Hiking Mt. Inwangsan

Last Sunday, I had the chance to go hiking in Seoul; I went up Inwangsan Mountain, which lies North of the city. Seoul is surrounded by mountains, and this creates a nice mix of urbanization and nature. Actually, it is common to see people in the subway wearing hiking equipment or having camping gear; most of the mountains have a subway station right at their base so access is extremely easy for those without cars. The hike itself was very short, but it was pretty intense.


There were a lot of steps along the way, but most of it was straight up. My friend and I huffed and puffed along the way. This mountain is sacred for Buddhists for some reason. Along the way, there were many signs of Buddhism. There were people on mats giving prayers, giving offerings (including a pig head with money in its mouth), banging gongs, and singing.



Also along the way were these tents that acted as convenience stores in the sky; it is amazing that people would tote so much stuff up the mountain to sell to hikers. Once we got near the peak, we encountered some barbed wire that surrounded the peak. Apparently, the very top of the mountain is a forbidden area.


The Korean military have a presence on top to protect the city and the nearby presidential house. Near the top, we did get some excellent views of the city. I've never had such a good view of Seoul before, and it was awesome being in the middle of nature while at the same time being in the middle of one of the largest cities in the world. We rested at the top where we had a good view and had some food (Korean sushi, Kimbap, and some cookies).




After enjoying our time relaxing at the top, we finally headed back down the mountain as it was getting dark. We got on the subway and headed home to have a dinner of noodles and dried squid. Yum, yum!

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