Like many people who are, y’know, alive, I have a pretty constant battle with depression and my mental health. While I am fortunate enough to have a partner and friends who are always there for me when needed, sometimes the only thing that can get me out of a particularly deep funk is to spend time alone in nature. Given my love of Korean food – thanks in large to my good friend Sophie and her mum, Mrs. Kim, making delicious homemade meals – and the accessible nature of hiking in South Korea, I headed to Seoul, by myself, to hike eight mountains in nine days.
After a very smooth flight with KLM from Amsterdam, I landed at Incheon airport just before 1700 on a Thursday in mid-March. I switched on my e-sim – thanks to Klook, highly recommended – and picked up a T-Money transport card, which can also be used to buy snacks in many convenience stores, before taking the bus to Insadong, where I’d be spending the first couple of days. My plan was to beat the jetlag by getting up early the following morning for a sunrise hike, so I went and got ‘a couple’ of snacks before heading to bed for an early night.
After a 0430 wake up call, I showered and dressed (obvs!) before heading out for my first experience of the Seoul subway. It sounds cliché, but a smile spread across my face when I heard the familiar jingle that accompanied the arrival of the train. “Familiar, you say? So you’ve been to Seoul before then Gary?” Well, no, I haven’t actually. But if you’ve watched Squid Game, you will also instantly recognise the sound (and yes, I did paint my nails for the occasion).
I deliberately chose to stay in Insadong as it was convenient for all the things I wanted to do during my first few days in Seoul, and Anguk station, which is in the neighbourhood, is well connected, including a direct metro to my the starting point for my first hike, Dongnimmun Station. After a quick pit stop at a 7-Eleven to pick up some breakfast and lunch for later, I started the hike up Ansan. I tried not to feel disheartened when a group of pensioners sprinted past me in their running gear, and instead used their gusto to inspire me to walk a little faster to catch the sunrise. That’s why I had gotten up with the lark after all! I then headed on to Inwangsan and Bugaksan mountains and was back in my hotel by 1400 for a well deserved nap, before meeting the man who was providing my accommodation for when I returned to Seoul the following the week for dinner.
This post would be far too long if I went through everywhere I went and what I did in detail (I think I averaged about 30,000 steps each day), but my high-level itinerary was as follows:
- Day 1 – hike up Ansan, Inwangsan and Bugaksan mountains
- Day 2 – Changing of the Guard at Gyeongbokgung Palace / Bukchon Hanok village / Insadong / Jongmyo shrine / Changgyeonggung Palace / Ikseondong Hanok village / Gwangjang market / Dongdaemum market / Cheonggyecheon stream / Evening train to Busan
- Day 3 – full day tour of Busan which covered: Haeundae beach / Sky Capsule / Haedong Yonggung temple / Ahopsan bamboo forest / Gamcheon culture village / Huinnyeoul culture Village
- Day 4 – hike up Geumjongsan
- Day 5 – full day tour to Gyeongju which covered: Bulguksa temple / Yangdong village / Daereungwon tombs / Hwangnidan-Gil / Cheomseongdae / Donggung Palace & Wolji pond
- Day 6 – lunchtime train to Seoul, check into new accommodation and evening meal (Korean BBQ) with host
- Day 7 – hike up Namsan / Dongdaemun Plaza / hike up Naksan
- Day 8 – full day tour to Seoraksan for hiking (but the route I wanted to take was closed #sadface) / Nami Island / Garden of Morning Calm
- Day 9 – hike up Bukhansan
- Day 10 – shopping in Seongsu before heading back to the airport for return flight
Based on my experience, I wouldn’t recommend Nami Island or the Garden of Morning Calm. I just found them a bit boring and would instead spend more time in Seoraksan National Park, but that’s probably the hiker in me talking.
I really liked Busan’s seaside vibe, although it felt quite spread out, and I was relying on public transport, so there was lots I wasn’t able to see in my short amount of time there. The places I saw in Gyeongju were lovely, but a day trip felt sufficient. One of my favourite parts of this tour was meeting a fellow single traveller from Australia and ending up at a cafe / bar with individual record players for couples to share. FYI, couple culture is very noticeable in South Korea, from wearing matching outfits to restaurants not always serving solo diners (mainly BBQ places).
Looking back, I wish I had learnt a bit more Korean before I went. I was confident in ordering coffees and meals etc, and every Korean I spoke to seemed to love my attempts at their language, so it would’ve been nice to be able to go a bit deeper with it.
While the main goal of my trip was to get back in touch with nature and the mountains, I did spend time as a typical tourist, namely getting an extortionately expensive hair treatment which was worth every penny; spending too much money on skincare in Olive Young; and eating my weight in Korean food. In fact, I only had non-Korean food on one evening meal, but even that was a local adaptation of pasta.
I loved how accessible the mountains are in South Korea, and only relied on a taxi once, due to running late for the start of a big hike in Seoul after treating myself to a rare lie in. That, coupled with some amazing metropolises (metropoles, metropolii?), a cuisine to die for – although I will say a lot of their snack food is very liberally doused in sugar and was sometimes too sweet even for this confirmed dessert person – and friendly and respectful locals, I am itching to go back in the autumn to cover off some other hikes that I wasn’t able to do this time around.
Tea & Tulips 