Dayhiking | Millennial Abroad

This is a Busan Ex-Pat City Guide post. Check out the rest of my list here.

Dylan Teacher: “Good afternoon, readers!”

Readership: “Good afternoon, Dylan Teacher!”

Dylan Teacher: “Before we get started today, I have a very quick and relevant trivia question and the first student to answer will get a special star sticker!”

Readership: *deafening cheers*

Dylan Teacher: “Okay. What percentage of Korea is considered mountainous?”

Readership: *deafening silence*

Sorry, y’all. Sometimes I seriously can’t help but revert to instructional, cooing baby voiced Dylan Teacher during my time away from school. The answer to the above question is “Approximately 70% of South Korea is considered mountainous.” Why is this relevant though? It’s relevant because up until 3 and a half weeks ago, I hadn’t taken advantage of this fun little fact. This is even sadder when I reveal that I live literally 20 minutes away from a large mountain chain called Jangsan Mountain. Luckily, this issue was rectified after I suggested a brisk midday hike to my visiting friend, Matt.

Our morning started off slightly rough after a whirlwind night in KSU, but we nonetheless dragged ourselves out of bed, suited up, and headed out to be amazed with an elevated view of the city.

As we approached the mountain, we began to notice an increase in outdoor and mountain equipment stores; a brilliant strategy, in my opinion, to draw hikers in for some impulse buys. I know I was certainly tempted to enter a shop and buy some proper hiking pants after catching a glimpse of my reflection in the window (read: I was wearing a gray v-neck and red swimming trunks).

Eventually, we reached the base of the mountain, which was fairly crowded on this particular Saturday morning. Many hikers had opted to picnic on various sprawling rock piles and quietly socialize beside the serene waterfall near the beginning of the trail.

The hike itself is moderately difficult. There was fairly steep stretch toward the beginning of our ascent, but we were able to take a quick rest once the trail reached a plateau, housing a Korean exercise park. Korea is still pretty temperate for this Canadian boy, but many ajummas outfitted in full-on hiking garb approached Matt and I, making a shivering motion to indicate their disbelief at our minimalist outfits. I smiled and mimed that I was a “crajiee waygook” and went on my merry way.

Despite our t-shirts and shorts, all of the $3 glasses of Cass we had consumed the night before began seeping mercilessly from our pores. This is all to say it was a rather moist hike, made all the more conspicuous by the fact that KOREANS LITERALLY NEVER SWEAT. Matt and I would be huffing and puffing and dripping and dropping up a slight incline, only to be passed effortlessly by a middle-aged couple somehow NOT completely drenched in sweat. However, once I remembered my yoga practice (“find your breath”) the hike became much more bearable.

We reached a lookout after almost an hour of hiking. The view of Busan from Jangsan Mountain is spectacular, all white, concrete, airy, ethereal. I wish I had more photos to show but my iPhone died after Matt and I listened to “When I’m Gone” by Anna Kendrick on repeat for about 20 minutes. #SorryNotSorry

After leaving the lookout, we continued up the mountain. Oftentimes, there were no signs (even in Korean) to point us to any particular path, so Matt and I usually chose a trail at random and hoped for the best (luckily, Matt was raised as a feral child in British Columbia, so his sense of direction was quite honed). Every once in a while, we would stumble across a farmer’s tiny bungalow and we even discovered a simple, yet surprisingly bustling restaurant on our way down.

By far the most insane thing we stumbled upon were dozens of (pretty graphic) land mine warning signs. I was slightly unnerved to say the least, but I bellowed “YOLO” and continued on our journey. In addition to the charming signs, there are green tarps everywhere covering woodpiles, and barbed wire to add to the “beautiful scenery that may literally BLOW you away” ambiance.

Unsurprisingly, our descent down Jangsan Mountain was quite speedy. I made sure to keep my weight over my knees since I am the king of twisting my ankle. We stopped at a random little kiosk and enjoyed some nice green apple popsicles on the way down, although they had nothing on my beloved Melon Pops. Once we reached the base, we air pressurized our shoes because it’s South Korea so WHY THE HELL NOT.

Overall, the views of Busan from atop Jangsan Mountain are worth feeling like a fat, panting Dachshund. Just maybe without the Cass beer the night before…

Directions
To get to Jangsan Mountain, take Line 2 (green line) on the Busan Subway to Jangsan Station (stop 201) and go out exit 10. Walk straight for about 20 minutes until you approach the foot of the mountain. The hike is however long you make it, but budget for about 2.5 hours.