KOREA: SPARKLING III 봄, 여름, 가을, 겨울 ... 그리고 봄

After a bitterly cold Korean winter where I had to boil water to wash myself and huddling in the only warm room in my house, spring finally starting appearing. Not only did this mean not having to wear tights under my pants anymore, it meant adventure - of the backpacking variety. In college, during my philosophy class, I watched this fantastic Korean film "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring" that I fell in love with. In fact, one of my goals in coming to Korea was to see the location where it was filmed.

The shrine was built for the movie, it no longer exists. :(

                  The film takes place entirely in Juwangsan National Park. Captain and I did about 20 miles over two days, beginning in Daejeonsa temple and ending up at Jusangji, the lake immortalized in the film. Juwangsan NP is by far one of my favorite NP in Korea, it is a hidden secret. Its allure comes from steep cliffs surrounding the trails, tall peaks with an excess of view, fabulous cherry and plum trees blossoming, and a myriad of waterfalls with crystal clear water.

The canyon trail was filled with people, but as soon as you got off that trail, the numbers fell off considerably.

Captain in front of a hermitage and waterfall.

Captain exploring a cave. The surrounding stone was made by volcanic eruptions and turned into tuff, thus rendering it easily carved by wind and rain.

More of the numerous waterways.

Crystal clear water. People tried catching the minnows.

You can see the cherry trees in bloom dotting the hillsides. This is looking down from Gamebom Moutain.

We followed a river's course, crossing over it many times. No bridges.

Nearing the end of our journey.

Springtime is the best time to go, unless you want fall colors.

                After emerging from the trail onto open road, we turned left and headed up the hill to Jusangji, a man-made lake that was dammed up over two-hundred years ago. When they flooded the lake, the King Willows survived even though being at least two feet underwater. The vibrant green of their new leaves show their persistence in clinging to life.

Jusangji

Newly-leaved King Willow, flooded by the lake.

View to the north.

A truly beautiful place.

                  Juwangsan NP is, by far, my favorite national park in Korea. Not only do they have epic waterfalls and beautiful scenes easily accessible, they also have a good variety of hikes and gorgeous vistas. Highly recommended!