Long Road, the end of

I'm kind of going to speed through this one...Mainly because I've got another, far more interesting story.



Reaching the top of the steps I soon realised that I probably wasn't in the right area. But, in my ultimate goal of skipping the factory district on my way back I left like this road was my only option. The stairs had emptied me out onto a gravel shoulder of a vacant two lane highway. A lone white van blazed past me, driving into the tunnel. In the distance the the blinking bicycle quickly vanished behind a hill. It seemed like I would be stuck riding in the dirt until I came across another walkway. I pedaled along for a few minutes, several cars blazed pass. I felt nervous since I was essentially in all black and had only my rear reflector as a light. Then...to my surprise, I realised that there was a walkway on the other side of the highway. Relieved, I quickly ran human over to the pedestrian safe-haven and continued onward.

The area I had gotten myself into was essentially empty. Aside from a few scattered farms I drove by nothing that resembled a city. Definitely not like anything I had come to associate with Korea. Street-lights and fields, street-lights and fields. It seemed odd that there would be such a large and well kept walkway in such an empty area. With little in the way of housing for kilometres the walkway seemed like a waste of money...but, at least the country is pedestrian and bicycle friendly!

The remainder my ride through the country essentially acquainted me with the other reality of Korean society; the large divide between which exists between rich and poor. I'd heard from a friend that one of the biggest social stresses in Korea was the rapid growth of extreme poverty in contrast to the rise of affluence. Until this point, I'd never seen anything to indicate that the income divide was any different than back home. I'd seen a few beggars, some tenement style housing, and even a small slum within Seoul. But never anything to suggest that it was a widespread or serious thing. It's as if this other side of Korean life is hidden from those who don't actively look for it. Well, biking through the darkness of the country I found it. I started to come across sections of poorly put together shacks. Then every so often the rice paddies would give way to large block of shanties. Falling apart and dirty, these crude dwellings sat low to the ground. At times you could see apartment buildings in in the distance, supplying an odd contrast to how what was sitting in front of me.

I drove through the country for about 3 hours, taking winding roads which led to nowhere specific. At one point the countryside gave way to another of SiHeung's 'Urban Pods'. I quickly passed through it only to be welcomed by more countryside and more shanties. Despite the beauty of surroundings' simplicity, I couldn't help be troubled by how close together these different types of people lived.


Late into the night I finally found my way back to Ansan. Biking the final few hundred metres to my apartment building, the smells of the area were a mixture of strange and familiar. A little more bitter than the country but somehow more welcoming. I came slowly to the entrance of my apartment building and walked my bike inside. Entering the elevator I felt a tremendous sense of relief. It felt good to walk again. It felt good to be back from the middle of nowhere.

Looking back on this ride and the several I have gone on since, I'm no longer surprised by the income divide. Instead, I am shocked at how somebody could spend a year here and never come face to face with the density and frequency of these areas. True, you can always see cute little scenes of farmers in fields near any city. But it takes a little searching to find yourself deep in a large area of dilapidated single family dwellings which sits within a series of scrap metal yards. And it takes an accident to find out how welcoming, positive and loving the people in these areas can actually be.


Anyways...enough rambling here. I just needed to cap off that overdrawn story! I've got a few on the books. Maybe the 36 hour bike/walk trek will find it's way here.