속초, 설악산 (Sokcho and Seoraksan)

This is from our adventure to Seoraksan, the major national park of the Gangwon region, if not the whole country.  It's a very big park, you could spend days getting lost there.  We only had the day.  In addition to the outrageous beauty and natural nature high, I had a swell of warm memories of visiting similar National Parks back home with my family.  I miss them and I can't wait for them to visit. 

The entrance is incredible. It's like being in a dream or a documentary.

It was a perfect spring day.  The place is bumping with tourists like us.  I am of the opinion that it's a waste of time to fight the crowd, they have just as much right to enjoy it as you.  I don't mind getting a picture of some beautiful part of the world with some people in the way.  I'm one of those people too.  We are part of the beauty.

River running through the entrance to the park.

Claire takes better pictures than me. She also can step further onto ledges.

So steep. Holy shit.

It was perilous, this was as close to Seoraksan summit as I could manage without having a total panic attack from the heights, steep drop offs.  Even this was way beyond my freak-out point.

This is on our way out. My shirt says "Don't Trend On Me" and I bought it from a Native-run clothing company (website: oxdx.storenvy.com).  I wanted to mention this because I care deeply about cultural exchange in a respectful way.  This place reminded me a lot of the Black Hills in South Dakota.  It has deep cultural-spiritual significance to the Korean people, as the Black Hills does for the indigenous Lakota and Cheyenne people. 

Claire "photo-bombing" some mountains. haha, suckers.

And now, on to Sokcho.  This city is amazing, I highly recommend a visit there for anyone in Korea.  The only travel blogs I could find before we arrived had nothing to say about the city, except that it is touristy and mediocre.  I found neither of these to be the case.  Sokcho is a splendid and clean city, nestled between the peaks of Seoraksan and the coast.  I highly recommend you go to Sokcho!

 Last part of the trip was a temple called Naksansa, down in Yang Yang.  It was my favorite place in Korea to date.

Unbelievable.