Exploring and Rock Climbing in Busan

This weekend I decided to explore the second largest city in Korea… Busan.  Weighing in at over 3,600,000 people in the city alone, it’s much bigger than Pohang but a mere shadow of the sprawling behemoth that is Seoul.  There was a big sand festival going on, which was fun to check out.  Some of the sand sculptures were pretty impressive.  There was also some dancing, taekwondo, and other festival stuff going on.  Worth checking out if you’re in the area at the start of June!

One thing I really loved/hated about the city was how spread out it felt.  It’s great if you’re like me and become claustrophobic in big cities.  It sucks when you like to walk everywhere.  What appeared to be a short jaunt on a (not to scale) map was a two-hour walk along skinny little beach roads and train tracks with a cadre of equally exhausted friends.  We even had to dodge trains.  Well… I did.  Poorly.  As my friends casually strolled off to the side, I tried to run up the bank, but misjudged the terrain in the dark and fell into it.  What can I say?  I’m not a particularly graceful individual.  At least it provided some laughs, which definitely helped with the longness of the walk.  Nonetheless, being naturally awesome as we are, we made the best of it and spent a luxurious night camping on Songjeong Beach.  The only depressing part?  When I laid down and realized it was more comfortable than my bed.  Boo!!

The next part of the day was the best part of the weekend.  I went to 암남공원, or Amnam Park, with my friends Roman, Mary, and Courtney for a sweet rock climbing session.  They all outstrip me in terms of ability, but they put up with my feeble attempts and we all had a great time.  The park was absolutely stunning.  Cliffs plunged down to meet the ocean; red and white striped rock worn down over millennia by an endless barrage of waves.  The sea sparkled blue and clean under a brilliant sun.  Pohang has its beautiful spots, but this was another level.  When I was taking breaks from climbing, I could think of nothing better to do than to sprawl on the rocks and bask in the wonderfulness around me.

There was also a little moment of excitement/terror.  I was belaying Courtney using a fancy belay device she had.  I hardly have any experience belaying, so we went over the basics and practiced a few times until I felt reasonably comfortable.  Once we both felt good she started her climb.  She made it up to the top great, then I started lowering her down.  With this device, there’s a little lever you have to gently apply pressure to while letting the rope feed through the belayer.  The more pressure you put, the faster the rope goes through.  Well… I had it going at a safe speed when all of the sudden the rope sped up.  I had a moment of panic and, instead of releasing the lever and engaging the safety catch, tried to grip the rope with my right hand.  Luckily I released the lever immediately after and Courtney didn’t die, but she did get a nice 8-10 foot drop and saw her life flash in front of her eyes.  I got a little rope burned on my hands but nothing I felt more than a few minutes.  For a belay accident, it was pretty minor (thankfully) and Courtney took it like an absolute champ.  I’ve decided, however, that I need to practice the basics a little more.  It’s one thing when it’s my life on the line, but if I mess up and a friend of mine gets hurt… yeesh.  Anyways.

Amnam Park was awesome.  It was a great day with some absolutely quality people.  There were a lot of laughs, lots of good times, and beauty around every corner.  If you ever want to rock climb in Korea and are looking for a memorable spot, Amnam Park is worth checking out!  In case you didn’t know, Korea has a pretty active rock-climbing community.  All around the country, you can found routes laid out and ready to go… it’s just a matter of finding them.  Check out Korea on the Rocks for help with that.

There.  That’s all for now.  Check the slideshow below!  To all of you back at home, I miss you and love you lots!