Recently I found out about what really is going on with all those middle-aged Koreans in their stylish hiking outfits and every-weekend trips to hike mountains in Seoul. Hop on the subway early in the morning on Saturday or Sunday and you’re bound to see the flocks of 아줌마들 and 아저씨들 moving en masse to the foothills where the hiking trails begin.

But apparently all is not as it seems, as my language partner informed me – “불륜이 (affair, adultery, unfaithfulness) 많아.” Whilst hiking in the densely forested mountains, alongside a man from a hiking club who has aged but still has the signs of the handsome features of his youth, an ahjumma might think of her husband on the couch at home, drinking, and she starts thinking some more…and perhaps this is how these affairs begin.

To be honest, I’d rather not think too deeply about it. I will leave it to you to imagine (or not) as you desire. Instead, consider doing this next time you go hiking in Korea and see if you get the same reaction:

“Bro, shall I teach you how to distinguish cheating couples?” “???” “HONEY! WHO IS THAT PERSON?” *couples swiftly separate, sweating nervously*

If you’re interested in reading up on suggestions of how to tell if someone’s cheating while  climbing mountains, you can check out this Korean blog post.

읽어 주셔서 감사합니다!

지금 재생중:

A song fitting of this topic, though I’m not a fan of people who cheat…