In Korea, Seoul is Fabulous. The Wilderness There is Even More Intriguing
When I think of the countries I’ve visited in Asia, particularly in Northeast Asia (Japan and China, primarily), they’re typically all about the urban, cosmopolitan cities rather than the treasures of the wild. This trip to Korea has been different – to an extent.
On this visit, a content creation mission with colleagues who are filmmakers and photographers – and with nary a cruise ship in sight -- we traveled to Korea’s key port cities, spending about a week in total. Not a ton of time in places like Incheon (the gateway to Seoul), Sokcho, on the northeast coast, Busan, the “Los Angeles of Korea,” and, finally, Yeosu, an island-heavy resort town on the southwest. And I spent four days in and around Seoul before my colleagues arrived (we’re saving Jeju Island for another time).
What strikes me isn’t how interesting each of the cities has been because that’s a given. They all have their own attitude, their own character, their own energy and each has its mix of contemporary and traditional lifestyles that lie side by side, quite compatibly, it seems. What was new to me is the natural wonders each of them has, all quite different. For instance? I simply have not, before this trip, associated northeastern Asian cities with anything much more than great urban parks. The surprise: you don’t have to go very far to get off the grid – and when you do, you’ll find very little anything, including maps, signage and café menus, in English; this is Korean country.
Korea is about 70 – 80 percent mountainous. That already was a surprise and it dictates the ambience. My favorites (see pics) included a tea plantation near Yeosu, an unusually serene temple high above extroverted Busan (on the day we visited the heavy mist and rain obscured all worldly views and it was magic), and Seoraksan National Park, a Swiss Alps-like refuge, with towering, craggy peaks and a cable car that eliminates much (but not all) of the vertical hiking labor, on the outskirts of Sokcho.
In Incheon, the urban park that defines contemporary Songdo was genuinely lovely. Yet, I preferred the folksy Wolmido, even with the gaudy ferris wheel and boardwalk scene located just-over-there (thankfully due to a mini mountain in between, you couldn’t hear or see them).
It's been an incredibly busy week, and I’m grateful for so many new discoveries, urban and otherwise. Without these various bits of wilderness, however, I would have missed out on some genuinely peaceful, thought-provoking moments. I am still carrying some of those memories inside me. Here’s hoping they survive the long journey home.