Gyeryongsan National Park: 6/10


I met Greg when I first started interviewing for jobs in Korea. I was interested in his school and got into contact with him in order to ask him questions. Even though the director decided not to offer me the job, Greg and I have been in contact since. We decided to go hiking on Sunday in the national park near his city. There is a nunnery and some lovely temples there, although I didn't get to see any of them. We were determined to reach "the peak" and ended up spending 4+ hours climbing from peak to peak in order to reach "the peak". At least we affirmed that Gyeryongsan's name, "Chicken Dragon Mountain" because its numerous peaks stand in a row like a cock's comb, is an accurate reflection of the mountain. By the end of our hike, we were far away from the temple (and exhausted) and flagged down a bus to get back to the entrance of the park in order to eat the pajeon (pancakes) and mokeolli (fermented rice wine) for which the region is famous.

Unlike Songnisan, Gyeryongsan did not have convenient rock steps. Some of the rock faces were quite steep and ropes were affixed to trees to provide assistance. The rock climbing was quite fun, although unexpected.


The view from "the peak" looked into a valley filled with rice paddies on one side and towards more rocky peaks on the other side.


We have already agreed to go back sometime soon to visit the nunnery and other temples.