Kuwentong Bangtan: Climbing Upward and Inward

Once again, Joon went for a climb to the summit of Insubong Peak (인수봉) in Bukhansan National Park, as indicated by the signpost beside him that reads “신선대 정상” (Sinsundae Summit) at 726 meters.

Like Joon, I go out for walking and trekking. Where I live, we are still blessed with spaces for walks and the like. Each step I take is a conversation with the land, each breath a moment with myself. The soil, the ground, the earth holds memory and the vast sky welcomes every version of me — who I was and who I have become.

I have yet a real mountain to climb, but I know what it means to return to a place I have journeyed before. The landscape may look the same, but I am not. Some things remain. Some things change. This is true of the world around us and the world within us. What new perspectives can one take when the view is familiar, but the soul has shifted?

Perhaps the climb is not just upward, but inward, too.

And this is what I truly love about Joon. Why he is my ultimate. Even in pictures, he has the power to bring me to places where I can rediscover and regain a sense of self. A sacred pause into the wilderness. Never without presence.

Truly, we never walk alone.