was truly amazing. All different ages from pre-school age children to grandmothers

and grandfathers were making the trek to the top. The beauty of the day and our surroundings were one thing, but I was continually inspired to keep pushing myself by the people around me.

Mangbawi Rock was the first place we reached that gave us an open view of our surroundings. At 1,068m we had already hiked to a higher elevation than we had previously done in Korea. To give you perspective, the tallest mountain in Busan is only 801.5 m. With roughly 3km to the peak and 900m of elevation change we had a lot of stairs to climb. Oh my goodness stairs! I am fairly sure that we climbed up and then back down more stairs, whether made of rock, wood or metal, than we have climbed in the past 5 years total. It was, however, incredible to think that the majority of the trail was virtually paved in stone that had been gathered from the surrounding area. Much of the steeper sections had been lined with stone steps that were very carefully placed. And then areas which were too steep for stone, had giant metal staircases built. (I just want to take this time to throw a shout out to all those people who do trail maintenance. Thank you for all your incredibly hard work).

About 2km from the top there was an incredibly beautiful Buddhist temple. We stopped there to have a snack, along with about 200 other hikers. We walked around the temple trying to soak up the serenity and simplicity found in that place. There, near the peak of a mountain, Buddhist monks have been living and practicing for nearly 1,500 years. To me, going back to nature to find peace makes so much sense. As we walked around, a monk was singing his prayers adding just that much more of a surreal feel. I could have sat and listened to him all day, but we had to get to the top.

As we approached the summit the number of people seemed to continually grow. At first it kind of bothered me that there were this many people on the mountain, almost as if it were ruining my experience. But then I began to think that every single one of these people, young and old have walked up the exact same trail that Callie and I just struggled up. This realization just made me smile. Thinking about back home and how we may have seen 100 people total all day and here we are hiking with literally thousands, all enjoying our surroundings and sharing the experience.

Finally, we made it to the top!! The final 200 meters was crazy, but the final push over the last hump revealed a complete panorama as far as you could see. Breathtaking! At the summit Callie and I found a nice quiet spot and ate lunch. The number of people at the summit was incredible. Once we finished our lunch it was time to take our picture at the summit. In Korea, all the major peaks have a marker with the mountain name and elevation. There were so many people gathered around the rock that it took us twenty minutes to make our way to the marker. Then with hand gestures and a kind smile we convinced a nice Korean man to take our picture.

As we were trying to mentally prepare ourselves for the trek back down, I noticed a Korean man with a billboard around his body standing out on a rock. It made us both really sad to learn he was protesting a gondola, which is planned to be built right to where we were standing. It is difficult to describe how learning this made me feel. Let’s just say that it would be a similar feeling if I found out that they were going to build a highway through the BWCAW and let motorboats on all the lakes. Those of you who know me, know what I was thinking.

So the hike down, um … ouch! As we came down there were continually people going up. I know I said it a lot but it was truly amazing how many people we saw hiking that day. So we finally made it back to our site and, man, it felt really good to sit. We changed our clothes and hiked down into the park office to see about camping that night. Oh, I should tell you that during the day we put 5000 won on our tent in case a park official came to check if we had a permit, well when we got back to our site, there it was, right where we left it, even with all those people passing by (this reaffirmed why we feel so safe in this country). Anyway, we found the park office and registered--they charged us something like $3.50 to camp for the night. We got some soju (Korean rice liquor) and snacks and headed back to camp for dinner and rest. Ramen with tuna over a camp stove never tasted so good.

The next morning I woke up at exactly 4:03am by what sounded like a herd of elephants hiking up the mountain. I then remembered that the store owner on our first night told us the park opens at 4:00am. The sunrise at the top is supposed to be magnificent, and I am sure that most of those hikers were going to push for the top in less than 2 hours for the sunrise. That morning we got up early…not 4am early but early enough, and hiked back to Jong Son Ri to catch our bus home. We ended up eating oatmeal in the parking lot while waiting for our bus. A most excellent way to end an amazing trip.

All in all this was one of the greatest day trips I have ever been on, and I have Callie to thank. She gave me an excellent birthday, and I am so happy that I have her with me on this journey called life.

-Aaron