Trail Running in South Korea
Written by Ryan Thompson
Run a little; walk a little. Take in the world around you. Be accepting of the fact you cannot go much faster. You are where you are, and it is exactly the right place. Thinking about the meaning of life or craving dak-galbi (닭갈비, stir-fried chicken). What should I do next? How did I think my song at the norae-bang (노래방, karaoke) actually sounded good last night? Oh wait, we are in the mountains now. Let’s listen to the birds speaking together and take in the view of only the next step.
These are a taste of scattered thoughts you may experience while trail running around Gwangju and South Korea.
Travel and Exercise
Trail running is a great way to get in some exercise in a world where we are sedentary for so many hours of our day. A couple hundred years ago, we used to run around this world because we had to. Now we are searching for the time to be active. See a new part of Korea you would never see otherwise and enter a trail race. Five years ago, I never would have thought that I would be running these trail races, but somehow it has happened.
Moving Meditation
Meditation is somehow commonplace in our lives. If we do not practice it, we definitely have heard of it and could roll our eyes at people talking about how it is the answer to their newfound peace. This is of course as they explode in anger five minutes later at being offended by a look someone gave them. Words do not matter. Our relationship with the words used matters. To me, meditation is just bringing in your personal experience and seeing things exactly how they are. That is it. You can do this sitting cross-legged or through taking in nature that is around you. It can be in the concrete jungle or in the mountains.
Running on a Track Is Boring
Zzz. Running around a track that is the same thing over and over and over is mental. Get out in nature and make your own path. Get lost and find your way, and then do it all over again. Either that or have fun miscounting how many laps you just did.
A marathon on pavement uses the same muscles over and over. We know variance is good for our bodies, and we should change it up. The amount of different terrain in trail running is endless. It has it all, and we should take advantage of that. Our feet will be touching the ground at all different points, and we can spring our legs in different ways, which will relieve some parts of our body and strengthen others as time goes. Don’t run marathons? No problem. Take a shorter trail run or walk because even the best in the game power hike sections. Throw that ego aside.
Meeting Great People
Going to races, you have the opportunity to meet great people with a similar mindset. You also can join groups online to meet up and enjoy nature together. I remember walking through Portland, Maine, in the United States and having a conversation with an old lady on a bench overlooking the blue ocean. Her eyes were filled with gratitude and wonder as she told me to take in the view and how the best part was that it was all free. Sometimes the meaningful interactions will not even come from people you are running with – like this one.
Earning Your Meal
There is nothing better than going on an all-out assault at an unlimited samgyeopsal (삼겹살, grilled pork belly) restaurant after a day on the trails. Don’t eat meat? Then attack the kimchi. You earned it.
Gwangju Trail
The best place to hike around Gwangju is Mudeung Mountain. The best way to get there for someone new would be to take the subway to the Sotae or Namgwangju station and then head east on the trails up that mountain from there. My Instagram, @journeyskorea, has a highlight for how to get there.
The blog KlimbingKorea does a great job of showing the location and a very detailed outline on what to expect. It really is not my style to read up on the micro details of these trails because being out there to discover it for yourself is half the fun. But I will let you decide how to attack Mudeung Mountain. Run. Hike. Walk. Do it all.
KlimbingKorea site: https://klimbingkoreanmountains.wordpress.com/
TransJeju
For those of you looking for motivation to get running, look no further than TransJeju. It is the perfect end goal to a long, brutally hot summer. Train through the summer so that October on the volcano top in Jeju will be a breeze. Reach out to me for training tips whenever you want. It is a great excuse for a vacation. They have something for everyone, including trails of 10 kilometers, 50 kilometers, and 111 kilometers.
TransJeju site: http://www.transjeju.com/ , http://www.jejutrail.com/
See you there.
Photographs by Purna Yu
The Author
Ryan is from Rhode Island in the United States. He enjoys extremes, paradoxes, and flip-flopping. He enjoys being in nature but also on social media. He enjoys a good meditation session but also a great soju session.