Namhansanseong Provincial Park

Having warmed up towards the later half of last week, Nate and I decided that we should spend the weekend outdoors while we still had a chance. As the Korean national pastime seems to be hiking, we decided to find ourselves a good ole' nature walk. Taking a suggestion from LP's Seoul City Guide, we set off Saturday morning in search of Namhansanseong Provincial Park.

To get to our destination we hoped on Line 7 at Hagye, rode down towards the city center, changed to Line 5 at Gunja, where I normally get off for rehearsal, went three stops to the east before making a final transfer to the yet unexplored pink Line 8 at Cheonho. From here it was another twenty minutes or so before arriving at stop 823, Namhansanseong. . .sounded like the right place to us!

While we weren't sure exactly where to go, we chose the exit (which I've now forgotten) that appeared to point us in the direction of what seemed like it could be a big park. . .according to the sparse "neighborhood map" found in the station. Heading up the stairs out into the daylight we noticed a couple ahead of us that were apparently setting off for a hike. . .or so their outfits suggested!

We decided it would be a good idea to kind of latch on and follow them to wherever it might be that they were looking to climb. Luckily, they appeared to head off in the same direction that I had half heartedly believed would be correct. . .phew! For a moment we considered catching a bus to the park's entrance as LP suggested that "any bus" would take us there and that the walk would be a grueling half 'n hour. Well. . .whoever wrote that part was either extremely lucky in picking buses or knew a little bit more about the area then the passage lets on. Let me tell you, with a whirlwind of red, green and blue buses going every which way, we weren't ready to just hop on and see where we ended up. . .no thank you. . .we'll stick to tailgating others!

Having passed a number of tired worn out looking hikers going the other way following a row of mountain sport shops, we figured that we were in fact headed in the right direction and could pass our unknowing guides as they stopped to refuel. LP was right about one thing, it took us probably just about half an hour of walking, uphill, to get to what appeared to be a park entrance! Even so we got to see plenty of interesting things on our walk. . .take the norebong (karaoke room) pictured below for example! I asked Nate to try and out scare the monster. . .who do you think won?!


There was no real 'entrance' to this park but rather the road just sort of dead ended at a forest line where dozens of people, all fully dressed in 'hiking gear' congregated. Just past the front sign, which we could not read, was a rather large plaza with a rather small gathering, listening to a rather terrible saxophonist play over a truly terrible recording! Not quite sure what this was for or why people were listening but we quickly hustled onwards.

We did stop briefly, just before the paved path took a steep upward turn, to gawk at a group of hikers hosing themselves down with invisible water. . .huh!? Ahhh okay, the noise we heard was in fact pressurized air that they were using to, I dunno, dust themselves off!? I can't say I've ever done any real serious hiking but I certainly haven't heard of anyone taking an airbath afterwards. . .so Nate decided to give it a try! Too bad we hadn't climbed anything yet!
Not sure really what lay ahead or, to be honest, where we were, we set off in the only direction one reasonably should go. . .up!

As LP again accurately predicted, the path was much more civilized than many Korean hikes as it was paved and leveled out every few hundred meters. . . to give us foreigners a break I assume as Koreans take no notice of rest areas unless they have stalls with soju waiting. As the noisy one man band faded, the sound of the small stream running along the path began to pick up. While there were a number of places to stop and drink fresh water filtered through the mountain, neither of us took the chance. . .even though many others clearly enjoyed this au natural refreshment!

Before we got too far up the path we came across, what I would call, a reflexology walk. I have seen these before but never one this large and varied. There are diagrams at the entrance to the walk highlighting the soles of one's feet and clearly, though not to us, explaining the benefits of walking on different surfaces. Shoes are to be left in the little cubbies while pain and worries are to be left on the walk.

Zoom in on the picture to see the different surfaces that were placed every two metres or so. While the walk looks short in this picture, it in fact is a large loop and the enclosed stones within. . .I was lucky enough to get an almost untainted picture though the number of shoes in the cubbies indicated that there were certainly more patrons hidden throughout the trees. . .either that or some hikers on the hill with very, very sore feet!
A bit further up the path we came across a roped off area that looked like some sort of cemetery or at least memorial. Rocks, as you can see, were stacked high upon one another making these delicately balanced towers the appeared to be reaching up towards the sky! Not sure who made 'em, why they did it, or what it means. . .but they sure are beautiful!

Marching on we eventually came to another level area that turned out to be the entrance to a rather small temple. Painted in what appears to be traditional Korean Buddhist styling the temple really stood out against the grey and brown of the hibernating forest. Behind the little temple we walked up a few stairs to a small shrine where even small figurines were tucked away into another pile of awkwardly piled rocks. Who or what. . .I don't know. . .enjoy. . .I did.


After catching our breath we continued onwards, or more so, upwards. Eventually the path made a sharp hairpin turn, just at the foot of another 'park.' This left us two options. . .the first was to follow the path which appeared to lead to a ghastly tower of stairs. . .or the second option was to proceed in to the park that seemed to lead to what must be the world's largest outdoor gym (free weights, machines and every type of bar you could imagine, just out there for the public to use). Since neither of us were in the mood to pump some iron, though a number of Koreans were already hard at work, we decided to lace up and hit the stairs. This is just the start of 'em!

After what seemed like an eternity of climbing, so said my screaming calf muscles, we finally pulled up above the foliage to enjoy a view of the surrounding hills.

Only a few flights later did we arrive at what looked to be the final set of stairs! I quickly snapped a picture of this 'end of the line' stairway, then hustled up to the top to what I imagined would be a fantastic panorama view of Korea!

Instead, I got. . .a road!?!? A stupid road!?!? You're telling me that the past hour I just spent doubled over walking up some stupid path to tear up a flight of never ending stairs was simply to get to a road?! I could've taken a bus to this road! For probably no more than a nickel (if you've checked the won lately) I could've taken a private limo up to this road! Where was the sign that said, "Enjoy your hike up to the beautiful road! We hope you enjoy the view of asphalt at altitude!" Needless to say. . .I was surprised!
Well. . .we pondered what to do for a while and then Nate pointed out that the fortress wall, which we heard was around here, was in fact embedded in the hillside that you can see above. So, we headed down the road you see on your right, expecting to at least get close. . .this was not the case. The road ends right at the silly excuse for a gate that doesn't even cover all three lanes of traffic! Way to get underquoted on construction costs! Just kidding. . .still bitter from the unfulfilling climb!

Then, off to the left, on the protruding hill, we noticed a couple clamoring up through the forest. Well there were no signs pointing us in that direction, there were also no signs telling us not to. . .so off we went. The climb through the woods was much trickier than it appeared from flat ground, quickly growing to a very steep grade made more difficult by wet leaves underfoot. Nate made the astute observation that it was be bad to slip as one most likely would not stop sliding until reaching the bottom. . .I dug my toes in. . .hard!

About three quarter of the way up we finally caught up to our leaders who introduced themselves. Well. . .not really, the man, Yoon, introduced himself and kind of shrugged at the idea of there being someone with him, though she looked elated to be there. Yoon offered us a few pieces of chocolate, presumably because we looked like we needed the energy, not necessarily for good measure, and suggested that we follow him the rest of the way up. . .which we did!

Only a few hundred meters later we arrived at a clearing in front of a 10 foot high fortress wall! So this is what we read about! While last weekend we spend the evening walking along the northern wall of Seoul in Samcheong-dong, we had managed to now find our way to the southern side of the ancient wall that once guarded the city. . .exciting!

Well, this must be the end of the line I figured. . .can't go up anymore. . .time to turn around. Yoon had other ideas. He led us a ways along the wall, until we were out of sight of the few other hikers who had congregated at the top of this climb. Yoon then indicated that we were going to be climbing the wall. . . .hmm. Now, I've not climbed many a fortress wall in my short life but I've always been under the impression that is exactly what one is not supposed to do with them. . .but, when in Korea!


So, we followed Yoon and Wife up the side and over the top of this crumbling wall.

Nate really enjoying the chance to climb something!

All of a sudden we realized that we were inside the great fortress wall that once held out evil invaders from. . .well. . .I'm not quite sure. . .but you can read about it later in some of the pictures! Yoon insisted that we follow him which we did, as we walked along the wall curving left and right, up and down.

We eventually came to a peak where we could look back on the few kilometers of wall we had traversed and the almost-too-steep hill we climbed to get there!

A sense of accomplishment at 500m high!

Yoon eventually led us to a fortress, that I believe is called Sueojangdae, that once housed the King in exile. . .how fascinating! He first took us over the English sign that I noticed, pictured below, before leading us into the fortress grounds where he briefly showed us around and said goodbye. We thanked him profusely for guiding us, giving us treats and being a wonderful guest photographer! Then, Yoon and Wife went their own way while Nate and I were left to marvel at this ancient structure. . .which you get to enjoy the result of!

Namhansanseong Fortress

Or, Sueojangdae?

Nate with our trusty guides!

Traditional paint job on the fortress.It wasn't exactly crowded up here at the top of the mountain!

Wildlife in the hills

Fall Colors

After a half hour or more of running our camera batteries just about dry, Nate and I headed down from the temple to the winding pathway that ran along the fortress wall. We decided that it wasn't quite time to turn back yet and headed off the opposite way from which we came. We soon came to a lookout point that LP suggests might be called Seomun. Deciding that having come this far the short climb to the top was well worth it, we headed upwards.

As we approached the lookout tower we noticed a couple waving from the top of it. Who could these nut jobs be?! Usually everyone in Korea is so reserved and introspective. . .why so showy?! Oh wait a minute, I know that guy, yes, it's Yoon! We had managed to against stumble upon our fearless guide who instantly re-adopted us as poor lost souls in need of a cultural awakening! A few photo-ops later, check out how far beyond where we were the wall continues to run, we were heading back down the look out tower, again following Yoon to wherever me might lead.

The view from the top. . .of the lookout.

Well it turns out Yoon had put in a solid day of hiking and was in dire need of some refreshment. He asked us if either of us had ever had makoli, to which, after double checking with eachother, we responded 'no.' This both surprised and excited Yoon who declared that we then must follow him to sample Korea's famous, as all Korean food is to Koreans, rice wine. He asked us if we liked rice wine to which we could only remind him that we had not yet had it so we couldn't honestly say. . .but would give it a try if it meant so much to him.

Following Yoon through a small doorway in the side of the wall, we came out in to a rather open clearning in which two small plastic tables were set up with a small spread of vegetables on each. Yoon explained to us that makoli is always taken with vegetables to which we readily agreed. . .any snack sounded good at this point as all I had consumed since breakfast were the three little chocolates Yoon had originally given me and a gatorade that I purchased from a little ole' lady high up on the hillside (after of course complaining for an hour about how the only thing in the world that I wanted was a gatorade. . . interesting).

We marched up to the small folding tables and Yoon barked out orders to the woman in an apron who apparently attended to the spread. She whipped out three styrofoam cereal bowls which she then filled with a white milky liquid poured from a large brass (I dunno. . .all shiny metal looks the same to me) kettle. Yoon held up his bowl and prompted us to do the same, toasting we tilted our bowls back, took a big gulp and let out a satisfied "Aaaaaahhhhgghghhh," just as Yoon demonsrated. While I was super hesitant about a white milky wine at first, the flavor was actually somewhat pleasant. . .thought masked to some degree by the fact that we were drinking out of disposable bowls. . .this I still do not understand!

Yoon then prompted us to make use of the vegetable spread laid out in front of us. The process went as follows. Pick up a raw piece of cabbage and hold in one hand, most likely your non dominant one. Then, with your good hand, or, a great deal of difficulty, grab a small dried fish from the tub which you dip into a red bean paste and slap on to the cabbage. Not too much bean stuff though or you'll be laughed at. . . .trust me! You then rab a piece of what looks like a green onion stalk but tastes like garlic and dip it into a chili sauce. . .this lands on the cabbage as well. From here you use a small green toothpick to skewer both a clove of garlic and a piece of white onion which too end up on the cabbage.

From here you roll the cabbage wrap. . .toast with your hiking buddies, take an enormous gulp of makoli, let out a roaring "Aaaahhhhhhgggghh," and pop the whole veggie roll (with little fish's head sitll on) in to your mouth. The next five minutes of course are spent chewing whatever it is you've got jammed in your speaker box but who cares when you've got a good swig of warm rice wine dripping down your throat. . . .Honestly, the whole experience is a lot more enjoyable then it may sound or then I may have believed at the time! We repeated this whole process a few more times untill all the makoli was gone. . but don't you dare forget to get every last piece of rice out of your bowl. . .wouldn't want to waste now would we!

While the flavor and experience of drinking rice wine on top of a mountain with a random Korean is an experience you will have to have for yourself to truly understand, one thing I still don't get is Wife's role. During this whole ordeal she just kinda stood by smiling, not partaking in any of it. I couldn't quite tell if she just didn't enjoy rice wine or if it would have been inappropriate for her to engage in this inter-man exchange. . . it wasn't ever clear, but anyways, she just kind of stood off to the side smiling and munching on raw cabbage. Perhaps she was a rabbit. . .come to think of it, I don't think she made a sound except while chewing on cabbage. . .but she always did have a big nice smile! Must be a great neighborhood mom, always happy, never nosy!

After finishing our snack, Yoon of course insisted on paying for our treat while I egged him on suggesting that we could cover ourselves. . .this was to no avail as it would be wholly embarassing for a Korean to let their junior, more so an inexperience foreigner, treat themselves to anything.

Indicating that we were about to head back for the day, Yoon again suggested that we follow him. He and Bunny led us down the hill on the opposite side of the wall from which we hiked up. We eventually made it to a paved path that led towards an ever growing, but never large civilization. Set back in the heart of these woods, this 'neighborhood,' if you will, stood in start contrast to the grey urban scene we had come up out of the subway in. In fact, the only thing that either Nate or I could think of to compare it to was a small ski town out west!

The architecture was all very natural and reminiscint of log cabins, despite being obviously Asian. There were no highrises to speak of and the only traffic was an occasional mud cacked car passing by. . .definitely not something you find inside Seoul! The air was thick with the smell of dried leaves and wood burning stoves while the the lazy dogs wandering up and down the streets just completed the whole scene.

Admiring the 'mountain style' architecture.

Town Square (or circle to be precise)!

Our hillside descent eventually leveled out at a large circular intersection that Yoon described, or so I believe he did, as the center of town. From here he pointed us to the corner on which the Number 9 bus would come, and in fact was just departing from, to take us back into the 'city.' We again thanked the couple profusely for their kind guidance and gracious snack! They too seemed pleased with the afternoon and surprisingly, took off back the way we had just come. Only then did we realize that they had literally just come all they way down the mountain to show us where to go and were now headed back up to enjoy the rest of their evening. . . sometimes people here are just too nice!

So after a long day of hiking through the mountain town of Namhansanseong along the old southern fortress wall of Seoul. . .we decided to call it a day! We briefly wandered through 'town' though we covered the whole thing in our fifteen minute excursion. . .how true of a small town it was! We caught the next Number 9 to roll through and winding down the steep road back towards the subway we realized just how far from Seoul we really were. Sure, we were still within the metro system and to be honest, I'm not even sure we left Seoul city limits. . .but up on the mountain, winding through the last of fall's colors, I came to realize why is was that so many Seoulites go hiking each weekend! Sometimes you really do just need to get away. . .and from my experience. . .I'd certainly recommend Namhansanseong. . .I'm thankful we found it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

A map of Namhansamseong. . .your guess as to where we started, went or finished is as good as mine. . .feel free to make it up. . . we probably went there anways!