Red Maples

Just came back from Seorak Mountain (설악산). We travelled three and a half hours all the way to see the red maples. (Heard that the red maples up there are the most beautiful in Korea.) Hoping very much that on the sight of the mountain, we would exclaim, "Wowwwwwww!" To our disappointment, such chance was absent. Instead, "Woooooooooo!" was the sound made all the way.

It's unfair to say the maples were not beautiful at all. It was just that it was not as splendid as described/expected. This was again another good example of "The bigger the expectation, the bigger the disappointment!" I should have learnt so from past experiences but it seems I've never learnt the lesson well - just can't help holding big hope to beautiful things though beauty is never long-lasting and it changes with time. Yet, none can resist beauty, right? (Look at the eyes of those men staring at flower-like girls walking past by and you'll know how true my words are.)

The love of maples drove me to the mountain but the crowd drove me crazy. You couldn't believe Seorak Mountain was another Myeong-dong. The whole mountain was filled with mountain hikers, mountain lovers, mountain sightseers and mountain passers-by. One word 'people mountain people sea'. I'm told Koreans like mountain hiking greatly but on weekdays, mountain can be so packed with people is beyond thought.

Seorak Mountain has become a place of pilgrimage to Koreans. When I told my friends I was going there, all of them showed jealousy as well as envy. Then they would start telling me how beautiful it was, where I should go, when I should start the hike, what to bring, what to do, what to wear, what to eat and what to buy there. You can tell how strong a love they've got towards this mountain.  

My trip to Seorak didn't deserve much coverage. The part of the mountain I'd love to go was far from reach. Why? Someone didn't feel like going that high up. The food I'd like to try didn't go to my stomach. Why? It didn't match someone's taste. The hotel I'd like to spend the night over could only be seen from a distance. Why? It wasn't in someone's price range. The pictures I didn't want to take were taken many. Ay! What a great travel companion! Yet, still there were a lot others I enjoyed during the trip. It wasn't too bad afterall.

Seorak Mountain is unique. It's beautiful all year round. In spring, people flood there for sakura (불꽃); summer for wild flowers (야생화); autumn for red maples (단풍); winter for snow (눈). In whichever season you go, you can catch a beautiful sight of Seorak. Afterall Seorak Mountain is renowned for her year-round changing face. Hope that I can have a chance to see the four faces of her. Definitely, I'll go back to see her one day.