Day 7:

Today felt incredibly long. We started really early in the morning with breakfast at 6:30 a.m. We had a vegan breakfast, and since we had some time before our next activity, we decided to hike up the hill to see the statues and climb to the top. The view was extraordinary.

The hike itself was actually brutal. There were so many steps, and at one point there weren’t even stairs anymore. We literally had to hike up the actual mountain to get to the top. But seeing the sunrise from up there and looking out over the mountains was so peaceful that it honestly made the struggle worth it.

After our hike, we headed over to another building for more Sunmudo training and stretching. I genuinely don’t think I’ve stretched that much in years. After that, we got some time to pack before hopping on a bus to Pohang.

On the way to Pohang, we made a couple of stops. First was lunch, where we had a traditional Korean meal. I tried mushroom bulgogi, and we cooked the meat ourselves and ate it with rice, kimchi, and a ton of side dishes.

After lunch, we stopped at what looked like a park with a bunch of grassy hills, but it actually turned out to be ancient tombs. We even got to go inside one and see the jewelry and artifacts that had been excavated from it. It honestly gave Egyptian tomb vibes. We explored the area afterward, and there were a bunch of really cute shops nearby. My favorite was this crochet shop where I picked up a few souvenirs for my family.

From there, we finally made it to our hotel in Pohang, and for the rest of the day we were free to explore on our own. A couple of the other students and I went to grab dinner before heading over to the beach, which was honestly gorgeous. We also randomly found a karaoke place and spent part of the night there, which ended up being the perfect way to end the day.