{"id":162697,"date":"2000-09-06T15:26:40","date_gmt":"2000-09-06T22:26:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=162697"},"modified":"2025-11-20T17:44:56","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T01:44:56","slug":"%ec%9d%b4%ec%9b%90%ec%84%b1-duality-part-2-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/climb\/%ec%9d%b4%ec%9b%90%ec%84%b1-duality-part-2-community","title":{"rendered":"\uc774\uc6d0\uc131 | DUALITY | Part Two: Community"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note: This article is part of the Joy of Resilience<\/a> content series<\/i>, sponsored by Arc\u2019teryx. This article was first published on the\u00a0Arc\u2019teryx blog<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Words By:\u00a0Shelma Jun<\/a><\/p>\n

Photos By:\u00a0Sasha Turrentine<\/a>\u00a0&\u00a0Jenn Flemming<\/a><\/p>\n

This is part two of\u00a0a\u00a0series on\u00a0Arc\u2019teryx ambassador\u00a0Shelma\u00a0Jun\u2019s investigation of how her identity\u00a0as\u00a0a climber and her identity of being a Korean-American immigrant converged\u00a0through a\u00a0three week\u00a0trip to Korea this past May. The first part, land<\/a>,\u00a0is\u00a0about\u00a0the way that climbing has impacted her connection to Korea. The\u00a0second\u00a0part\u00a0is\u00a0about how Korea has changed her connection to climbing.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThe desire to go home<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0that is a desire to be whole, to know where you are, to be the point of intersection of all the lines drawn through all the stars<\/span>..<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 Rebecca Solnit<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I recently read<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>this\u00a0<\/span>quote\u00a0<\/span>and wonder<\/span>ed<\/span>\u00a0if<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>this\u00a0<\/span>p<\/span>erhaps\u00a0<\/span>could be\u00a0<\/span>the reason for the strong\u00a0<\/span>urge<\/span>\u00a0I\u2019ve had\u00a0<\/span>these past<\/span>\u00a0several years\u00a0<\/span>to go\u00a0<\/span>back\u00a0<\/span>to Korea and climb<\/span>. S<\/span>ome parts of me\u00a0<\/span>have always felt\u00a0<\/span>as though\u00a0<\/span>they<\/span>\u00a0remained on separate<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>parallel paths<\/span>, never intersecting<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I grew up in Southern California, where<\/span>\u00a0there is<\/span>\u00a0a large Korean American community. The Los Angeles\u00a0<\/span>(LA)\u00a0<\/span>area actually boasts the largest population of Koreans outside of Asia. With\u00a0<\/span>a<\/span>\u00a0community<\/span>\u00a0this big<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>it comes as no surprise that a<\/span>\u00a0distinct Korean American culture emerged,\u00a0<\/span>as can be seen with<\/span>\u00a0the much larger Chicano culture of LA. However, I never found myself feeling connected to that community. It always felt a little forced \u2013 as if the fact that we were Korean was not enough to foster a relationship with another.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This was exacerbated by the fact that beyond homelife and church, the activities I participated in were absent of my Korean community \u2013 cycling, snowboarding and climbing<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0to name a few.\u00a0<\/span>I found that these communities were predominantly white. In a Venn Diagram, there would be\u00a0<\/span>little or\u00a0<\/span>no point where these two circles overlapped.\u00a0<\/span>Rather than\u00a0<\/span>search for<\/span>\u00a0things\u00a0<\/span>to talk about<\/span>\u00a0with other Korean Americans,\u00a0<\/span>I found\u00a0<\/span>I<\/span>\u00a0was more likely to seek friendships\u00a0<\/span>through<\/span>\u00a0shared interests<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

When it became clear that th<\/span>is<\/span>\u00a0Korea trip would become a reality this past spring, I wondered how much interaction I\u2019d actually have with Korean climbers. Without any climbing connections in the country, I assembled a crew\u00a0<\/span>of<\/span>\u00a0good friends from the\u00a0<\/span>US<\/span>\u00a0and scoured Mountain Project and a climbing guide book that was lent to me from an acquaintance in New York City, where I live.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Serendipitously, my trip coincided with the second annual Climbing NOW (Network of Women) Bouldering Festival in<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\uad11\uc8fc<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>(<\/span>Gwangju<\/span>)<\/span>, South Korea and I was\u00a0<\/span>invited<\/span>\u00a0to attend and give a presentation\u00a0<\/span>on my<\/span>\u00a0work\u00a0<\/span>with the Flash Foxy\u00a0<\/span>Women\u2019s Climbing Festival<\/span>s<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>As I corresponded via email with Sanga Kim, the founder and organizer of Climbing NOW, I felt the beginnings of doubt and anxiety. Would it be like before\u2026 would\u00a0<\/span>it<\/span>\u00a0feel forced to create conversation and connection?<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The\u00a0<\/span>Women\u2019s Bouldering Festival<\/span>\u00a0started out with an incredibly fun indoor comp that had us working in teams<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>made up of climbers\u00a0<\/span>with a range of abilities<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>This<\/span>\u00a0format gave us the opportunity to support and cheer\u00a0<\/span>on\u00a0<\/span>one another<\/span>, celebrating<\/span>\u00a0together<\/span>\u00a0as each person topped out problems<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>T<\/span>he next day<\/span>, the<\/span>\u00a0outdoor climbing day\u00a0<\/span>at\u00a0<\/span>\ubb34\ub4f1\uc0b0<\/span>(<\/span>Mudeungsan<\/span>)<\/span>\u00a0created a more casual environment to have one<\/span>\u2013<\/span>on<\/span>\u2013<\/span>one conversations<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>I asked<\/span>\u00a0many of the women<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>about their experiences. H<\/span>ow long had\u00a0<\/span>they\u00a0<\/span>been climbing<\/span>?\u00a0<\/span>What\u00a0<\/span>did t<\/span>hey love about it<\/span>?<\/span>\u00a0Why had they started<\/span>\u00a0or attended<\/span>\u00a0the Women\u2019s Bouldering Festival<\/span>?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I found\u00a0<\/span>that conversations came easily and our\u00a0<\/span>mutual<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>love for climbing shined through. Women shared their excitement to be mentally and physically\u00a0challenged<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>In a society where traditional feminine stereotypes are still strong, the women I talked to\u00a0<\/span>are<\/span>\u00a0finding different ways to connect with one another. It reminded\u00a0<\/span>me\u00a0<\/span>of the special energy that is always felt at the Women\u2019s Climbing Festival<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0we host in the<\/span>\u00a0US<\/span>. Many who\u2019ve attended have shared with me\u00a0<\/span>how<\/span>\u00a0they hadn\u2019t had many female\u00a0<\/span>friends<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>but<\/span>\u00a0were able to cultivate\u00a0<\/span>deep\u00a0<\/span>friendships with women they met at\u00a0<\/span>the festival<\/span>. It was as if we were all discovering that\u00a0<\/span>one common denominator, whether it be identifying as a woman, being a climber or of Korean descent<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>is rarely enough to create a connection.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Several years ago, I checked out a climbing gym in Paris<\/span>\u00a0with a friend who is not a climber. I had just arrived for a two-month stint and hardly spoke any French<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0but within on<\/span>e<\/span>\u00a0gym session I had two new climbing partners and plans to climb later that week. My friend\u00a0<\/span>marveled\u00a0<\/span>at<\/span>\u00a0how\u00a0<\/span>the<\/span>\u00a0connection to climbing was\u00a0<\/span>powerful\u00a0<\/span>enough to\u00a0<\/span>transcend<\/span>\u00a0language and cultural barriers<\/span>\u2014\u00a0<\/span>two things<\/span>\u00a0h<\/span>e had been\u00a0<\/span>battling for months<\/span>\u00a0in his search for friendships<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And it\u2019s true.\u00a0<\/span>I feel lucky to have climbing friends all over the world that I\u2019ve met on trains, crags and<\/span>\u00a0(<\/span>often)\u00a0<\/span>the internet. And on this particular trip,\u00a0<\/span>climbing<\/span>\u00a0allowed me to connect with Korean folks in one of the most organic and natural ways I\u2019ve experienced. We connected as climbers first and foremost,\u00a0<\/span>then\u00a0<\/span>through our similar experience as women and finally<\/span>\u00a0through our shared heritage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

When<\/span>\u00a0I came to Korea<\/span>, I was<\/span>\u00a0singularly focused on how this trip to my ancestral homelands might deepen my relationship to climbing. To my surprise and delight, it\u2019s gone both ways, enriching my connection to Korea and\u00a0<\/span>its<\/span>\u00a0people in ways I couldn\u2019t have imagined.\u00a0<\/span>It feels good\u00a0<\/span>knowing<\/span>\u00a0the climbing community in Korea is thriving and that I now feel like I\u2019m at least a small part of it.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Watch\u00a0<\/span>Shelma\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>film<\/span>, DUALITY<\/span>:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>