Long before I tied into a rope or placed my hands on sandstone, I was surrounded by my rock-climber parents’ stories of adventure, exploration, and deep respect for the natural world.

At 7 a.m., as the sun rises over Seoul, the nearby granite slopes of Bukhansan are already alive. Elderly hikers in neon visors tap their trekking poles like drumbeats, exhaling clouds of mist into the crisp, pine-scented air.