Down at the subway entrance there's a rush-hour serum at the top of the steps as people push to get out of the sharp wind and into the underground warmth. It looks like winter's on the way. Well, all right, I'm exaggerating a little. Thankfully, days like that one are few and far between. More often than not the sun is shining, the sky is blue and the winter air is clean and fresh.
Winter can be the most beautiful season in Korea.
I don't think I'll ever forget a January hike in Pukhansan a couple of winters ago, which was one of the best times I've had in this country. The sky was impossibly high and clear, with not a cloud in sight, and the winter sun gave out a little warmth when it touched your face, despite the freezing air. There wasn't a breath of wind and the landscape was still and silent, bare black trees against white snow. We walked up alongside a frozen river. The ice seemed solid all the way to the riverbed, so we skated on the glass pools.