The First Two Days of South Korea

The first interesting bit about my trip to South Korea came before I even got to the airport. At 5 am, in Birkenstocks and with a hefty amount of luggage, I waddled through ankle-high snow. I bantered with my taxi driver, distracting him from the fact that I was sliding through the snow in open-toed shoes. After getting into the car and regaining feeling in my toes, I answered basic questions about my trip. Before long my driver was talking about his time in South Korea. He was stationed in Busan with the Marines in the 80s/early 90s. For all who don’t know, I’m in South Korea to do a side-by-side photoseries with the photography work of my grandfather, who was stationed in Busan during the Korean War. The second connection to Busan was a massive coincidence. On the way to the airport I learned more about training with the Marines.

I did not sleep until getting on my plane to SFO, which took off at 9:30am. By the time I got on my second flight from San Francisco to Seoul, I was exhausted. Sleeping on the second flight was no problem at all. Aside from sore knees and neck, not too much was wrong with the trip. Except for the choice to watch Whiplash on the second flight. The movie was stress-inducing and generally not a good time. It was also about a bunch of douchey white guys. After the movie finished I had few questions about why the movie received so many accolades. 

The trip to my hostel in Seoul was beautiful and exhausting. Moving luggage around subways stops is always a bit of trouble. Trying to look dignified while panting for your life. It gets trickier if you are going somewhere you’ve never been before. With my cryptic written instructions, and no working phone, I managed to find my way to my hostel, nestled in a Market next to Hognik University.

Come Inn was a wonderful place to be. I chose it for the lighting, and not much else. Looking at the pictures I felt it would be a calm place to stay. I didn’t realize that it was located at the center of the night life for students in the area. Grabbing dinner and dessert every night was an event on its own.

The incredible journey to Bugaksan Mountain

The next day I decided to hike the mountain sitting on the outskirts of Seoul. I copied instructions from online and left that morning. I took the subway to a bus stop, and got on-board one of the numbers going to the mountain. I followed behind an old woman getting on the same bus. The card scanner is behind the bus driver on Korean buses, so I waited to see what she would do. She sat down, and I did the same. But after about twenty minutes I realized that we both had just chosen not to pay. 

The drive took us through the outer parts of Seoul. In parts of town I wouldn’t see otherwise, I broke out my camera and tried to not draw too much attention to myself.

It was about forty minutes later that I started to wonder where the fuck I was. There was no mountain in sight, and by the time we pulled up to the transit station I was not too surprised. The driver made a motion for me to get off the bus, it was the end of the route. I approached him, notebook in hand, and pointed to the stop I wanted to go to (fortunately I had written it in Korean as well). He laughed and shook his head, and I smiled and waved my hands in the air. We couldn’t communicate at all, but we both clearly came to the conclusion that I was in deep. I motioned with my hands, asking if I should stay on the bus. He shook his head and got off the bus, waving for me to follow. I watched as my driver spoke quickly with the driver of another bus. I could hear my stop being discussed, but had not idea what was being said. Eventually they waved for me to get on the bus. I made a move to pay, but they shook their heads and motioned for me to get on. That was peaches to me, since we all know that I had no way to pay. 

An hour later and I had to pee like no other. Finally we got to my stop. I jumped off and found a nearby café. Returning to where I was left, I went up the stairs and walked a distance until I came to a beautiful view of the city.

A police officer was there too. The trail was lovely, but knowing that someone would be asking me to pay to climb the mountain, I had a feeling I needed to backtrack. The officer agreed and pointed me in the right direction. At this point, it was 2:45pm. They stop admitting people to the mountain at 3, and ask everyone to leave the premises by 5. I started hustling a bit more. Backpack in tow, I ran down flights of stairs, crossed the street, and rushed up some hills. I found my way with a couple minutes to spare. 

Walking up the brick path, I knew this was the place. I soon arrived at an area with two booths. I approached one with a man sitting at a table, and asked him where I should pay to get in.

The mountain was closed. There was construction for the day. It re-opened the next day, but I knew I would be halfway to Busan by then.

After a chat with the man at the booth, I made way back to Hognik University, stopping for some fried street food along the way.

When I returned to the hostel I packed my belongings and planned the final details of my trip to Busan. Though the day was not as successful as I had hoped, it was fun touring around Seoul. I saw a lot of the city, so I didn’t feel too cheated about the mountain being closed. 

Since then I've found my way to Busan, in the southern most part of South Korea. I will write with updates in the next couple of days. Until then, enjoy a picture of the hostel cat. His name is Potung.