Walk like a Korean: Hike!

When I tell my friends back in England that I often go hiking in Korea these days, they often respond along the lines of “What the hell happened to you?, you’ve changed.” Which is understandable. In England, I wouldn’t really associate myself with hiking. It’s not a terribly cool hobby is it. Even less so when you call it ‘rambling’ (though I still don’t really get the difference). To be fair, on occasion, I could be tempted to go for a stroll around some national park in Yorkshire (as long as there was a promise of a beer at the end), but Hiking? No thanks, that’s for strange fitness fanatics who (a) have an unhealthy fascination with Ordinance Survey maps, (b) have beards, and (c) don’t understand that getting up early at the weekend is just weird.

But Korea is different, for two main reasons. Firstly, topographically-speaking (don’t get to say that very often): if you live in or near one of the big cities, there is very little green space - almost all available flat ground has been built on. Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul (and is where I live), is one of the most densely populated areas on Earth, so if you want to get away from the busy roads and the claustrophobia of the never-ending apartment blocks, you can’t just go for a stroll in a park, you need to hike up a mountain. And there’s no shortage of mountains in Korea. No Sir.

Secondly, the negative connotations associated with hiking in the UK, alluded to earlier, don’t really exist in Korea. Hiking is perhaps the most popular outdoor hobby here, and whilst it is undoubtedly most popular with older generations, you will find all sorts of people taking to the hills every weekend: men and women, children as young as ten, and old men (or ‘Ajussi’) some of whom look about seventy. People often go hiking in groups of friends; they usually take some kind of picnic to eat at the summit; and the more hardy ones will take a supply of Makgeoli or Soju for some alcoholic refreshment. I wouldn’t go as far to say that hiking is ‘cool’, but it certainly has more of a social, relaxed, almost party vibe to it, than back in Blighty.

So, it’s a spring Saturday morning, I get up at 7am when I don’t have to (and yes, it feels highly unnatural), I take the subway to Sadang station, on the outskirts of Seoul, and meet my friends and co-hikers Mark and Josh, and we hit the trail of Gwanaksan, a pretty small mountain (by Korean standards) at 632 meters high. It’s March, it’s pleasantly warm, and, apart from a few patches of ice near the top of the mountain and a few tricky rocky parts, it’s pretty straightforward stuff, even for me, a relative novice wearing trainers. And when you turn around, you are greeted by some pretty breath-taking views of the Capital, like this…

you can see the No. 63 Building to the left, and Namsan Tower back-right, beyond the Han River

At the top we are greeted by the usual groups of hikers taking photos, drinking water and the odd bottle of Makgeoli (yes, at 10.30am), and a couple of guys selling Ramen Noodles and lollipops. Near the summit, there is a Buddhist Temple with some great views. By now, the sun is hot enough to warrant putting on some sun cream: a nice place to stop, eat some brunch, listen to the (rather soothing) buddhist chanting coming from the temple, and catch our breath before the descent. 

Korean hikers do amuse me. Gwanaksan is hardly Kilimanjaro, but you wouldn’t think that by looking at the groups of people fully kitted-out: hiking jackets, boots, gloves, hats, rucksacks, walking sticks – it can’t be cheap. I think I’m being well prepared by not wearing jeans, but fashion-wise, these guys really take it seriously. There does seem to be a broader Korean inclination for always wearing the ‘appropriate’ clothes for any given activity – skiing, or biking, playing whatever sport – it’s like a uniform, part of the ritual which almost everyone takes part in, and pride in.

The summit of Gwanaksan. Witness the hiker-chic, bottom-left.

But there is something about hiking, walking, or just being away from the city, which I think is kind of universal. Wandering up and down the hills and mountains, people actually say ‘hello’ to each other. On particularly difficult stretches, people encourage each other, and, at the top, it’s not unknown for strangers to share food or drink. It’s the same in the UK, in Korea, and I’ll guess, most countries: in cities, people often don’t really seem like humans, they just appear on the pavement or on the bus as obstacles which need to be negotiated. But add some trees, grass, the odd mountain, replace the smog with fresh air, and hey presto, people are actually nice to each other. Fancy that. Turns out hiking is pretty cool after all. That’ll be another lesson that Korea’s taught me. And that first beer at the end is the best one you’ll have all week.

Art Vs. Music

Art eh? I really enjoy going to Art Galleries (decent ones, anyway), but I’ve never really been good at talking or writing about them afterwards. I usually come outside, compare notes with my companions about our favourite pieces, shrug my shoulders and head to the nearest pub. There are some pieces whose impact has stayed with me for years, which I can still picture now (notably at the Sachi Gallery in London, which I have generally always left impressed). But even with those pieces which have genuinely affected me, I wish I could elicit some greater emotional descriptions about Art in the same way that I can about Films or Music. But sorry, it just isn’t really Me.

So, friends, don’t expect much from this!

Based in Itaewon, The Leeum Art Gallery is pretty good for 10k won (about £5). It’s a gallery of two halves, the first being devoted to traditional Korean Art, old tapestries, ancient royal artifacts, pottery and the like. To be honest, I fly through that part, and, perhaps being a foreigner and therefore not really understanding the historical contexts from whence they came, these older exhibits rather bore me.

Far more interesting is the second part of the museum, devoted to modern and international Art. Here you can find pieces from Korean artists as well as the likes of famous types like Mark Rothko, Willem De Kooning, Damien Hirst and Andy Warhol.  Rothko’s pieces (seemingly just two or three huge strokes of paint) seems utterly trivial, and kind of infuriating (why is he so famous and rich again?!), but I really like some of the Korean Art (especially Bach yiso’s “wide world wide”) and Song Hyun-Sook’s “8 Brush strokes” (Rothko: take note, that’s how you make the basic, interesting!). 

"great staircase"

For the foreign art, Andreas Gursky’s ‘Pyongyang’ is an impressive bit of photography (a huge hi-res shot of the thousands of people rehearsing at the North Korean capital’s epic’ Mass Games’), and I have to say that I enjoy Damien Hirst’s ‘Dance of Death’ too – was basically the biggest and most colourful cabinet of pills, tablets and drugs you’ve ever seen – Hirst does a good line in attention-grabbing Art.

(NB - Taking photos in Art Galleries is generally a good way to get shown the door - so if you wanna see more pics, go to the Leeum website )

The Gallery itself is a cool piece of modern architecture which is impressive whilst being neutral enough to let the Art breathe, as it were. It has this great staircase too.- wooooo.

So, I come outside, compare notes with my companions about our favourite pieces, shrug my shoulders and head to the nearest pub…. Except… there are no pubs in Korea! So we do the local thing: stop at a convenience store, buy a few bottles of beer and sat at the (conveniently-placed) plastic table and chairs outside and drink in the sun. And think of Summer. Ah, Summer, come hither…

Handsome Matt, rightly pleased with his Tacos

So, enough Art. A subway trip later and we are in Hongdae to see our friends Matt and Michele who have finished their English Teaching contracts and are about to return to the UK. Bless. Dinner came courtesy of Dos Tacos in Hongdae. I must recommend this Diner-style Mexican place for its cheapness, tastiness and the impressive speed at which they serve you some pretty decent tacos, burritos and the like. And beer. Yum.

After this, Motto is the next place. Again, Matt has chosen well. This is a pretty small but nice downstairs Music Bar with Hendrix and Beatles posters on the wall of the stairs, and a big screen-shot of Kurt Cobain greeting you as you take your seat. Write down requests in the book and they will play them, and even play the video, if they have it, on the big screen - cue singalongs to Radiohead and Muse as we down a few cocktails, and do Thom Yorke impressions. Yyyyum.

Liam, Jen, Lisa and Helen - Brits Abroad. MY Brits.

The main event tonight: a gig at live venue Freebird , for a monthly night they call ‘Round Robin’, where the bands play around the walls of the venue with the crowd in the middle, and play a song each in turn. If you’ve ever watched Jools Holland, it’s just like that. It’s busy, the acts are entertaining and diverse (just don't ask me what they were called), and it’s such a cool idea for a gig event that I spend almost thirty minutes trying to stop and hassle the (very busy-looking) promoter for a gig there for my own band. Sorry mate.

Nabi @ Blur-o'oclock

Last place (after the obligatory stop for an awesome kebab on the street - one of the many wonders of Hongdae), was Nabi – a nice underground Shishi bar (with its own pond and fountain – indoors!), the perfect place to lounge around on cushions, smoke pipes, talk nonsense, and put the icing on the cake of tomorrow’s hangover. Just got to remember where I live now…

Art Vs. Music? Finish your beer and make your bloody mind up.
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