Pictures of climbing Ulsanbawi 울산바위 （蔚山岩） in Seoraksan

I thought the climb from Heundeulbawi to the base of Ulsanbawi was hard, but it was nothing compared to actually climbing up Ulsanbawi to get to the very top. Boy, was I wrong!

Everyone told me Ulsanbawi would be the most difficult course at Seoraksan National Park, but when I got to the base of the rock, it looked rather innocuous. Don't get me wrong, it was really high, but seeing so many people enjoying their picnics amongst the rocks made me momentarily relaxed. 

Base of Ulsanbawi Rock

I grew even more relaxed when I saw the red metal stairs.

Red metal stairs to Ulsanbawi

So that's it? Climbing Ulsanbawi would just be climbing some stairs? I mean, they were steep stairs, but they were stairs and not jutting rocks. I deluded myself into thinking that the climb wouldn't be so bad after all.

That feeling didn't last very long though.

Day 6: Hiking to Ulsanbawi and Heundeulbawi in Mt. Seorak 설악산

Before I get started, I just want to take a moment to wish everyone a Happy New Year. 2010 has been a tough year for a lot of people, but hopefully 2011 will bring more goodwill and prosperity. My New Year's resolution includes overcoming my fear of flying, but that goal has made it on my list every single year without being crossed off, so I have to work a little harder on that. If you have any tips for overcoming this phobia, please send them my way! I would really appreciate the help and advice.

Okay, so onto my second day in the mountains.

On the previous day, I took the express bus from Seoul to Sokcho and checked into Seoraksan Tourist Hotel. I had enough time to walk through some areas of Seoraksan National Park, hitting hot spots like Sinheungsa, Biseondae, and Cheonbuldong Valley before the sun set.

My sixth day in South Korea started with surprising un-sore legs. My feet were killing me after walking all over the place yesterday, but I woke up feeling excited and refreshed, not to mention relieved that a bug didn't crawl up my nose in the middle of the night! For breakfast, I ate some food and snacks I brought with me from Seoul and packed the rest into my backpack. I filled up my water bottle and was set to tackle one of the most difficult courses in Seoraksan National Park: Ulsanbawi Rock 울산바위 （蔚山岩）and Heundeulbawi Rock 흔들바위 （晃动岩).

The best thing about staying in a hotel that's inside the park is that I didn't have to do anything but walk out of the hotel entrance to enter the park. No bus and no fees! The weather was also great. And speaking of the weather, that's the one thing I haven't mentioned so far.

Visiting Sinheungsa Temple, Biseondae, and Cheonbuldong Valley in Seorsaksan, South Korea

I discussed how I arrived at Seoraksan National Park from Seoul in my previous post, but in this post I will share all of the pictures I took on my first day of hiking in the mountains. My fifth day of traveling in South Korea was spent in one of the most beautiful places in the country, seeing places like Sinheungsa Temple 신흥사 (新興寺), Biseondae 비선대 (飛仙台), and Cheonbuldong Valley 천불동 계곡 （千佛洞溪谷).

Here is a map of the Seoraksan courses in case you missed it from my other post:

Seoraksan National Park hiking trails and course map

Sinheungsa Temple is a few minutes walk from the Seoraksan Tourist Hotel. Biseondae is 2.3 km further away and takes around 45 minutes to get there. From Biseondae, it'll take you another 3.5 km (or 2 hours walk) to walk to Oryeon Falls in Cheonbuldong Valley. I walked as far as I could into Cheonbuldong Valley before turning around again and was probably on my feet for a good 6 hours that day.

Seorsaksan Tourist Hotel 설악산관광호텔 Review

I visited Seoraksan National Park in mid-October to see the fall leaves. Everyone said you would need to spend at least 2-3 days there, so I booked a room at the Seoraksan Tourist Hotel, also known as the Mt. Sorak Tourist Hotel.

Seoraksan Tourist Hotel

Unfortunately, there aren't a lot hotels to choose from that are near Seoraksan National Park. Sokcho City 속초 (束草), a 30 minute bus drive away, has more selections but you have to think about how tired you'll be after a day of hiking and whether you'd want to take a bus or taxi just to get back to your hotel.

Even though I had to kill a wasp in my room and squash a beetle on the window, I would still stay at Seoraksan Tourist Hotel the next time I visit.

Day 5: Seoul Express Bus to Seoraksan National Park

This was the day I looked forward to the most during my whole trip in South Korea. It was the day I traveled to Sokcho 속초 (束草) for a two day hike in Seoraksan National Park 설악산 (雪嶽山) to see the changing red autumn leaves. Some of the trails at Seoraksan are notoriously difficult, but I was super excited. I mean, how can you not be excited about a place that looks like this:

Seoraksan Mountains. Image from Visit Korea

There are a few things to consider before visiting Seoraksan National Park, such as what to bring, when is the best time to go, what the hiking course maps look like, etc. I'll go over some of these points in this post, but the majority of these details will be covered in a separate post here.

Here is a general outline of my activities for the day:

Day 5 Activities:

1. Seoul Express Bus to Sokcho City
2. Local Sokcho bus to Seoraksan National Park
3. Check into Seoraksan Tourist Hotel 설악산관광호텔
4. Seoraksan hiking:
• Sinheungsa Temple 신흥사 (新興寺)
• Biseondae Rock 비선대 (飛仙台)
• Cheonbuldong Valley 천불동 계곡 （千佛洞溪谷）

Now prepare yourself for an onslaught of photographs (with accompanying commentary, of course)!

8 Days in South Korea

It's been a month since I returned from my trip to South Korea and I just now finished uploading all the pictures I took. I spent 4 and a half days in Seoul, 2 and a half days at Seoraksan National Park, and then one more day in Seoul before flying home.

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5
• Day 6
• Day 7
• Day 8

Overall, I had a really great time. Since this trip was just a cursory introduction to South Korean life, I definitely plan to visit it again in the future. I brought back lots of maps and brochures to share with you guys, so check back in the next few days as I update with more detailed posts.

For now, here are my 7 general reflections of South Korea (mainly Seoul):

1. Traffic is really bad. Seriously, if you plan on driving or taking the taxi, prepare yourself to be stuck in the car for longer than expected. Traffic is especially bad near the Myeongdong area and it seemed to be like that for the whole day, rush hour or not. So even though basic taxi fare is cheap (compared to Japan, Taiwan, and China in my experience), if you are going to use taxis for the majority of your transportation, remember to factor in bumper to bumper time.
2. You don't have to know how to speak Korean to travel by yourself in Korea. If you plan to be in Seoul, you don't really need to know much Korean, as long as you know English. Of course it will help a lot to know some Korean phrases, but Seoul is very westernized and most signs are in both English and Korean. I do think it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with basic Hangul, that way you can at least read Korean even if you don't know what it means. It'll make it easier to spot shops when their names aren't written in English. Even if the shopkeeper doesn't speak any English, chances are someone nearby will know how to speak it. Just ask around. I'm sure you will be able to find a willing translator. Most shops and restaurants, especially in the touristy areas, can handle basic phrases though. And if no one knows how to speak English, there are a bunch of very convenient, helpful, and free Tourist Information booths scattered around the city. However, when I went to Seoraksan in Sokcho, barely anyone knew any English. So if you are venturing to less urbanized areas, a Korean phrasebook will be your best friend. I actually had my friend send me some handy Korean phrases to print out and show to bus drivers, ticket booths, etc to make sure I was going the right way.
3. Things in Korea cost more than you think, especially fruit. Before I went to Korea, I was under the impression that everything there would be cheap. Cheap clothes (as in around $10-$20), cheap souvenirs, and cheap food (as in around $1-$3)! But, alas, that was not the case. I'm sure you can find really inexpensive things, like near the universities, but the trade off is poorer quality. I'd rather pay a bit more for clothes that will last longer or for food that is prepared in a more sanitary environment than save a few bucks. Then again, maybe I didn't go to the local watering holes. Or maybe I am just picky? Expensive or cheap is relative though... We'll see when I visit next year and do more exploring!
4. Shopping is absolutely overwhelming. If you are a woman (or love to shop), you will be in heaven. If you are a man (or hate to shop), you will be in hell. For me, I was in heaven. My eyes lit up at all the trendy styles and rhinestone encrusted accessories. Then 30 minutes later, the huge crowds and overwhelming amount of selection gave me a headache and sent me straight to hell. The thing is, if you are visiting Korea for the first time, your time will be split between sightseeing and shopping. You can't do everything at once and shopping will for sure take a few hours. If you do plan to go shopping, make sure you decide which places you want to shop at before you go. You don't have to hit all the department stores or all the shopping areas. More often than not, they will have the same stores. Dongdaemun market is the best for the most "a little bit of everything" shopping. Also, it's a good idea to make a list of potential things you want to buy, so you don't waste your shopping time doing a whole lot of aimless wandering.
5. Food tasted pretty similar everywhere in Korea. I was expecting food in Korea to be really good since, in Korea, bulgogi has got to be more authentic than the bulgogi at the Korean restaurant I frequent in Houston right? Well, either that restaurant serves some really authentic food to begin with or my expectations were just too high. Don't get me wrong. I love Korean food and found food in Korea to be absolutely delicious. It just didn't blow me away like I thought it would. Take Gogung Restaurant, for example. Gogung in Seoul is famous for their Jeongju bibimbap, but honestly, I thought it tasted more or less the same as the bibimbap I had at other places. I actually think the dolsot bibimbap in Taiwan tasted better than the dolsot bibimbap in Korea. Maybe because Taiwanese food focuses on more intense flavors? Or it could be that Taiwanese food is always served hot (temperature-wise), while food in Korea was often just warm. For me, hot food tends to take mediocre food to the next level and since it was kind of chilly when I visited in October, hot food and hot soup would have made my belly much happier. Kimchi, however, is hands-down the best in Korea.
6. You won't be running into any celebrities. My dream of meeting Rain, him doing a double take and then instantly falling in love with me, unfortunately, did not come true. Unless you mean billboard ads, you will be hard-pressed to run into any Korean celebrities, even though they all live in Seoul. I read online that the best place to meet Hallyu stars was at the Apgujeong and Gangnam area, but I didn't spot anyone famous there. Not that I was doing any stalking or anything... Alternatively, you can wait outside recording studios like KBS or entertainment companies like SM, but it seems like there'd be better things to do while you're in Korea than wait for a K-pop star to maybe or maybe not show up. If you can't meet them in person, at the very least, you can get your fill by buying their photo books, picture cards, and other memorabilia. SM Entertainment has a whole store in Myeongdong devoted to promoting Girls' Generation, Super Junior, and SHINee!  
   
7. Seoul is very East meets West. It's an indescribable feeling to be sandwiched simultaneously between two cultures and two time periods: East meets West and Old meets New. I really liked how in Korea, there would be a huge row of skyscrapers and then nestled in between them would be an old temple or something. Or how some places would add cheese to their tteokbokki or kimchi to their pizza. It's also interesting to see Asian architecture and Asian statues dotted around such a modern city. I don't think you can find any other place that is as unique in this aspect as Seoul. Since I grew up in the States and now travel back and forth between the States and Asia for work, it was especially surreal to experience such a collision of cultures and time periods.