Traveller: Yen Seoul
Written by Adam
A “K-pop climb” with the music of the birds chipping and the dance of the trees. This is South Korea where music and dancing are everywhere.
Gwanaksan Mountain is one of the best options for avid hikers that would want to stretch their legs for a morning hike. The mountain is located merely 15km from the city of Seoul and easy accessible by tourists.
The highest peak is called Yeonjudae (629.1 m high) and the mountain is designated as “Urban National Park”. Mountain Samseong which is located near to the Gwanaksan mountain is known for the discipline of ‘Three Saint’- WonHyo, UiSang and YunPil, in the three small Buddhist temples. First two of the three temples had burnt down during the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592, but the last one still exists under the name of Sammak temple.
Last year, a day before Ramadhan (around July-August 2014), Yen Seoul, who resided in Seoul as a diplomat has been requested by his childhood friend (who visited Seoul for work) to experience the hike in South Korea. Due to the time constraint, Gwanaksan has been chosen due to its strategic location and low-to-moderate intensity level that only will take the entire morning for hiking.
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“We woke up as early as 315am to avoid the early morning crowd. We drove from my house which is located near to Seoul Tower. Stopped by for a coffee at Caffé Bene (because Starbucks is too mainstream) for a cup of coffee on the way to Gwanaksan. We started the hike around 6am with only a few group of local hikers” Yen wrote.
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Hikers can expect this beautiful scenery on the way up.
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“After around one and a half hour hike, we reached a small mountain which we are not sure of the name. As the mountain has a Korean flag, we named it as Mountain Korea. My friend even tempted to call it K-Pop Hill perhaps because he had random k-pop songs blasting on his earphones throughout the climb.  The peak is too narrow and can only occupy 4 to 5 people at one time. We need to climb between 8 to 12 meters of height to reach the top. Stopped by for a cup of coffee and cakes, while witnessing the beautiful scenery that is so mesmerizing” Yen wrote.
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The nearby mountain is called Mountain Samseong which take another 5 to 7km hike from ‘Mountain Korea’. We then proceed to the top of the Gwanaksan Mountain before descending to the entrance by 1pm.
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How to get there?
Gwanaksan Mountain is located approx. 15km from Seoul City. The mountain is located beside Seoul National University. The most convenient way getting here is by taking subway line 2 – green line, National University station; then take a green bus just outside exit 3 and get off at Seoul National University (it’s a short ride or a rather steep 20-minutes walk up hill along that main road). The entrance to the park is 20 meters to the right of Seoul National University main gate or to your right when you get off the bus. Bus numbers: 5511, 5513, 5515A, 5515B, 5520, 5528)