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www.groovekorea.com / October 2014 68 DESTINATIONS Edited by Shelley DeWees (shelley@groovekorea.com) the BaSe of korea’S Spine Jirisan holds a special place in the hearts of Koreans. Lo- cated at the southern tip of the Baekdudaegan mountain range, the spine of the peninsula that runs from Jirisan in the south to the border with China, this tail end is consid- ered one of the three most important in the country — the Holy Grail of Korean hiking. Nestled in South Korea’s larg- est and oldest national park, Jirisan is also a true natural wonderland. With deep river valleys, towering peaks and infamous (read: excruciating) trails to hike for days on end, this was the formidable challenge I needed to undertake. It wasn’t a lazy Sunday afternoon decision either: Coordinat- ing logistics, booking shelters and packing enough food and gear for a multi-day trek is no simple matter. A trip through Jirisan requires planning and a lot of mental stamina, but it was just what I needed — my personal “Heart of Darkness” (1899). This was as much about conquering Korea as it was about myself, and it came at the perfect time. At that point in my life, I was at a sort of crossroads in my relationship with Korea. As a recent returnee, coming back to the peninsula presented a new array of issues: Friends had moved on, and I wasn’t sure if my previously well-estab- lished life now needed to be rebuilt or completely remade. Was she going to welcome me back? Was the ROK still my friend? My return reignited a whole series of emotions and habits that had been missing while I’d been away, but with sudden brutish ease they were all coming back. It took me a few months to settle in and find my niche again, and then once more the world got smaller. The bubble started to build. Herein lies a troubling and near-unavoidable issue that many expats will face, regard- less of how long they stay: the waygukin (foreigner) bubble. The first time around, Korea herself became so familiar and comfort- able that by the time I left I had to question what I’d really gotten from her, or rather, what she’d gotten from me. She’d been kind, but had I returned the fa- vor? She’d accepted me with open arms and few que stions, but I was leaving with angst, confusion and a lack of com- passion for her vulnerability. This balancing act is something many foreigners inevitably struggle with, and more often than not we become compla- cent and allow the expat bubble to stifle our connection with whatever region we happen to find ourselves in. Aware of this, I’ve tried to reconnect with Korea and have now found that she talks to me the most when we’re in private, when it’s just her and I in nature. The wind stings like the cracking of a whip from the south; or is it the north? My direction is off — I’ve clearly spun myself around somehow. It’s so dark that even my headlamp is swallowed by the shadows. I pause to check what I can see. Nothing. I raise my hand to my face, and the only reason I know it’s there is because I can still feel it.