Young British expeditionary sets sights on Korea
By Kim Young-jin
British adventurer James Hooper believes that virtually any goal can be accomplished with determination and a bit of knowhow — and he’s been to the ends of the Earth to prove it.
The 24-year-old is what you might call an expert in getting things done, after becoming one of the youngest Britons to scale Mt. Everest and one of two people ever to trek from the North to South Pole using only natural power.
Now a freshman at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, he has his sights on a challenge of a different order: integrating into Korean society and imparting the knowledge he has gained from his treks.
“I have a huge amount of admiration for Korea in many ways,” said Hooper, who is majoring in geography and learning the local language, in a recent interview. “Now I have this opportunity to learn here and challenge myself. So I’m quite happy.”
Hooper entered the spotlight in 2006, when, at the age of 19, he and his travelling partner, the late Rob Gauntlett, became the youngest Britons to scale the world’s highest peak.
The pair outdid themselves some two years later, completing a 13-month haul from geomagnetic North Pole to the magnetic South Pole by foot, ski, dog sled, bicycle and yacht.
This September, he will hit the road again for a mad dash by foot, boat and bicycle from Jeju to Seoul — in less than 100 hours.
Through his activities here, Hooper hopes to spread his message that one must stay challenged in order to live life to the fullest. It is a lesson he’s learned not only from accomplishment but hardship as well.
‘Finding my feet’
Despite such convictions, Hooper found himself in a rut not long ago, living in London and dealing with the loss of his best friend and expedition partner.
“All of a sudden the person I’d always done things with wasn’t there,” he said. “I didn’t quite know where I was.”
In early 2009, Gauntlett fell to his death while the pair was on holiday in the Alps along with two other friends.
Because the quartet had split into two groups for a trek up Mt. Blanc, neither Hooper nor the rest of the world would ever know what really happened to Gauntlett or their friend James Atkinson.
Most likely, while ice climbing, one of them was unable to recover after slipping or getting hit by an errant chunk of ice. “Nine times out of 10, you catch a slip like that,” he said.
Hooper found himself without the partner with whom he had made a career of their shared passion. Gauntlett had always been the driven one, Hooper the contemplative one, fitting together “like yin and yang.”
Hooper carried on with speaking engagements and other projects the two had planned. He later landed a job as an executive at a social media agency but quickly found life behind a desk was not for him.
“I’m earning a decent wage, I’m in London. Life could be a lot worse. But the problem was, I wasn’t changing or making an impact,” he said.
But in 2009, a friend returned to London from a stint teaching in Korea. Inspired by his Korean language abilities, Hooper began learning Korean as a hobby, providing a bit of inspiration to a life that had become stale.
“I decided then to study abroad. And my least bad language was Korean,” he recalled with a laugh. “I knew I’d have to start all over again, and that’s exactly what I wanted.”
The Korea Challenge
After settling into student life, Hooper has set his sights on his next adventure. Sponsored by the British Chamber of Commerce Korea (BCCK), it will entail physical tasks and social ones as well: inspiring Koreans to take up new challenges.
Starting from the top of Mt. Halla in Jeju Island, he plans to run down the mountain, row the 90 kilometers to the coast and then cycle some 450 kilometers until he reaches the top of Mt. Nam in Seoul — all in less than four days.
“I want to challenge myself and in the process inspire people to take up new experiences. It’s the best way to learn about yourself as well as new, interesting things,” he said.
Tentatively dubbed the “BCCK Han Challenge,” Hooper expects to begin the trek sometime around Chuseok, the traditional Thanksgiving holiday that falls in mid September. Proceeds will go to Child Fund Korea, an organization that provides education-based resources to children on both sides of the border.
If he has his druthers, the trip could stretch a bit further: Hooper is currently exploring the feasibility of expanding the course into North Korea and up to Mt. Baekdu, the highest peak on the peninsula.
Expedition as education
Though Hooper is amazed by Korea’s rapid development and the locals’ sense of community, he said he has observed a lack of creativity among students when it comes to setting life goals.
“You ask young people what they want to do with their lives and many say they just want to work for a big company,” he said. “I think I can use my experiences to help people who want to discover other ways to work and live.”
In July, the Briton will launch a workshop series to help young people in Korea set creative goals and build their confidence.
Developed from talks Hooper has delivered on every continent except Antarctica, the workshops will teach participants fundamental skills such as how to identify one’s goals, deal with challenges and how to effectively communicate a mission.
“When you come to an expedition, you have to think creatively about what you’re going to do and how. You need to find your strengths and how to apply them,” he said.
The workshop course will be open to high school students through recent college graduates.
Despite his interest in the local culture — from food to traditional medicine — it is perhaps being away from his homeland more than anything that has given Hooper a chance to progress on his own journey.
“Back in England, people had seen what Rob and I did together,” he said. “I felt they were wondering, ‘If James isn’t with Rob, is he capable of achieving anything?’”
He said the time away has helped him come out from the shadow of their partnership and pursue his own voice. He realizes now that Gauntlett lives on in the shared message he carries on.
Most of all, Hooper said life should be tackled with the sense of adventure his friend so embodied.
“You shouldn’t be afraid of a new challenge,” he said. “Build your experience gradually, put yourself out there and learn how good it feels to overcome it and enjoy the essence of life.”
For more information on the upcoming workshop or BCCK Han Challenge, including sponsorship queries, contact james@ideanamu.org.