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One of the most interesting travel experiences I've had was in the Summer of 1998. Just before the expected arrival of the summer monsoon, I set off by myself on an attempt to walk the width of the Korean peninsula, from East to West, from the Sea of Japan to the Yellow Sea. I intended to take back roads all the way, winding through the mountains, visiting temples, asking directions in broken Korean as I went. In spite of the half-baked nature of the plan, most of my assumptions proved true: It rains regularly and heavily during the rainy season. It's easy to get lost. The Korean countryside is magical. People are extraordinarily kind. And over that there mountain is . . . another mountain. Until you reach the sea.
I found that most rural Koreans going about their daily lives are genuinely shocked to see a foreigner walking down the road, more shocked to hear him ask (in Korean) if there's any place to eat in the next village, and shocked even further to hear that this crazy foreigner thinks he's walking across their country.
Here's how it went: Upon arrival in Seoul, I made my way by bus from the sprawling capital to Ulsan, an industrial city in the Southeast. From there I hopped on a local bus heading up the coast. At what seemed an auspicious point, I got off the bus and walked down to the shore. I turned inland, and followed the setting sun. For the next twenty days, the people were as kind as the scenery was awesome...and the scenery was as awesome as the rain was relentless. I did make it to the Yellow Sea, and along the way had a truly unforgettable experience. Photos from the walk are here.
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