[Photo and video by Park Sae-jin]
South Korea has been sweltering for weeks as the worst heat wave in 12 years turned the entire country into a hot pot. The hellish weather has sent many urbanites fleeing to beaches, mountain creeks and valleys.
Mount Surak is one of the favorite places for Seoul residents to spend their summer vacations. Only 17 kilometers (about 10 miles) northwest of the city center, it's easy to reach. Creeks there are lined with various open-air restaurants and provide a cool view and natural swimming pools filled with ice-cold water.
[Photo and video by Park Sae-jin]
Food served by the restaurants are alike – "Baeksuk" (traditional soup cooked with chicken or duck), "Muk" (salad made with acorn jelly), and "Jeon" (Korean pancake with vegetable and seafood). People gather around a table, drinking Makgeolli (Korean rice wine) and soju.
Because the restaurants are placed right next to the creeks, Surak is an ideal vacation spot for families with kids. Creek water flows slowly and is only chest-deep at its deepest and normally thigh-deep, great for kids while adults take time off and relax at the creek-side tables.
[Photo and video by Park Sae-jin]
"I've been living in Seoul for all my life and never thought a place like this would exist in the city," said Jeon Soon-ja, 60, who visited a Mount Surak restaurant with her son's family. "It was hard to decide where to go for a summer vacation because of my one-year-old granddaughter. It's not easy to find a place where the whole family can enjoy their time."
Also, some restaurants have larger pools, perfect for adults, that are most crowded from noon to sundown. Deep pools are filled with young adults. "This place is great for cooling off from the heat," said Kim Joo-sik, a tattoo artist who brought his team for a vacation. "We visit here every now and then, but summer is the best season to visit Surak," said another tattoo artist.
Aju News Park Sae-jin = swatchsjp@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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