May 15th - Bugaksan and Yonsei, Revisited

Today we ended up deviating a bit from the planned itinerary, but it was well worth it. Our major activity for the day was to hike up (and down) Bugak Mountain (북악산), but of course, we first had to get ready and go through our daily lunch routine. Prior to lunch though, I took a side trip with Nora and Keli to the post office. It was small and not that different from an American post office, to be honest. Sometimes you'd think that things like the post office would differ greatly from place to place, but it wasn't really anything special. Little trips like this, in smaller groups, allow me to practice the little Korean language and culture that I know. I've gotten good at my hellos and goodbyes, along with apologizing when bumping into people and ordering random things (given that I know the names of things I want). We also took a trip to a stationary store, populated by ajummas (middle-aged, older women) and schoolgirls. I was pleasantly surprised at prices of greeting cards - in the US, for some reason card companies find it okay to sell generic messages on paper for four dollars. There are many little nuances between Korean and American culture, and little things like this make international trips so interesting. When else is a trip to a stationary store interesting?

Anyway, after buying some cards, we headed to lunch, then the mountain. The hike was... a hike. The views were incredible and the weather and air were nice, but it was still hot. Bugaksan is located on the northern side of Seoul. Like pretty much everything, it can be reached by bus or subway; today we used a combination of the two. The mountain itself was quite tall but definitely hikeable. A funny thing you'd notice while hiking would be that there were plenty of older people dressed in some serious hiking gear. They really put us to shame as we panted and dragged ourselves up and down the seemingly endless staircases.

One rule that was semi-enforced throughout the hike was a no-picture policy, unless at designated points. South Korea must constantly be prepared for any threats from North Korea. While this mountain is a popular attraction among locals and tourists, it's guard is never down. The pathways were dotted with guards and attendants along with signs reminding us not to take photographs, presumably for security reasons. Needless to say, people were still snapping pictures on their phones, including local people.

this was a designated photo spot

In the evening we took up the Yonsei students' offer and headed over to their festival. It was very lively and very busy; I don't think I've been to an event like it. The event was their university-wide, annual, week-long festival. It's part celebration and part fundraising, but mostly celebration. Something I found interesting was the prominence of alcohol. I know it's a very important part of Korean culture and I expected it to be there, but it's just so different from life at home. In the US, alcohol is still a major part of socialization, but it's on another level here. It's such a staple that cocktails and shots of soju are sold as part of school-approved fundraising (among other types of foods, drinks, and merchandise as well). At the University of Michigan, we can't have alcohol on campus, let alone sell it. It's not just like that at Michigan either though. Although different societal norms and laws may dictate the activity types, the students here and there are still the same. They love to drink, socialize, listen to live music, and dance. We couldn't take up the offers for drinks, but we definitely didn't pass on the dancing, talking, and music!

a screaming rocker

In Short - Where did we go? - Bugaksan and Yonsei University