Enjoying Ecology, Defying Gravity: Inwangsan

I have never been a mountain climber. I grew up in the lowlands in the Philippines, next to a beach! I'm more like a child of the sea than of the hills or something higher. 😃

The first time I ever climbed a mountain in South Korea was in the winter of 2005. It was a memorable experience, memorable because something went wrong! At the peak! Of da mountain! I have told only a few friends about that climb, and they all laughed when I told them what really went wrong.😓

I was so excited before that climb. I bought a winter jacket and ski pants from the sportswear shop on the ground floor of our building when they had a sale and the rest of my hiking gear from Namdaemun Market. 

Yes, I prepared like I was going up Mount Everest. I got myself a headlight (that small light strapped on my forehead), a walking stick, spikes for my boots, ski goggles, and winter gloves! We left Seoul for the Taebaek Mountains around 11 the night before and it was -20'C when we started our climb at about 5:30 the next morning. 

I remember during our ride to the jump-off point, the windows of the bus were icy and freezing. But since I came prepared, I was able to hike comfortably with 30 other climbers from the office. That was my first and last climb during winter in Korea, though my other winter trips, later on, were only limited to ski slopes and the arenas of the Winter Olympics. But in the following years, I also got to climb the third highest mountain in South Korea - Seoraksan (read blog about it here)!

Then came Inwang-san.

Inwang-san is a mountain in the Seodaemun District of Seoul that I always saw when I was standing at the edge of Gwanghwamun Square. All those years, I had always been interested in going up there since it's close by, just sitting on the northwest side of Gyeongbuk Palace. 

Inwang-san means 'mountain of a generous king' and at 340 meters tall, it affords any climber a different view of the city landscapes.  As I said, if you're in Seoul, stand at the edge of Gwanghwamun Square right in front of Gyeongbuk Palace and look to your left. You'd see a peak; that's Inwang-san, or Mt. Inwang.

                (Don't miss to read the signs!)

Since Inwang-san is in the city (read blog about Nam-san here), it's accessible from different corners, and on one cool, autumn morning, I gathered my friends Wendy, Abigail and Ingrid at Exit 1 of Gyeongbuk Palace Station (Orange Line, Line 3). We then walked west and entered a the Hongjae-2-dong neighborhood, trying to reach the mountain's southern foot by meandering the neighborhood's alleys full of interesting cafés, shops, restaurants, and residences. 

                          (On our way up!)

(We're happy that mountains in Korea got stairs!)

(The shortest way between two points 

is a set of stairs) 

But as we got to the clearing, free of apartment buildings, we followed the hilly way up, but somewhere, somehow, we got lost!  We were stopping all the time to pose for photos and we probably missed a sign!

Luckily in the middle of a forest, an ajussi came from nowhere and directed us to the right path, including one that required us to rappel up the mountainside on a rope! What fun! 

                   (Watch out for wild boars!)


And although we spoke limited hangeul, we got to communicate with him and he ended up being our photographer as well! And we were glad it was an ajussi that showed up in the middle of the forest and not a wild boar! Ha-ha-ha! Yes, there were warning signs about wild boars! 😱

(The kind ajussi took our photo and 
pointed us to the right trail!)

We didn't intend to seriously climb Inwangsan in record time; we intended to sightsee, take photos, and have fun! And that's what we did!

We stopped at a ledge for a photo shoot, we posed while rappelling, and we took breathers to literally smell the forest and its cool autumn breezes. If you also live in Seoul, you'd know that this was part of the enjoyment while living in this city: mountain and nature were always a subway or bus ride away! 

 (My turn to hoist my body weight up

this side of Inwang-san)

           (Ingrid rappelling and defying gravity)

At 340 meters, it's taller than Nam-san that stands at 240 meters without the Seoul Tower. But unlike the familiar views at Nam-san, the views of Seoul from this side of the Seodaemun and Jongno Districts gave us a different look of the city from afar: the Gyeongbuk Palace, the Presidential Blue House, Pug-ak-san (or Mt. Pug-ak), the neighborhood of Hongjae-dong on the northern side of Inwang-san, and the downtown buildings that I could probably name on a clear day. (The neighboring Mt. Pug-ak, by the way, was the inspiration of my prize-winning essay at the 2007 Seoul International Essay Writing Competition (read blog here). 

           (You don't get to do this at Nam-san: Embracing the city)

                      (Lost and having fun!)

(Look to the northeast at the foot of 

    Mt. Pug-ak is the Presidential Blue House)

Aside from the views, the trails, its ecology, and flora (and luckily without the wild boar and wild fauna!), the other interesting character of Inwang-san is the Seoul Fortress Walls, the reconstructed old walls surrounding Hanyang, the old name of Seoul, that snake around the city. It was an 18-kilometer ancient wall that protected the ancient city but was destroyed during the Japanese occupation.

("I can name that building from where I sit!")

(At the northwestern side: The expressway that goes 

through the Hongjae-dong neighborhood 

of Seodaemun District)

                  (Bukhansan at the distance)

Over the years, the Seoul Fortress Walls were gradually reconstructed. Parts of it you can see snaking around Nam-san, and in teh neighborhoods of Junggu and Dongdaemun, usually on some hilly neighborhod like the Ihwa Village, that's visible from Dongaemun Design Plaza area. And if happen to be at Sanmootonge, a Coffee Prince drama location, you can see part of the Seoul Fortress Walls on the eastern side of Inwang-san.

(A part of the Seoul Fortress Wall lies on the left)

         (Climbers on the Seoul Fortress Wall)

When we finally reached the top of Inwang-san, we joined other Korean hikers as they posed at the peak they just conquered. There, we felt 'underdressed' compared to them as they all looked like they were geared up for Everest while we, well, looked like we were geared up for lunch at Tong-in Market. Ha-ha-ha! 😜

 (Pausing and posing near

 the Inwangsan peak!)

         (Defying gravity on top of Inwang-san!)

And after posing on that huge rock at the peak, it was time to descend. Walking down the eastern trail, we met more hikers going up. We didn't really keep track of time; we only kept track of enjoyment and fun.That morning, we met up at 9AM at Gyeongbuk Palace Station and by 1PM, we were back at the main road waiting for the Green Bus 7212 that brought these starving hikers to Tong-In Market for lunch (read blog here)!

   (Gingko trees lining up and turning yellow at the main road at the foot of Inwangsan)

(At the main road on the northeastern side, 

 this monument stands for the hero 

policeman who died thwarting an
assassination attempt in 1968)

If you're into hiking and live in Seoul, discovering Inwang-san is a must-hike. While Nam-san is very touristy, complete with a cable car, electric buses, and a thousand other tourists, Inwang-san is about nature in the city, quiet and cool, and offers a different view of Seoul!

Have fun and do wear proper hiking shoes!

PS. Thanks to Wendy, Gail, and Ingrid for the photos and the fun!😎 

(Rock & roll: sitting on a rocky 

ledge of Inwangsan)

Fanta-Stick: A Korean Performance At NH Art Hall

                       (My Fanta-Stick ticket courtesy of 
                         Korea Tourism Organization)

NH Art Hall is the only performance venue I have been to that's connected to an exit of a subway station. I didn't need to get out of Seodamun Stations' Exit 5 to find it.

There's an entrance right there into the theater before the escalators. And there's even a store selling agricultural products in case you want to get some groceries after watching the show.

Fanta-Stick is promoted as  a live 'gugak' musical. 'Gugak' means Korean traditional music. But the music played at the performance was not only gugak. I'd say more than half of the music played at the performance was recorded contemporary and modern.

During the show, I actually tried to figure out how was the title Fanta-Stick connected to the concept of the whole show. The story was about a man and a woman banished from the heavens for not having been able to take care of a sacred drum and flute, with the latter ending up lost and later found in a car repair shop. 

The family running the shop were humans and knew how to use percussion, while the banished family were ghosts and could play the Korean traditional instruments. I guess the title just borrowed 'fantasy' to describe the fictional story, and 'stick', to describe all the drumming.

The show was a mix of, well, Korean traditional music, dancing (with a lot of head tosses by the female performer with long hair!), slaptick comedy (for the kids), modern sounds and a lot of car parts. There was also a portion for audience participation where, that night, a female audience member was asked to come on stage and had her head beaten by a stick several times. Of course, she was wearing a helmet. And she got a gift for her bravery.

Too bad. A few days back, I watched MISO and couldn't help but compare the two shows, which actually bank on traditional Korean music and instruments. While MISO went all out on the traditional, from costumes to story, to music, Fanta-Stick tried to mix it with modern, making it look and sound ill-conceived and messy.

But perhaps, to an international tourist or to a kid, Fanta-Stick would be a funny novelty. But for it to last long, one needs creativity to make it stick. For now, the bus loads of Chinese tourists watching the show fill in the seats of NH Art Hall. They got a captive audience, so to speak. 

I actually saw excerpts of this show at the Korea In Motion showcase in Myeongdong during the chuseok holidays and I wasn't impressed at all. It was just a group of performers drumming and plucking their instruments with nary a concept but to produce noise. Even the playing of Korean instruments that time sounded discordant. 

But luckily, my ticket that night was courtesy of the Korea Tourism Organization, or I would have regretted buying a ticket, or wasting my time sitting there for 80 minutes wondering how many calories I could have burned if I spent those minutes jogging along the Han River park. Ha-ha-ha!

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to the Korean performance I'll watch next. Perhaps, there'll be more creativity this time.

But if you and your kids still want to watch this show, here's the show's website:

http://www.fanta-stick.co.kr/us/index.html

#PopeFrancisInKorea: The Beatification Mass At Gwanghwamun Square

I was right about not asking for a ticket to Pope Francis' beatification of 124 Korean martyrs at Gwanghwamun Square on August 16, 2014.  I heard from friends that those with tickets had to be at the site as early as 5AM; I woke up at 7:30AM that day, and my reconnoitering of the area two nights before the event didn't help (read blog here)!😆

But as soon as I awoke that Saturday morning, I checked the live news about the beatification. On TV, thousands were already entering the secured area and people were already posting and tweeting from their seats at the Gwanghwamun Square. Although I felt a little envious, I always reminded myself that I might not have been able to move around to take pictures if I was assigned a seat.

                   (An empty Saemun-an or 
                    Gwanghwamun street)

I left my Hannam-dong neighborhood in the Yongsan District about 9AM. By this time, Pope Francis was already at the Seosomun Green Park for a short visit. After that, he was off to the highlight of his visit to South Korea.

I thought of taking the subway, but I realized taking the bus would be more convenient for me since my route to Gwanghwamun Square was via the Seodaemun area. From Hannam-dong, the Blue Bus 421 took me to Sookmyung Women's University bus stop, where I transferred to Blue Bus 752. This is what I like about Seoul: its very efficient transport  system. So, even if the subway stations of Gwanghwamun, City Hall and Gyeongbuk Palace were closed that morning, anyone could still get to the site. From the Seodamun Police Headquarters bus stop, I simply walked for 15 minutes, and...Hallelujah! I was at Gwanghwamun and could already hear the choir singing!

             (A huge empty space where more                          Catholics could have occupied)

                    (Behind the barricades)

Pope Francis actually roamed around the beatification area to greet the crowd on his pope mobile before the ceremony. Even if I made it earlier, I wasn't sure if I would have been able to take a picture of him,  much less get a good glimpse of his holiness. There would be hundreds of people blocking my line of sight if they were standing or waving hankies, or raising their smartphones to take pictures.

               (People watching the Pope from 
                         a huge TV screen)

When I got to Gwanghamun, it was almost 10AM and Pope Francis was already a few minutes into his beatification ceremony. I think I was in the area for a good ten minutes when the thousands erupted in a singular cheering and celebration, clapping and waving their hankies in the air. That was the moment Pope Francis declared and beatified the 124 Korean martyrs!  Paul Yun-ji Chung and 123 Korean martyrs, who were persecuted and died during the Choseon Dynasty in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, had just been declared by the Catholic Church as 'blessed'. 

(As the Pope declared 'blessed' the 124 Korean martyrs...

         ...thousands and thousands stood up,                      cheered and clapped endlessly)

As I expected, the whole site was orderly with thousands of police and security making sure this part of Seoul was free from any nuisance that would ruin the event. Aside from the news of people fainting probably due to the summer heat, there wasn't much of a disturbance except for the one I witnessed by the entrance on the west side of the Square, where a Korean woman tried to barge in through the security, but was stopped. She lay sitting on the pavement wailing, but was appeased and carried to the next building.

               (A Korean woman wailing while 
                being watched by the police)

At the Seodaemun side where the road was closed, there was a big empty space that would have been available for people with no tickets to stand and watch. Had the organizers brought the barricade closer to the Square, a few hundreds could have watched the ceremony closer.

   (Do you recognize anyone from the crowd?)

And speaking of being closer, I made my way closest to the Gwanghwamun Square through a small open passage for Catholics with no tickets next to the barricades at Exit 7 of Gwanghwamun Station. Across the street from where I stood was Kyobo Building, to my left was the proud statue of Admiral Yi and right behind me was Godiva Chocolates! This chocolate shop actually had a cafe on the 2nd and 3rd floors, which they opened to their customers. But watching from the inside, even in air conditioned room, would not be the same as being on the ground where you can hear everything, especially the choir that sang during the Mass. Their singing was remarkably good with soprano and tenor voices soaring above everyone else's. They must have picked the best singers and rehearsed weeks (or even months!) before the ceremony. I wondered in which parish that choir regularly sang.

                                      (A sitting sea of humanity)

           (Majority of those who attended were 
             from the provinces and other cities)

As I expected to stand at the site for hours, I brought almond bread from Taegukbang, my new favorite bakery, and a bottled drink in case I got a little hungry (read blog here). But I worried about those people sitting on the pavement under the sun. I wondered if they had food with them, too. Most of them came from the provinces and nearby cities, and perhaps, even travelled through the night. And when my tummy started to grumble right somewhere between the offertory and the Lord's Prayer, I had to give in and started munching a piece of my snack, reciting the line, "Give us this day our daily bread". 

(I could see Admiral Yi from where I stood)

                                   (The crowd to my left)

                      (The crowd to my right)

The skies were cloudy, making the temperatures tolerable. Although everyone attending was not allowed to bring umbrellas, when it was time for the Holy Communion, I saw white umbrellas lining up and made their way to the center. These umbrellas actually were carried by assistants to cover a lay minister who distributed Communion to the thousands.

                           (The Pope on the screen in front)

              (And Godiva chocolates behind me!)

The attendees on our spot were lucky when two Catholic girls in front of me frantically waved to the lay minister to draw attention to the faithful (and sinners!) in our area, just like fans do when watching their favorite k-pop band on stage. But unlike k-pop bands who ignore the screaming fans and simply concentrate on their choreography and lip-syncing, the lay minister went straight to us! It turned out, most lay ministers gave communion even to those outside the barricade!  After receiving the Communion, I immediately realized that this was the highlight of my attending the beatification. Even though I didn't have a ticket and didn't have to wake up early, I was able to celebrate the beatification, hear the papal Mass and even receive the Holy Communion! I guess I was also 'blessed'! Perhaps Pope Francis could add one more non-Korean martyr to the list! Ha-ha-ha!

              (Emergency responders in orange and a               priest in a black cassock who reminded 
              me of the drama 'Thorn Birds')

     (The skies opened for some rays of light!)

And it was all over by noon time. The whole beatification was a success from many angles. From the campaign of the Korean Catholic church for the beatification of the 124 Korean martyrs, to the staging of the ceremony right in the middle of Seoul that required a lot of planning and preparation by the Church, the national police and the city government, to the selection and distribution of the thousands and thousands of tickets, and a lot of other things that weren't obvious on site and on the TV screens. 

                (The lay minister who came to our spot 
            and gave me the Holy Communion)

Let's count in some miracles like the weather. It wasn't that scorching with some grey clouds shielding the thousands from an otherwise intense sun. And it didn't rain that day; only the day after!

                     (Attendees flocking to the stall selling 
            souvenir t-shirts after the Mass)

           ("The Mass is ended. Go in peace.")

(The Mass is ended. Go and selfie.)

             (Even the police wanted a photo)

Two nights before the beatification, I actually went to Gwanghwamun Square to see for myself the preparations that were going on. Today, I considered myself lucky that I was one of the thousands who had the chance to attend it and even participate in it. I actually didn't need that ticket after all. I guess I just needed some wise transport planning, a bread and a drink, and a miracle or two.  

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

One week after the beatification, I went back to the Gwanghwamun Square. To write this blog, I visited the Godiva Chocolate shop, and got a seat next to their 3rd floor window. My spot during the beatification was right in front of this shop. At the cafe, I thought, with the Pope gone now, it was time to sin with Godiva's dark chocolate decadence! But having attended his beatification ceremony, I'm sure he'll forgive me. :-)

              (My sinful Godiva chocolate drink 
                  and my written confession) 

#popefrancis #popefrancisinkorea #papafrancisco #catholic #martyrs #seoul #Korea #gwanghwamun #godiva