a very nice nighttime walk, indeed

The nighttime walk that went from about 11:20 p.m. on Friday to about 8:20 a.m. Saturday morning was one of the best walks I've ever done. Most of the walk—at least until I got to Yeoju City—was quiet, with morning bikers not appearing until just before 5 a.m. For most of the length of the path I took, I had the trail all to myself. As an introvert, I was tickled pink. I took two major breaks (with water and snacks), each not lasting longer than 20 minutes, and I took way more pictures than I thought I'd be taking, probably because so much of the path was illuminated by electric lighting. Nevertheless, there were some portions of the path that were completely unlit. This isn't to say that everything was pitch black; on the contrary, the ante-Chuseok moon lit the sky with its baleful glow, and there was just enough light pollution at ground level to keep me from ever fumbling in the dark. I had no trouble navigating.

The weather for the walk couldn't have been more perfect. The sky was cloudy, with the moon and Jupiter both peeking through as they could, but there was no hint of any rain activity. Because we're now at the tail-end of summer, nighttime temperatures are cooler. I really ought to do this sort of walk more often. While tiring, the trek was an adventure.

So let's get you looking at the 360 380-some pics I took along the way.

Oksu Station, transfer point between Line 3 and the Gyeongi-Jungang line

arrival at Yangpyeong Station, starting point for the walk, at around 11:20 p.m.

Yangpyeong Station from the front

a popular local shwimteo with someone using it the way it was intended to be used

that little slice of bike path you see is a recent renovation that took months

a local bridge I didn't cross

the path leads through the entrance to Galsan Park (san is "mountain")

I took this closeup because I was frustrated by how my camera makes all illumination into a diffuse glow.

a sign about pets, motorcycles, and smoking

Basically, the sign is saying that, just as you use seat belts in a car, you need a helmet when biking.

sea vessels bravely navigating... the icy hand of death?

All my moon shots are frustrating because of the aforementioned diffuse glow.

Rabbits guard the moon. Warrior rabbits, I presume, like Bigwig from Watership Down.

no cigarette smoke and no drinking parties

projected images on the boardwalk

more flowers whose names I don't know

The path leads on.

I had to look up "나답게." Near as I can figure, 답게 is similar to 처럼, an adverbial marker meaning "like" or "as." So the writing says, "Let's run like me."

the lonely book

military monument (sorry for the Dutch angle)

explanatory sign

names, names, names

a closer look at the Chinese inscription

contractually obligated straightaway shot (there will be a lot more)

Anyone else getting a Minecraft-y vibe?

I remember back when this was being built, and I thought it would be like a bus stop.

My phone camera absorbed a lot of the light, making this scene brighter than it looked to the human eye.

onward

Looking away from the moon, though, meant much darker shots.

lights on the far side of the Namhan-gang (South Han River)

shwimteo in the shadows

moonglow makes this brighter

fascinatingly mysterious civilization on the other side of the river

the trail and the river

Vigilant sky god(dess).

The moon and Jupiter, keeping watch over Korea.

The path broke right, crossing a bridge.

the Hyeondeok Bridge, specifically (현덕 = "present virtue"?)

crossing

nearby mysterious building

a view from the bridge

suburban home at night

and another

darkness and the path ahead

I used my flash to get this shot. We're starting up this trail's only nasty hill.

looking uphill as I struggle

a house on the hill

upward, ever upward

If I romanize this transcriptively, then it's Angdeongni. If I transliterate instead, it's more like Ang Deok Ri, but if you're a foreigner pronouncing that, your pronunciation won't be understandable to Koreans.

fucking hill just keeps going

I needed an excuse to pause and catch my breath, hence this photo.

nearing the hilltop

That reassuring glow signifies the summit.

While I'd like to call this place the House at the Top of the Hill...

...the honor actually goes to this place.

starting down now

another glance up at the moon

another house in the dark

the downhill road curves left

the lights of Ipo Dam in the distance (maybe 5K from here)

The road keeps slaloming down.

contractually obligated pic of heavy equipment

a house that looks impressive in the dark

a village-y environment at the bottom of the hill

Gumi-ri, the name of this village

looking ahead as always

walking toward Ipo Dam

chiaroscuro

I see stone lantern(?), I take pic.

the lights of a nearby sports park that I'll soon enter

straightaway

close to the park entrance and noticing that nifty ramp to the right, by the stream

not sure what the Yangpyeong-jeong does

the bridge that leads you into the sports park

crossing now

Haja Pori Bridge

This sculpture looks niftier at night.

One of several restrooms in the park. This one's guarded by a bull.

another bull image (this area is known for its beef)

traditional clay jars (hangari/항아리)

cow in the dark

more moo-moos here

shwimteo in the dark (I normally rest there, but not this time)

taking a short cut that saves me several hundred meters

on the path to Ipo Dam again

sign for a nearby café

Korean-style house in the dark

the path and the distant dam

I thought this was a cool shot of a shwimteo.

How rich do you have to be to live in a house like this?

the great cosmic eye, staring down

Gukto Jongju means an end-to-end path that stretches across the country.

Ipo Dam, 2.5 km away

I didn't want to use my flash to capture this house, but it was too dark otherwise.

This house benefitted from a bit more moonglow, so no flash.

the dam gets closer

Again with the flash, reluctantly. I always photograph these jars when I come by this way.

Someone doesn't mind exposing their house's interior. Or maybe this is a public building.

marching ever forward

house on a height

note the road climbing up the small mountain

one of many riverside dwellings

The dam is definitely closer now.

by the dam, another shwimteo in light and shadow

the Ipo Dam certification center in profile

jangseung in the dark

jangseung in the flash (labeled Keeper of the People)

other jangseung in the flash (labeled Keeper of the Culture)

the pair seen together

no entry due to river's water-level increase

Ipo Dam, lit by God

That building contains a café (Café Mama).

Ipo-bo (Ipo Dam): this is the 15K mark on my path

human figures indicating a pedestrian walkway (the route I took didn't require crossing over the dam)

another 14 km to the Yeoju Dam certification center, but a few kilometers more to the Yeoju Bus Terminal

the NSR ("Never Stop Riding") building, where I got my first toshi in 2017, just past Ipo Dam

soldiering on under bright electric lights

nifty under-the-bridge shot with a boat in front of your nose
(sky lit by moonlight; bridge shadow courtesy of bridge lights)

always looking forward as we head into a camping area—well, "camping" area

the Korean love of abstract sculpture knows no bounds

map of the locality

very well-lit area

No cars, says the fallen sign

markings showing bike paths and the walking path

the cars of the people "camping" here

camp facilities, not so different from such places in the States

watch out for campground pedestrians

I think this is more of a laundromat than a set of restrooms.

some of the tents in the "camping" area
(in case you haven't guessed, I'm not a fan of this sort of "camping")

While I can see how a campground like this might provide kids with a small taste of a camping experience, the experience itself has been so commodified and sanitized as to be not much of anything at all. The tents at this campground are set up on raised wooden platforms: there's no contact with the earth, which you'd think should be fundamental to a camping experience. Then, of course, there's the problem of the crowd of tents. This is essentially civilization transplanted. I'm not saying that "real" camping should always be some sort of hellish survival experience, but surely you can see how campgrounds like this do nothing to provide people with anything approaching a decent camping experience. By "decent," I mean (1) no crowds, (2) finding your own site instead of being assigned a sterile lot, (3) figuring out how you're going to cook things, (4) packing out your own garbage, (5) practicing basic safety and other forms of camping common sense while enjoying the silence and majesty of nature. Again, I can see how facilities like this one might appeal to a certain demographic, but this is a far cry from anything meaningful as far as I'm concerned. To be fair, the US has its share of equally crowded, equally sanitized campgrounds, and those suck, too. (Wanna hear me rant about KOA sometime? I used KOA once in 2008.)

more tents and platforms (I guess the platforms keep the sites reusable... but what do you do with tent stakes?)

spooky moon hidden behind clouds

At this point, I'm past the most crowded part of the campgrounds.

small bridge coming up

the Onggi Bridge

crossing

a little bit of campground left over

more facilities on the left, coming up

I admit I got hungry when I saw the modest menu.

fancy that—a tent with a glowing entrance

path and sky: we just jogged left and are taking a ramp upward to continue on our route

curving around; about to pass a bus stop, and there's a bridge farther along

looking off to the side

not sure, but I think this says, "Yeoju Riverside Reservoir"

heading straight for the bridge

looking left

looking straight ahead

looking right

Past the bridge... normally, I shortcut by walking straight ahead, but this time, I decided to go left.

This is a route I've never actually done before. It's a long, curving path.

Much of this path was dark, so I only took photos when there were electric lights.

See what I mean? Still, I like the silhouette effect. And yes, that's the moon behind those clouds.

farm structures (not even sure what they're called in English)

I avoided the sidewalk since the bike path was mostly empty. The sidewalk was sometimes covered in mud.

Ye Olde Straightaway

This massive tent, lit on the inside, make me think it was ready to host a hoedown or a revival.

hints of a lightening sky to the east

more farm structures

and still more

bus stop in the dark

The road goes ever on and on.

I had wanted to rest and eat right after the Ipo Dam, but I didn't find a shwimteo until much, much later.

I think that's actually the moon settling down toward the horizon. Sunrise is pink.

lights on the far bank

The reflection of the moon here was fascinating. I wish my camera took higher-fidelity pics.

Homer wrote of the "rosy-fingered dawn"... well, here it is.

The pink skies of dawn spread out as I approach a right turn.

No denying either daybreak or the upcoming turn.

The sign says Bike road.

So I've walked through the night. By this point, it's a bit after 5 a.m. Two bikers have passed me.

Hupo Bridge.

crossing the bridge; house of mystery off to the side

Either someone rich lives here, or it's a multi-family dwelling.

You can barely see the slightly descending road.

Saw some plants that looked hunched and animalistic.

This part of the path felt as if I were on the segment headed toward Yangpyeong from Hanam City.

little house of unknown purpose... maybe an office of some kind

This segment marks our approach to the Yeoju Dam. The dam itself signifies that the walk is close to done.

I really like this stretch for some reason.

shwimteo/rest stop

contractually obliged selfie

Again, the dawn's early light looks much more intense through the camera than in real life.

חבצלת השרון / ḥăḇatzeleṯ hasharon

This straightaway's almost good enough to become wallpaper for one of my computers.

One of the things that keeps me in Korea is the beautiful interplay of colors.

another hunched, animalistic bit of plant life, like an elephant topiary gone wrong

I took the above photo because it addresses an issue that has rankled me for a few years. A Korean coworker contended that the Korean pronunciation of 라면/ramyeon is "lamyeon." I don't think I've ever consciously heard that pronunciation, but another Korean coworker confirmed that Koreans instinctively pronounce the word that way—i.e., with an "l" sound at the beginning. After saying "ramyeon" for years, with the "r" sounding like a Spanish "r" off the tip of my tongue—and having never been corrected—I was convinced that the initial ㄹ in a syllable should generally be pronounced "r," not "l." To be fair, I'm aware that there are plenty of exceptions to this. I think a Spanish name like "Laura" is rendered as 로라 in Korean, and it would probably be pronounced something like "Lo-rah," not "Ro-rah." But the country "Russia" would be rendered as 러시아, and that would be pronounced with an initial Spanish "r." So to me, it's unclear that an initial ㄹ has to be pronounced as "l." And the above photo supports my notion that an initial ㄹ can be rendered as an "r"—note the "Ra Sa" underneath the 라사. Frustrating, to say the least. "Lamyeon," forsooth!

more gorgeous colors as the day brightens

our first good view of the Yeoju Dam

hello, there, bright eyes

It wouldn't be a real walk without Joro spiders.

closer

another lovely shot

"Sharp curve—slow"

the bridge ahead passes over a strongly flowing creek

last shwimteo before the bridge

Trivia: signs for Tanggeumdae/탄금대 were laid out all along the trail. I'm curious as to what that is.

Gasan Bridge specs

the creek was small but noisy and powerful

crossing the Gasan Bridge

a clearer shot of the creek

earth and sky

circling around to the dam

someone who was camped out

finally, a sign for the Yeoju Dam up ahead: 1.4 km to go to the certification center

another Joro spider

one of many weatherbeaten signs

1 km to the cert center

nothing like redundancy

slight rise on final approach to the dam

not sure I've ever photographed these before

or these

so close I can taste it

"Yeoju Dam"—but the bridge itself has a different name

It's an oblique approach.

The grounds around the dam look great for picnicking.

nicely manicured and landscaped

a look over the side

walking path below me

"Don't climb up!" You know how much I love these cartoon images of people in danger.

now approaching the sinister Klan hood

another look over the side

and a look over the other side, toward Yeoju

This could be in a Star Wars film. About the Klan.

Water from a tributary flows into the South Han.

looking toward my destination—Yeoju City

digital zoom of Yeoju in the distance

looking north, back the way I came

You can see where the water is pouring through the dam.

straight on we go

a closer look at the moil and churn

staring straight down

Not a Joro spider for once... in fact, there were no Joros on the bridge at all.

little islands in the river

the admin building—not open at this hour, so I can't access the convenience store

The Yeoju Dam famously has these huge panels with old Korean on them, probably King Sejong's 훈민정음/hunminjeongeum, or Proper Sounds for the Edification of the People. This was an early designation for hangeul, the alphabet that Sejong and his council developed and promulgated to democratize knowledge. Chinese, which is already hard to learn, was a sign of privilege: you had to be pretty educated to know how to read and write Chinese. Hangeul, an alphabet and not a collection of characters to memorize, made it easier for the people to learn written words.

a closer look

This looks almost like a runway for a small plane.

What if it is?

another panel on the other side

signs that basically say, "You're on the right track"

admin building from a distance

Yeoju Dam cert center

Here at last is the name of the dam-spanning bridge: the Gongdo Bridge.

those floofy red flowers

a wider shot

I wanted to get at least one shot of the water pouring out.

I don't get what this means. "Save me from the misery of this existence by eating me"?

a warning not to fish or swim here

along with nuts and a Snickers, I had a bit of jerky

admin building's parking lot, and my long morning shadow in the distance

continuing on after a break

the other side of Yeoju Dam

police boat waiting to be deployed

about 5 or 6 km to go

the sexy ass of another Joro spider

hello, my delicate ones

colorful buildings

classic American-style orb-weaver (big, too!)

"Steep slope—slow"

"Steep descent—7% grade"

NO VEHICLES!
be mindful of safety on this route for bikes and pedestrians

still a ways to go

teeny tributary

This sign warns that the water is deep, and the current is fast, so no water sports here.

and we continue

There's something buried under all those vines.

Do benches count as shwimteo?

How about this scenario?

The faded letters up top say this is a shwimteo for all.

Curving left... Chuseok bikers are now out in force, but I didn't photograph them.

I don't know if it's good to be caught "Heil"ing these days.

curving right, now

When you walk these paths, you see a lot of buildings' asses.

more mysterious flowers

These were intriguing.

This reminded me of what I saw on the east-coast walk last year—lots of pine trees.

"dirty" blossoms

their cleaner-looking cousins

if Bauhaus did shwimteo

another contractually obligatory straightaway

someone's little farm/garden/patch of land

weirdly shaped benches

one of several such maps encountered along the way

modernist shwimteo

The area has a lot of specially marked paths, like this Yeogang Path.

getting closer to the city

just read

My phone camera has a "0.5 zoom" feature that allows you to make a wider shot when you're standing too close to something and trying to take it all in.

A strange path suddenly appears on the left.

digitally zoomed ducks

apartments? hotel?

wider shot

condos, I think

straight on through to the other side

note the gap in the fence

bridge across a little creek

pollution, sadly

creek flowing toward the South Han

creek mud entering the South Han

distinct door frame—gateway to mystery

and on we go

two bridges in the distance—high and low

steps to somewhere

a closer look

ah—King Sejong's sallimyok area, i.e., a place to stroll in the woods and breathe in the atmosphere

One of my company's textbooks actually has a unit that talks a bit about sallimyok, which is often translated as "forest bathing." There is apparently a scientific basis for the idea that walking in the woods is beneficial for your health because trees emit something called phytoncides, anti-rotting agents that promote vigorous cellular activity. Breathe those in, and you acquire a healing factor like Wolverine's such that, if you got stabbed in the chest by a sword, you'd heal right up in seconds. OK, maybe phytoncides don't help quite that much, but they help on some level.

I guess we're in Yeoju City's Ha district. Joke's on me.

a final little hill before we officially enter the city proper

That bridge marks the 30K point on this journey. About 3 more km to go to the bus station.

the stream under the bridge

still on the right path

30K, baby

a look over one side of the bridge

a look over the other side

parking lots and parkland—we're entering the city now

Look left or straight ahead, and it feels like nature. Look right, though, and it's the city.

See?

I'll eventually have to step off this path.

a longing glance toward the river... kinda sucks to be back in a city

Riverside Motel, 1 km ahead

We're in it now.

across the river, it's also Yeoju (I checked Naver Map)

cars, cars, cars

I have to track right, away from the river.

walking more directly toward the bus station now

a glance down a side street

bus, still sleeping

onward

squash flowers, but no squashes yet (too early)

one flower up close

another flower up close

a bridge and early-morning traffic

Samseong Digital Plaza (see my insistence on the correct romanization for Samseong?)

sidewalks = no need to play in traffic

a creek... to the left is a set of stepping stones across the creek, but buried under water

a closer look at the submerged footbridge (징검다리/jinggeomdari in Korean)

less than 2K to go, I think

a sign pointing to drinking water

The sign was referring to this.

A slummy-looking part of town... I think I like Yangpyeong better.

steps, under construction

This might be a while.

nifty-looking building

shwimteo on stilts

one of many bridges just along this one creek

Yeoju Central Methodist Church

It's a city, all right.

another bridge I didn't cross

some very extroverted flowers

Tribute to King Sejong? The first lines say, "Our country's language is different from China's."

a liar... and probably a man-slut, too, by the look of him

more popping petals

yeeeee!

naengmyeon (cold noodles) resto

final 1.5 km or so

plenty of nice flowers along this route

cosmos, but without blooms

Here are some blooms.

Liked the funky old architecture, but probably wouldn't want to live there.

These blooms make me think of puffed cereal. Must be hungry.

The rot sets in.

zooming in on the fungus

shwimteo for the area

flowers beyond a fence

I poked my phone through the fence's bars and got this shot.

'nuther bridge

Caught this Joro spider in the act of feeding—sucking out the guts of the living.

big home

another side street

where you throw out your trash

which way...?

I took the left fork and knew I was in the food district. Here's a kalguksu place.

Duck Garden

weird to see a pizza joint without Italian colors like red, white, and green

Chicken Plus... but what's the plus?

I'm meters away from the bus terminal now.

More hunminjeongeum signage on this main drag. Land of Sejong, who is buried in Yeoju.

Doyaji meat restaurant

a shot of a local bus pulling in to a stop

just a matter of crossing the street to the terminal now

Yeoju Bus Terminal; I arrived at about 8:20 a.m.

as I just said

Got my ticket via machine. I thought my bus would pull in to this spot, but it was already sitting on the right.

My bus ticket said the bus I was to take would be in spot #2, but it turns out that there were two #2 spots. I stood at the empty spot, but my 8:40 bus was already there in the next spot over. Luckily, there was an attendant there who straightened me out. It was then simply a matter of boarding, scanning my ticket (most bus tickets come with QR codes now), and finding my seat. Easy peasy.

successfully in the bus now and ready to depart at 8:40 a.m.

Express Bus Terminal Station's shopping arcade was quiet for the Chuseok holiday.

The bus dropped us at the Express Bus Terminal Station in Seoul, so instead of grabbing a cab, I just hopped on the subway since Line 3 is a straight shot to my place. The subway wasn't at all crowded; Seoul is usually quieter than normal during Chuseok because many city-dwellers leave to visit family down south or in the countryside. This tradition has been changing for several reasons—most recently because the pandemic forced people to alter their social behavior, but even before that, people had been grousing about the inconvenience of 14-hour-long traffic jams. Some of my students used to joke, years ago, about "video Chuseok," i.e., staying at home but contacting relatives via teleconferencing and doing ceremonies together that way. Maybe that's not such a joke these days. All the same, the bus terminal was quiet when we arrived, and so was the subway ride back to Daecheong Station. I got home, read online a bit, fired off a couple blog posts, then slept like the dead until around dinnertime. I made my apple-pie filling, then Skyped with my buddy Mike at 10 p.m. my time (9 a.m. his time). Chuseok falls on my goddaughter's birthday this year; she's Mike's eldest, but as Mike noted, she wasn't around to receive birthday wishes. I sent her an electronic gift card and an email congratulating her on being one year closer to death. (OK, I didn't actually say that. But she likes morbid humor, so I said other morbid stuff.)

And that was my walk. First time doing more than 25K in a long time, but a necessary bit of preparation for the upcoming Jeju walk. I'll be intensifying the stair-training regime, and I may do one or two more long walks before I depart for South Korea's biggest tourist trap. Hope you enjoyed the pics, captions, and narration. More to come, I'm sure.

I'm hitting "publish" now, without proofreading, but you should hit "refresh" over the next 24 hours to see whether I've cleaned up any typos or other errors caused by a lack of sleep.