Taking in the Sights: Paragliding
Word and photos by Jannies Le
September marked the beginning of my second year teaching at a hagwon in Gwangju. This year, one of my goals is to travel and see as much of South Korea as possible. But recently, my method of sightseeing has changed.
Recently, some friends and I were introduced to paragliding in Korea. It all started when a friend of mine turned 25 and said, “I need to jump out of something.” That jump-started the plan and his Korean coworker helped him find Freeman Paragliding School, which is conveniently located in Unam-dong, Gwangju.
On the day of, we all arrived at a simple, dusty office for our safety presentation. They informed us, in Korean, that we were going to Gochang, a city 40 minutes north of Gwangju, and that ours would be a 640-meter descent. We had a group of 13 people and three trained paragliders. After about 10 minutes of waiting for a translator, and after a 30 minute demonstration, we were on our way.
When the instructors asked for volunteers to make the first jump, naturally three of us girls raised our hands. We were driven up a mountainous dirt road to our take-off spot. The ride requires a bit of breath holding because of the twisting, narrow turns and crazy speed we have all experienced in Korea, not to mention the anticipation of jumping off a mountain.
When we arrived to the top, we took in the amazing landscape that stretched out beyond us. Then, our instructors went into working mode, strapping my two friends into their parachutes and helmets. It was everyone’s first time, so we were all going tandem. Other assistants fanned the chute out behind the instructor and my friend, Ally, as she got ready to run.
Running is the key to your success; you need to run when they yell and then run some more, even if the chute pulls you back. We were basically running until our feet were no longer touching the ground, and even then, most of us kept our legs swinging in the air.
So began our extra-long day, waiting for 13 people to have their turn. One side tip: don’t go with more than a few people, unless everyone has their own rides home, and wear a body suit to avoid scratches!
After my liftoff, there was a moment of breathlessness as I scanned the land before me. There were rivers, forests, buildings, roads and even cemetery plots hidden in the nooks of the mountain. The chute is attached to a padding that transforms into a chair when you jump; you go from running to sitting in the air. I was awestruck; my instructor had to remind me to scoot myself as far back in the chair as possible to maintain balance.
Surprisingly, I didn’t feel afraid or nervous once we got in the air. In the moments up there, several things happened.
First, my instructor took many pictures and videos of me with the company’s extended camera (which was basically a camera tied onto a pole with a shutter button), which he held out in all different directions. During the video, I decided to tell my twin sister how much I love her all the way from Korea. Ha-ha. Fear definitely has weird ways of getting to you.
Second, I managed to have a decent conversation with my instructor in Korean about his personal story. I found out he has been paragliding for more than 10 years, he runs this company with a few of his good friends, and they try to take the jump every weekend.
Lastly, halfway through my descent, while still a safe distance from the ground, my instructor placed the two handles (which controlled the chute) in my hands and told me to pull. Excitedly, I pulled down hard with my right hand and we swung hard towards the right–oops! He immediately eased my hand up a bit and said, “Only a little.” Our landing was soft and thankfully uneventful. The only thing the rider had to do was stretch their legs out in front of them at a 50-degree angle. They land everyone on their backside to prevent broken or sprained legs.
When I got down I realized my stomach was doing flips. I wondered how long I had held my breath for during the landing. As the day went by, we waited around six hours for everyone else to finish, and it got even more humid and hotter. But, it was nice to sit in the shade of the stadium and watch as our friends dropped out of the sky.
All in all, it was an amazing experience for only 100,000 won. If you take your own car, it is 80,000 won. Their location changes based on weather so check in advance. This company takes gliders out all year round, and apparently winter is the best season to go.
One last tip: when you get up there, don’t forget to scream! It is to prevent you from throwing up and getting altitude sickness.
Happy gliding!