Ruminations in Korea

Summer riding in Korea can be quite tricky. There are several factors that can potentially complicate any planned ride. The main ever-present variables are potential rainstorms that can develop within the space of a few hours, typhoons, and the intense heat combined with humidity.

This particular ride was delayed for two weeks due to torrential rain on the originally scheduled day. Even hours before this ride, I wasn’t sure whether or not the rain falling across the country would stop or at least have enough breaks that it wouldn’t be constantly raining all weekend long.

Mercifully, the rain stopped early Saturday morning, but the skies remained dark, heavy, and overcast.

When planning each long distance ride, I try to take as many new roads as possible. As Pusan is located in the very Southeast corner of Korea and surrounded by ocean on two sides and a wide river one side, there are only a few roads that you can take to get out of town. However, once you get out into the countryside, a vast spidery network of roads opens up.

As I was on no particular schedule and no particular deadline, I decided to begin my trip by taking the scenic route out of Pusan.

At 2:00 pm, I rode north out of Pusan on highway 35 following the course of subway line 2. The last stop on subway line 2 is Hopo Station. Directly across the street from Hopo Station is a small road that turns Northwest into the countryside. Highway 35 is the dividing line between Pusan and the rest of Korea.

Just before I got to Hopo Station, some guy that was in the left turn lane suddenly darted back into traffic right in front of me. He did not signal or offer any other indication that he was going to jump on the accelerator and leap into my lane. I laid on the horn and heaved my bike into the next lane, thereby avoiding an accident.

As I pulled up along side of the car, I saw that the guy was talking on his mobile phone. At the next street light, I pulled up to his car again and told him to hang up his phone and pay attention to what he was doing. He then did something that I absolutely hate with a passion. He held up his hand and nodded at me.

This gesture angers me more than any other Korean driver behavior. The gesture means “i’m sorry for being an idiot and almost killing you.” This little hand flash and nod, sometimes accompanied by a tight, forced smile is supposed to make everything better, and the receiver of the sign is supposed to give their unconditional forgiveness to the jerk. I cannot play that game. That gesture just infuriates me. If it was an accident or something like that, then it’s ok. However, when the action that precipitated the need for the gesture is a deliberate act by someone who doesn’t think they need to pay attention to anyone else on the road, then it sets me off.

I loudly asked him if that little hand gesture was supposed to make everything ok. I asked whether that little hand gesture would bring me back to life if I had ended up slamming into the side of his car and dying. I yelled at him for cutting in front of me and talking on his phone while driving. I yelled at him for nearly causing an accident and told him to hang up his phone and watch what he was doing so that he didn’t kill somebody. Rather than saying he was sorry, he actually started yelling at me about being an ignorant foreigner. I laughed. The light turned green and I continued on my way.

As I arrived at Hopo Station and was waiting in the left turn lane, the guy pulled up along side of me and started screaming at me about how he didn’t try to hit me and how I had no right to yell at him. After every sentence, I would say “why are you yelling at me? Did I do something wrong? It’s your fault.”

After about 15 seconds of this, he challenged me to a fight. He demanded that I pull over so he could fight me. I laughed loudly and said, “Look. I didn’t do anything wrong. You did. I should be forcing you off the road and beating you up. Why do you think I should waste my time pulling over for something you did?” Then, he started cursing and turning purple.

I turned left onto the small road across from Hopo Station, but the guy didn’t follow, so I continued on my way. Within two minutes, I was riding parallel to the railroad tracks through farming country toward the very small village of Mulgeum.

Navigating through the Mulgeum stretch of road can be quite confusing for the first-time visitor. To get into Mulgeum, you must follow the road down a very steep dip in the road with a couple of speed bumps at the bottom and up the other side of the dip. Then you ride a few minutes more before coming to a second dip in the road. However, at the bottom of this second dip, you turn right and pass under the train tracks and up into Mulgeum.

When I say that Mulgeum is a small village, I mean that it is very small. Riding at slow speed, you can pass through the entire village in about thirty seconds. Once you pass through the intersection in Mulgeum (Yes. THE intersection. There is only one main intersection in town), the road gets a bit confusing at the signs are not that clear.

After passing through the intersection and riding to the northern edge of the village, the main road continues on out of town toward Yangsan. However, there is a smaller road that sort of branches off to the left. Take the smaller road to the left and once you are on that road, you want to take the first left and follow the road up a very steep hill and turn left at the top of the hill onto local road 1022. If you are on a scooter, small bike, or are not an expert at clutching and throttling on steep inclines, you should continue along the smaller road for a few more seconds until you can take a hairpin turn to the left onto a road that heads up the mountain. This puts you on local road 1022.

On this ride, I followed 1022 up over the mountain and down the other side and through the village of Wondong.

The road continues toward Samnangjin village and passes over another mountain.

Coming down out off the mountain, I always enjoy the view of Samnangjin Dam off in the distance.

I stayed on 1022 straight into downtown Samnangjin.

Near the main intersection of the village, there is an elementary school with a fairly large grocery store across the street. I often stop there to stretch my legs, have a bottle of water, and take a bathroom break. However, on this day, I decided to continue on through Samnangjin without stopping.

Highway 1022 came to an end in Samnangjin and turned on to highway 58 and rode under the train tracks on my way toward Miryang. Highway 58 quickly climb up into the mountains and the ride down affords a beautiful view of the Nakdong River valley.

I rode into Miryang and stopped for a short rest at the convenience store next to the train station as I always do. While stopped, a few stray raindrops fell on my tank.

After re-hydrating myself, I took off through Miryang and eventually came to the sign pointing me left onto highway 24. Highway 24 continues on level ground for quite a while before climbing a relatively big mountain by way of a very fun series of twisties.

This road up Cheonwangsan mountain is very popular with sportbike riders because of the twists and turns. On any weekend with good weather, you can find dozens to hundreds of sportbikers racing up and down this road. The road bears the marks of numerous motorcycle accidents as peoples’ bikes have lost their grips on the road going around the corners.

At the top of the mountain on the left-hand side of the road is a little restaurant that serves excellent noodles and Korean onion and seafood pancakes (Haemul Pajeon…or if you don’t speak Korean, just say “Korean Pizza” and the ladies will understand.). This restaurant is a MUST stop location. The food is excellet, the outdoor seating is right on the edge of a cliff that lets you enjoy the spectacular scenery of the valley and the winding road below.

By the time I finished what was to be my dinner, it was 5:00 pm, and the clouds were darkening around me. It was time to get moving.

I rode down the mountain and through the town of Changnyeong. Staying on 24, I followed the road along a river and through some cool wetlands. Eventually, the road crossed the river and ran along the other bank of the river into the town of Hapcheon.

At Hapchoen, highway 24 makes a quick turn northward toward the town of Goryeong and toward Haeinsa Temple. However, after a few minutes on highway 24, I turned westward and headed toward the city of Geochang. It was starting to get dark.

In my opinion the 20 or 25 minute ride between Hapcheon and Geochang is among the most beautiful stretches of road I have seen. It starts at Hapchoen lake.

The road runs for several miles along the top of a river valley.

It is a very captivating ride.

It is a very raw, primitive stretch of road with rough, tree-covered mountains rolling off into the distance, and lush greenery lining the meandering river.

Eventually, the valley ends and highway 24 runs back into the mountains.

It began to rain before I reached and passed through Geochang.

A short distance later, highway 24 reached the small village of Anui. By this time, it was dark. At Anui, I turned onto highway 26.

Traveling West on highway 26 the road runs down out of the mountains in a series of tight switchbacks that must be taken slowly in order to avoid mishap. The rain had stopped, but the roads were wet and slippery.

Highway 26 reached the town of Janggye and I peel off northward onto highway 19 toward Muju and eventually to the town of Youngdong.

The ride up highway 19 is an easy and relaxing ride through moutains and famland in the daytime.

However, at night, and expecially on a dark, rainy, cloud-covered night it is black.

There are no light source from anywhere except other cars, but they are very far and few between. Thus, in the blackness of highway 19, the only world that exists is the world moving through the cast of the bike’s headlight. Extreme caution should be used on this road at night. This is particularly true around Muju because there are speed bumps place inexplicably at seemingly random spots in the road.

In the daylight hours, highway 19 between Janggye and Youngdong offers a beautiful ride through mountains, rolling hills, small village.

In summer, during and after the rainy season, the vivid and vibrant greens of the trees, grasses, and rice fields, can be almost overwhelming at times.

As this road is not heavily travelled in the Summer, it can be quite nice and calming to stop for a rest and just absorb the quietude of nature.

In this busy country, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find places where the only sounds are insects, frogs, and wind through the trees.

It rained for about an hour as I worked my way toward Youngdong. I had to make two stops to clean the bugs off of my visor and lights. Wet and cold, I eventually reached Youngdong. My joints were stiff from cold and the intense concentration of riding at night, in the rain, on unfamiliar road.

Youngdong marks the return to civilization. Although it is a relatively small town, it is a nice place to stop for a bite to eat and to rest.

From there highway 4 takes you into the city of Daejeon. Daejon offers some good restaurants, movie theaters, nightlife and the other amenities of big cities. You can find these things and inexpensive motels in the area around Daejeon train station.

The ride from Pusan to Daejeon along the above course took approximately 9 1/2 hours. I was wondering how much of that time was attributable to darkness and rain. I also wanted to take some pictures that I couldn’t take because of the rain and to see what i had missed in the darkness. So, the next morning I took off back along the same route I took from Pusan. All told, including rest and meal breaks, the return time would have been about the same.

However, as I was eager to get back home and rest up for the coming work week, I turned South on highway 5 when I reached Changnyeong. I raced to highway 5 to Masan and then took highway 2 back in to Pusan.

If you are trying to get from Pusan to Daejeon quickly, this is not the route to take. The fastest way I have found takes approximately 5 hours. This is an amazing ride if you are looking for a leisurely ride through beautiful mountains, small villages, and farm land.

View More photos of the trip by clicking on the picture.

Click on the map for a more detailed view of the route.