Munhaksan

 

I’ve made some great friends in Incheon who’ve gone out of their way to show me around, and their tours have not skimped on the nightlife. Korean culture (and English-teacher-abroad culture, for that matter) is very social. There are some local beers on tap everywhere you go, but the favourite drink is soju: “a distilled beverage containing ethanol and water” that can have an ABV of 16-45%. It’s cheap, sometimes flavoured, and goes down dangerously smooth. On Thursday night it did me in. We had a holiday on Friday (a national appreciation day for Hangul, the Korean alphabet) that I squandered on a massive soju hangover. When I came to it was a relief to hear that the others had been in the same boat. Not that I’d wish the feeling on anyone, but at least I don’t have the flu or some rare soju-intolerance! Kim, Rachael, and I decided to revive our spirits on Saturday with a hike on Munhaksan.

Munhaksan is a small mountain in Incheon. It looms over Munhak stadium, home field of the SK Wyverns baseball team. A path led us through urban farming plots and junk yards before we entered the forest and the city melted away. We had plenty of company on the trail. I had had a hunch that hiking was popular here when I noticed how many outdoor gear stores I pass on my short walk to work. I saw the goods put to work on the mountain; all the Korean hikers were decked out in full technical fabric and hiking boots. Apparently whoever sports the most wind-resistant coverage in the brightest colours, wins. I think that overt enthusiasm for the outdoors is awesome. It was definitely what the three of us needed. The hike was moderate but offered increasingly impressive glimpses of the skyline through the trees as we made the ascent, until we reached the panoramic viewpoint at the top. It was a clear enough day to see out to the coast, and we stopped for a while to soak in the view and the fresh air. Seeing new surroundings from above always helps me to make sense of them. I came down the mountain with more energy than I had started with. Enough for more soju that night!

The mystery of the day was the yellow coating wrapped around the trees that lined the path. I’m guessing it’s fly paper, hence the dead flies, but were they really enough of a hassle to call for this? If anyone knows more about this set up, please fill me in!