August 2022 - February 2023
August 2023 - January 2024
The following song was released in 1980, roughly 30 years after the Korean War. The aftershocks were still being felt as an ambitious military dictator president had just been assassinated, which would lead the country into yet another such dictatorship shortly thereafter. The Korean masses kept fighting for what they thought was right. It is this unwavering spirit that can still be found today; in its people, culture, mountains and rivers.
Beautiful Mountains and Rivers 아름다운 강산 performed by Shin Joong Hyun & The Men 신중현과 무직파워
Play this song and feel the warmth, colours, sadness and joy which make up the rich tapestry of Korea.
My friend Jo (who I call hyeungnim, meaning ‘brother’ in Korean) said these paraphrased words one day in a conversation about his hatred for the current president of Korea:
I love Korea. Korea does everything extreme. We work extreme, we relax extreme, we drink extreme, we protest extreme, we party extreme, we eat extreme, corruption too, we do extreme.
Ironically, Korea is referred to as “The Land of the Morning Calm”, which I believe only makes sense in reference to the early morning hours where the average middle-aged salaryman drunkenly stumbles into a public bathhouse to sleep a few hours before the start of his next workday.
I hope my pictures do these feelings justice.
The stone here is inscribed with Korean and Chinese script reading, “From here, Korean mindset begins.” This mountain is the first in a long chain known as the Baekdudaegan which makes its way through the entirety of South and North Korea, up to the border with China. From these mountains come the rivers which have sustained the Korean peoples for millennia.
When I first had the idea of going to Korea, I almost changed my mind thinking there would only be dense urban areas and very limited nature to explore…
… I was wrong.
In fact, Korea is a peninsula of mountains and rivers. Of course, it has its massive hi-tech cities and sleepy villages too, but you can find those in every nook-and-cranny in between those mountains and rivers.
Small villages, rice fields and mega cities fill every flat space, often snaking their way through the valleys.
The word for “wildfire” in Korean is sanpul, literally “mountain fire”. This is because wild spaces and nature only properly exist on a large scale within the abundant mountainous areas.
An Ode to Hiking in Korea
Over 100 days up and down mountains.
There are three directions when hiking in Korea: up, down, forward.
Rooves! Roofs!
Can you guess the language the dogs speak in Korea?
Trick question! It’s Korean. So they say “Mong! Mong!” when they bark.
But don’t get distracted by that dog noise (AKA bullshit in Korean).
This is about the beautiful architecture in Korea. Specifically, the photogenic roofs!
The other parts of the building are cool too, I guess…
While travelling in Korea, it’s inevitable that one would become desensitised to the treat of seeing a hanok. All it takes is a traditional-style Starbucks to wake you up again.
Lanterns?
Yes please.
I fell in love with lanterns at the Jinju Lantern Festival. I visited in 2022 and 2023. I hope to go again in the future. It’s truly a magical event.
The main attraction here is a long tunnel containing tens of thousands of lanterns, each with a paper which includes a local student’s name and their wish.
“I wish all of us happiness. Good luck next year too. Live happily and pleasantly.”
This particular festival commemorates a battle between Korea (at that time known as Joseon) and Japan. The story goes that the kingdom of Joseon confused the Japanese soldiers by releasing lanterns shaped like boats onto the water. The Japanese thought the Korean force was much bigger than it truly was and it caused chaos and confusion in their ranks.
As a result:
Joseon won that battle in the 1590s.
Korea in the 2020s takes the opportunity to rub it in Japan’s face by depicting cute Japanese soldier lanterns getting killed by cute Korean soldier lanterns.
People
As the famous english saying goes: come for the lanterns and roofs, stay for the people.
Something like that, right?
I spent a significant amount of time learning and living at a Buddhist community near the city of Gyeongju. This community is part of Jeongto Society - an organisation of which I am now a member. I am truly grateful to have met these people and to call myself a Buddhist practitioner as a result.
I also spent a lot of my time doing work-exchanges through WWOOF Korea and Workaway.
I love this country.
I don’t think I would live there on a permanent basis.
I think Canada is still my home in the long term.
But Korea occupies a large spot in my heart and mind and I hope it continues to for the rest of my life.
I’ll be back again in the near future.
These photos make me want to go up, down and forward through Korea! Thanks for sharing these gorgeous images with bits of history and humor.
Yes, I eat extremeㅋㅋㅋ