Day 4: The way-gookin Stage

Mark

Course: Geum-gye to Nochi maeul.

Distance walked: 16.1 km

We woke in our concrete bunker with the rain still falling... 
 

Breaking camp at the concrete bunker. 

Our breakfast was a few mouthfuls of rice accompanied with sheets of thin dried seaweed (kim) and plenty of the kimchi that had been sent with us from our new friends in Macheon. It seems that we are all big kimchi eaters as the kilogram of kimchi that we began with the previous day was mostly gone - a testament to the delicious kimchi - and to the fact that the kimchi was the only culinary option available to us at this point of the trek. Will this change...?! 

Anyway, the bunker was depressing so we walked 100m to a bus-stop where a gathering of old women were waiting. They started chattering to Kathleen:
 

'Where are you going?',
'Where are you from?',
'You need this bus',
etc, etc, etc...

Thankfully, the bus came and as I climbed the stairs I saw a sea of black permed hair rising above the seats followed by the faces of the old women to whom the perms belonged. The talking began immediately and we found ourselves (again) standing front and centre on the way-gookin stage. The way-gookin stage is a mandatory part of life in Korea, a place where the confluence of foreigner and Korean results in a series of performances that pushes all actors to the limit - it has everything - drama, documentary, emotion, plenty of comedy. There are many outstanding performances and the only necessary requirements are our alien presence in the heartland of Korea. The catch is that you play the part whether you want to or not. Now, back to the action....
 

On this particular morning the scene took on the characteristics of a comedy. We didn't really know where we were going and Kathleen was caught in the rapid exchange of Korean firing 'round the bus. Each passenger had an opinion and fought hard to make themselves heard. At one stop we were urged off the bus only to be stopped just short of the door by a chorus of protests:

'Wait! Next stop! Next stop!'

Raby and I were cracking up. As usual, we played the role of the helpless way-gookins, with stupid grins and fumbled Korean phrases, swaying back and forth in the aisle with our oversized packs, nodding, loving it really - an easy part to play. Kathleen held the scene together. I was wondering how she could decipher anything that was being flung about and then she turned to us:

'Guys, I have no idea where we are going!'

We all start cracking up and then, in unison, the call comes from all sides: 

'This is it! Get off here! Hurry, hurry!'

We push past the poor women in the aisle, packs getting caught on their bodies as we leave. Repeated thank-yous, repeated bows, goodbyes, and then we are left on the roadside in silence. No curtain, no applause, just a small and empty town standing ahead of us in the morning rain. A moment's hesitation, we regather, and then begin walking towards a nearby police station to ask for help. Three veteran actors walking onwards to begin the next scene...

 

Onto the ridge proper.

 

With the help of the police, a taxi to the start of the ridge was organised. After our stay in Macheon and our walk through the pleasant villages of Jiri-san, we were ready for the ridge, and the taxi was our ticket to the top of the mountain where we would re-join the Baekdu Daegan close to the peak of Nogodan.

As we wound up the mountain road in the taxi Raby practised his Korean; twitching and squirming in his seat behind the driver, he leaned forward and said in his best Korean:

'What is the season now?'

The driver, an elderly Korean man hesistated to answer. Kathleen laughed. There were flowers and new green growth on the trees all around us and it was quite obviously spring. Raby realised his mistake and recovered just in time:

'Oh! Aneeyo! Aneeyo!...What is your favourite season?!'

The driver looked relieved and says that he likes autumn because the air is clear - fair enough - a shaky victory for Raby Johnson!
 

At the top of the road it is cold with a bitter wind blowing rain sideways into the valley below. This is wild! We delay the start of our walk, taking cover in a restaurant in hope that the weather will improve. There are a few Koreans around and the talk is of the weather and the shorts that Raby and I are sporting:

'Aren't you cold?' the Koreans ask.

This question is rapidly becoming a catch-phrase for our hike, Koreans not being inclined to wear shorts while hiking. I answer: 'not cold!' in Korean, one of the first pieces of language I have learnt here so far!

We wait until 11:25am and, unable to wait any longer, we hit the ridge. Bidding the small crowd of people in the restaurant goodbye, we show-off to them by running down the road to the trailhead, pretending to get blown off track by the wind. The gate at the start of the trail is locked but we'd come too far at this point and it took us all less than a second to decide to jump the gate. Over we go in a frenzy of excitement and then scramble out of sight into the forest and onto the ridge, the wind howling its welcome in the pine trees above - we were on the ridge proper and the real walking had begun! 
 

A rainbow came and went while we waited in the restaurant, a symbol of hope for the journey ahead!