The (kind of) Great Wall of Korea!

After the New Year's Eve hike debacle (which was a great experience, don't get me wrong), the thought of doing anything in the snow didn't quite appeal to me. I've never been a fan of the cold and I've accepted this fact. It has finally started to warm up around here (see: 40's and 50's) so we thought a nice and easy hike in Seoul would adequately feed our appetite for some outdoor activity. Seoul is unique in that it is surrounded by mountains and even has a few small mountains right smack dab in the middle of the city. Back in the 14th century, an 11 mile fortress wall was built around the city and residents had to enter and exit through one of its 8 gates. It guarded the city for around 500 years, up until the Korean War--the longest period for an existing fortress in the world (thank you, Wikipedia). Today, Seoul is much larger and only about 6 miles of the wall remain, much of it reconstructed. In a few years, it's being added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. It's a huge part of Korean history, kind of reminiscent of the Great Wall of China, and is something I definitely wanted to see while in Korea!

My coworkers and a few friends from Pyeongnae set off at 10am (which quickly turned into 11am), got to Seoul, and started the hike around noon. My friend Kevin, having done the hike before, showed us a cool part of town with a lot of street art, aka photo opportunities.

The first bit of the hike was interesting because we climbed small hills, walked past one of the gates, walked along the wall a bit, and then had to go through part of the city again to get to the next part of the hike and wall. Once we started the major part, there was a lot of uphill climbing. It was a very hazy day, so a lot of the views were obstructed, but it was still very surreal to be on mountain in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world. At one point, we had to show ID and get a pass to see part of the fortress. There were military personnel monitoring every few hundred yards as we were close to the president's house. We weren't allowed to take photos in most places, but I managed to sneak a few when I could!

One of the 3 gates we passed

Part of the wall where I was able to sneak a photo

Sneaking more photos

Would have been a great shot if it weren't so hazy.
I snuck this photo with a soldier 20 feet away. Oops!

Overall, it was a great hike. It was 70 degrees and sunny and felt amazing to get some outdoor exercise. We ended the day by heading to Hongdae for some delicious Mexican food at Gusto Tacos (recommended by my coworker). Having not eaten since 10am, I was fantasizing about carne asada and fresh cilantro by 4. When we got there by 6, we were so famished that my friend and I each had a burrito AND split tacos. It was the most satisfying meal I've had in months. I will be a frequent patron of Gusto Tacos, especially because the owner and chef is a former Wall Street CFO who gave it all up to live a chill life in Seoul making tacos for foreigners. He even makes his own corn tortillas and remembers everyone who comes in. Basically, he's the man.

Good day, good food, good friends. Life is good!