Ulsanbawi in Seoraksan, Climbed in Running Shoes

Following a friend's advice that stretching before a hike is essential, she prepared for a safe climb.

The route is known as one hikers of any level can manage, since the time required is relatively short.

There is a playful story that friends once pushed over the Rocking Stone on April Fools' Day.

"Running shoes really don't work. Next time I go hiking, I have to buy different shoes." She stressed the need for hiking boots.

The varied autumn scenery of red, yellow, and orange was beautiful enough to make her forget the fatigue of the climb.

Exhausted by the steep stairway, Emily complained about the difficulty, saying, "This rock is trying hard to kill me."

Emily felt her physical limits on the endless stone steps during the climb up Ulsanbawi.

She said, "Seoraksan is good today, the hike was a bit, and the East Sea is good too. I felt everything at once for the first time today. Going up was really so hard for me." She expressed how keenly she felt the difficulty of Korean mountain hiking.

She was especially amazed to experience a live octopus demonstration of ink spraying firsthand.

The vividly red red snow crab is in season and is said to have plump meat and excellent flavor.

The vendor showed how to cut the lower joint of the crab leg to easily extract the meat.

She tasted gejang bibimbap, made by mixing freshly steamed crab leg meat, sesame oil, and seaweed flakes into the crab shell, and marveled at the Korean flavors.

Finally, she finished the meal by enjoying the deep broth of spicy red snow crab ramen.

Emily marveled at the beautiful sunrise rising over the East Sea.

She said, "It was hard, and I wanted to give up, but after struggling, I saw the pretty autumn colors and ate so many delicious things, so now I really understand why Koreans wait for the foliage." She agreed with why Koreans look forward to autumn leaves.

Though it was tough, she expressed great satisfaction with a Korean autumn trip that was perfect, with beautiful Seoraksan foliage, delicious seafood, and the sunrise over the East Sea.