Night Hike

My friend stumbled upon this group on Facebook called Seoul Hikers Group. A Korean guy coordinates hikes about once a week for both foreigners and Koreans. We decided to meet up with the group this past Wednesday for a night hike. About 20 people showed up and we hiked up a small mountain/large hill in the city. It was pretty dark which made it difficult (no one thought to bring flashlights.. made me realize I don't even have one here), but getting to the top was absolutely worth it. We had a gorgeous view of part of the city.

At the top, we stopped for about 30 minutes to enjoy the view and talk. The leader asked people to share poems or songs from their culture. At first, no one really took it seriously. Then a few Koreans sang a traditional Korean song called Arirang. I thought it was very beautiful, then laughed when they translated it.

Arirang, Arirang, Arariyo...
Crossing over Arirang Pass.
Dear who abandoned me [here]
Will not walk even ten li before his/her feet hurt.

On the way back down, we passed a Buddhist temple and stopped for a bit. I took a few pictures but the lighting was terrible. It made me look forward to spending a weekend doing a temple stay, which I hope to do sometime this fall.