Mt. Mudueng

On Saturday, we went to Mt. Mudeung, which is "Gwangju's Mountain". You can take a bus there from just about any part of the city. It's a very popular weekend destination. One should not even think about going on this serious day hike without the proper gear.

You may have heard me affectionately make fun of Matt and his gear, or outdoor wear and equipment. Koreans love gear and you can find a gear shop on every corner. There are two or three within a five minute walk from our building. You or I might just put on hiking boots, shorts, and a t-shirt for an afternoon hike, but Koreans wear gear from head-to-toe. I didn't get any specifically good shots of the gear, but I will someday. They wear these high-tech, high-performance outfits to walk in the city. Before you consider having an outdoor or athletic thought- you should probably change into your gear.

Here is Matt and Kelly, but notice the ajumma in her gear. We were clearly ill-prepared for our trek.

However, the mountain is beatiful and was a great way to get outside on a Sat. afternoon. We went with some of our co-workers at Readingtown and Avalon. It was rather steep in my opinion, but I have only been a non-smoker for a couple of weeks now. The damage has been done.

On the mountain in Jeungsimsa Temple. It was originally built in the 14th or 15th century, but was burned during the Japanese occupation of the early 20th century. The Japanese destroyed most things Korean during that period. This temple was rebuilt during the 1970s and 80s.