For Koreans living in Busan and the surrounding region, this park is popular to come to ski, so we went to check out the ski resort. As the snow was limited, only about half the mountain was open. It seemed like a decently high mountain if the top part had been open. However, we were at the park to hike, so we only observed.
The next day, we set off on a 12km hike after trying to find anywhere in the town to eat some food. Apparently, many places in Korea, outside the largest cities, don’t serve breakfast or coffee until 10am. That really threw us off. We ate at the connivence store a few times.
The first leg of the hike strolled along a semi frozen river, with the water flowing over the icicles formed in the rapids. We hiked about 6.5km to a temple at the base of Korea’s 3rd highest mountain. When we arrived, we pulled out our sandwiches and snacks. As we were munching, the resident monk approached us, attempting to speaking with us in Korean. We chuckled awkwardly and shrugged, so he walked away. A few minutes later, he came back and said, “I have tea.”
So, we followed the monk to his living quarters where we took off our hiking books and sat on the floor of his bedroom. He presented a book in English about his teacher who founded Korean Buddhism in the United States. The first temple was built in the Catskills in New York. With as few words as possible, he told us about his teacher. I used my phone to speak back in Korean. He didn’t have the same luxury. We stayed and drank tea for thirty minutes before continuing our trek. It’s not everyday a monk invites us in for tea.
The next part of the hike was strenuous and snowy as we began to ascend the mountain. All the Korean hikers had metal spikes on their shoes, which we hadn’t found out about until we were well into the trail. They kept looking at our feet and asking us where ours were. Now we know… After about two hours of hiking, we made it to the summit. Biting, cold wind came from all directions, so we only managed about seven minutes at the top. We were treated to picturesque 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains and valleys.
And luckily, we were only half a kilometer away from a summit cafe with hot chocolate and a gondola that would bring us back down to earth. We ended our night at the local pub for some refreshing beers and pork cutlet. The next morning, we would embark to the historical capital of South Korea to learn about the dynasty who ruled a millennia before.