Korean fields.

Rice farmer in back of Seoraksan

Barley

Wooden fences behind a peach orchard

Close-up

Last week our directors told us about the Seorak International Walking Festival, to be happening last Saturday. It sounded like a pretty sweet deal--free registration and a free lunch, free demonstrations of taekwondo, aikido, and korean drumming and wrestling, plus several thousand won worth of vouchers for Sokcho businesses (for foreign teachers). At last! Something specifically geared for foreign teachers. We had them sign us up immediately.

So Saturday late morning we headed to Seoraksan, eager to start our 5 or 10k and cash in on our free lunch and goodies. But alas, all we found were several tents already taken down! We finally found a staff member who could explain in English what was going on--it seems that the festival had been canceled due to the extremely strong winds. Someone attending the festival had actually been picked up by the wind and blew off, landing and hurting his chin (he had to go to the hospital for severe cuts and bleeding). The Romanian woman, Jeni, assured us the festival would be on again on Sunday, and told us she'd call us back about the start time (we found out on Sunday that the 10 or 20k walk was mandatory in order to get the free lunch, and the demonstrations had been canceled; also, the voucher (singular) was by raffle only).
Despite the wind, it was a gorgeous day and we had planned to do some walking. So, we walked back to Sokcho from the park, winding our way through rice fields (which are all flooded at this time), over Cheongdae Mountain, by a peach orchard, and eventually through some back residential streets of Sokcho. It is fascinating to leave Sokcho (the city) and wander through the countrysides, watching the farmers at work. It is as if you've left the modern world, and have entered the past, witnessing agricultural techniques used for centuries. The farmers have their own quiet rhythm, and seem to be miles away from the city's technological advances.
When we got home, we headed to the restaurant district with our friend Kelsey, who promised to show us where to have bulgogi (which we still hadn't tried). Bulgogi is, besides kimchi, Korea's national dish of marinated beef sirloin boiled with mushrooms, garlic, carrots, and other vegetables. It is served with various types of kimchi, hotpot rice, lettuce and sesame leaves (for wrapping), and vegetable pancake. You can read more about bulgogi here. I thought it was pretty darn tasty!