Day 20: Climbing Inwangsan
I finally made my way around to the East entrance to the Inwangsan and was happy to be in the right place to start my ascent. I could tell that this route was definitely open with the increased number of people heading up with me or passing me on their way down. On the right hand side just as I started my ascent, I found a military outpost and came across a foxhole/bunker further on up. I was reminded of the time I went for a walk with my Aunt through the hills near Dongnimmun Station and Independence Park. On the route, there’s a military output where my Aunt warned me not to take pictures. I thought my Aunt was exaggerating and laughed not taking her too seriously but found that I was the only one laughing.
For a hike that I thought was going to be relatively easy, it turned out to be a lot more challenging than I expected. At the very beginning, the ascent is pretty easy going. It’s not too steep with the gradual incline in the terrain easily manageable and where it does get steep, there’s a wooden staircase. As you make your way up however, the terrain gradually becomes narrower and less forgiving. Though a lot of the rocky terrain has been carved to emulate steps where possible, it still had some tricky parts. There were a couple of sections where the path was dirt and sand which made it difficult to ascend without some assistance from the handrail rope that was there. For the most part, I was able to walk up the mountain with camera in hand but there were a few places where I had to put the camera away and pay attention to where I was going. While the mountain is most definitely doable, people who have knee issues climbing up steps will probably find it difficult because it does essentially become a steep step climb to the top as oppose to a gradual uphill walk like with the Namsan.
While climbing the mountain, I found that if I stopped to catch my breathe, it became that much harder to get going again. Therefore, for the most part, even though I could sometimes hear my heart pounding (I found my mind would wander to those news stories you hear about people dropping dead after running a marathon without any preparation), I kept the same pace and continued on. While you could always stand off to the side to catch your breathe (although there are some sections where that’s difficult to do because it’s really narrow and essentially a single file path), there were several spots on the way to the top where you could sit and rest and have a small bite to eat if you wanted. One of those areas where I did take a break was in this rare flat and open area which had a spring fountain and several outdoor workout machines, just in case you didn’t find the climb challenging enough! By the time I got to this section, I was pretty warm and sweating in my long tee, jeans and running shoes and no longer belittling the more appropriate hiking attire worn by all the locals. Koreans like to dress the part whether they be walking, hiking or cycling and I always thought it was more to look the part. I was now secretly envying their hiking shoes and more breathable attire. Packing hiking attire will be a must for my next trip to Seoul.
As difficult or not so difficult I make the climb out to be, there were kids hiking up with their parents (although I could hear the younger ones complaining about not wanting to go any further because they were tired), people climbing up with their dogs, and even little infants! It didn’t seem like the most appropriate place to be testing their little walking legs but what do I know. Towards the top, if you are careless, you could really go for a bad fall. Nearing the top, I met what looked to be like an extension of the fortress wall that was undergoing construction heading towards the summit on one and extending down to a lower peak on the other. They were building steps along the wall but they were all off limits at the time so we all had to hike up along side it amongst the rocky terrain instead.
As I got closer to the top, I slowed down a little so that I could stop and take a look around and down onto Seoul and the city that I had been blessed to explore in the last 3 weeks. Everything seemed to look a lot more simple from up here.
It was so rewarding finally getting to the top, obviously because of the view, but more so for the sense of accomplishment I felt. Hiking to the top felt very therapeutic to the body and mind. Contrast with the continuous workout my body was getting on the way up, being at the top standing still, letting myself settle and cool down, overlooking the city and feeling the nice breeze and taking it all in was very relaxing. I can see how people can get addicted to hiking like funny man Kim Jae-dong (although people always make it out to seem like he goes hiking so that he can ask pretty girls out to join him, ㅋㅋㅋ). If I lived in Seoul, I could see myself hiking every weekend.
The top was crowded with on lookers like myself enjoying the view with some settling in to enjoy a small picnic with their friends or family. I recall encountering only a couple of people who were climbing up the mountain by themselves like I was. There’s a large boulder you can stand on to take pictures which signifies the very peak of the mountain. You’ll also find dressed down military personnel on guard making sure people are being safe. From the top, I could see many of the places that I visited like the Namsan, Hangang and you can see right into Gyeongbokgung and even Chonghwadae (also known as the Blue House, Korean’s equivalent to the White House). I like how in this picture, it looks like the city spills or funnels out from the mountain.
This was the view looking westward in the opposite direction where there was another mountain not too far in the distance that looked similarly climbable like Inwangsan.
Throughout my trip, I encountered people dressed in hiking gear riding the subways who I assumed were going to or coming from a mountain in and around Seoul. While I did see some young people along the way, the general hiking demographic seemed to be older and more in the middle aged range over 40 years. Having gone up and down Inwangsan on my 2nd last day, I came to regret that I didn’t hike the mountain sooner as it turned out to be one of things I enjoyed doing the most during my time in Seoul. The next time I go to Seoul, I want to walk up Namsan and all the other mountains in the city and perhaps spend a couple of days in Soraksan to hike that mountain. When I was little, I actually visited Soraksan National Park and like everyone else, I tried to push Heundeulbawi down the hill with all my might but to no avail. I don’t recall my relatives taking me up to hike the mountains though. I guess I was too young at the time and any long distance walk at that age would have and probably did prompt some fuss out of me I’m sure.
It didn’t seem like there was anyway down the mountain other than from where I came from so after getting my fix at the top, I headed back down.
Judging by the timestamps on my videos, the walk from Dongnimmun Station (blue line) to partially way up the Shamanist Hillside Walk took about 30 minutes. The detour back down and to the East side entrance to Inwangsan (red line) took 20 minutes. Finally, the hike up Inwangsan (green line) to the top took about 40 minutes. I spent about 20 minutes at the top.
View Hiking Mt. Inwangsan in a larger map
It obviously didn’t take me as long to go down the mountain as it did coming up. I could feel my legs trembling at times on the way down from the workout. Once I got off the mountain, instead of going back down to Dongnimmun Station the way I came, I decided to take a detour and headed down East along the Seoul Fortress Wall. It really isn’t the high wall I thought it was going to be nor did look like it would keep any enemies out as the name suggested but I’m sure it was more symbolic than anything. There really isn’t too much to see along the Wall that I didn’t already get a better vantage point of from the top of Inwangsan but I did come across this neat fact sign showing how long certain litter takes to decompose. I can see how most of the items like cigarette butts and plastics can make it on to this sign about litter but who knew wool socks and leather belts would be on there too.
Here is a video collage of my journey to the top of Inwangsan and back down again.
As I write about my last couple of days in Seoul, I’m having feelings of déjà vu that my trip is almost at it’s end. Even though it’s been almost been 8 months since I left Seoul, I feel like I am almost about to leave Seoul again for the 2nd time. I guess through the writing of my trip, I’ve been able to hang on to Seoul and convince myself at some level that a part of my mind and spirit was still there. I think once I’m done with all my posts, my Seoul vacation will then truly be over. T.T
For a hike that I thought was going to be relatively easy, it turned out to be a lot more challenging than I expected. At the very beginning, the ascent is pretty easy going. It’s not too steep with the gradual incline in the terrain easily manageable and where it does get steep, there’s a wooden staircase. As you make your way up however, the terrain gradually becomes narrower and less forgiving. Though a lot of the rocky terrain has been carved to emulate steps where possible, it still had some tricky parts. There were a couple of sections where the path was dirt and sand which made it difficult to ascend without some assistance from the handrail rope that was there. For the most part, I was able to walk up the mountain with camera in hand but there were a few places where I had to put the camera away and pay attention to where I was going. While the mountain is most definitely doable, people who have knee issues climbing up steps will probably find it difficult because it does essentially become a steep step climb to the top as oppose to a gradual uphill walk like with the Namsan.
While climbing the mountain, I found that if I stopped to catch my breathe, it became that much harder to get going again. Therefore, for the most part, even though I could sometimes hear my heart pounding (I found my mind would wander to those news stories you hear about people dropping dead after running a marathon without any preparation), I kept the same pace and continued on. While you could always stand off to the side to catch your breathe (although there are some sections where that’s difficult to do because it’s really narrow and essentially a single file path), there were several spots on the way to the top where you could sit and rest and have a small bite to eat if you wanted. One of those areas where I did take a break was in this rare flat and open area which had a spring fountain and several outdoor workout machines, just in case you didn’t find the climb challenging enough! By the time I got to this section, I was pretty warm and sweating in my long tee, jeans and running shoes and no longer belittling the more appropriate hiking attire worn by all the locals. Koreans like to dress the part whether they be walking, hiking or cycling and I always thought it was more to look the part. I was now secretly envying their hiking shoes and more breathable attire. Packing hiking attire will be a must for my next trip to Seoul.
As difficult or not so difficult I make the climb out to be, there were kids hiking up with their parents (although I could hear the younger ones complaining about not wanting to go any further because they were tired), people climbing up with their dogs, and even little infants! It didn’t seem like the most appropriate place to be testing their little walking legs but what do I know. Towards the top, if you are careless, you could really go for a bad fall. Nearing the top, I met what looked to be like an extension of the fortress wall that was undergoing construction heading towards the summit on one and extending down to a lower peak on the other. They were building steps along the wall but they were all off limits at the time so we all had to hike up along side it amongst the rocky terrain instead.
The top was crowded with on lookers like myself enjoying the view with some settling in to enjoy a small picnic with their friends or family. I recall encountering only a couple of people who were climbing up the mountain by themselves like I was. There’s a large boulder you can stand on to take pictures which signifies the very peak of the mountain. You’ll also find dressed down military personnel on guard making sure people are being safe. From the top, I could see many of the places that I visited like the Namsan, Hangang and you can see right into Gyeongbokgung and even Chonghwadae (also known as the Blue House, Korean’s equivalent to the White House). I like how in this picture, it looks like the city spills or funnels out from the mountain.
It didn’t seem like there was anyway down the mountain other than from where I came from so after getting my fix at the top, I headed back down.
View Hiking Mt. Inwangsan in a larger map
It obviously didn’t take me as long to go down the mountain as it did coming up. I could feel my legs trembling at times on the way down from the workout. Once I got off the mountain, instead of going back down to Dongnimmun Station the way I came, I decided to take a detour and headed down East along the Seoul Fortress Wall. It really isn’t the high wall I thought it was going to be nor did look like it would keep any enemies out as the name suggested but I’m sure it was more symbolic than anything. There really isn’t too much to see along the Wall that I didn’t already get a better vantage point of from the top of Inwangsan but I did come across this neat fact sign showing how long certain litter takes to decompose. I can see how most of the items like cigarette butts and plastics can make it on to this sign about litter but who knew wool socks and leather belts would be on there too.
As I write about my last couple of days in Seoul, I’m having feelings of déjà vu that my trip is almost at it’s end. Even though it’s been almost been 8 months since I left Seoul, I feel like I am almost about to leave Seoul again for the 2nd time. I guess through the writing of my trip, I’ve been able to hang on to Seoul and convince myself at some level that a part of my mind and spirit was still there. I think once I’m done with all my posts, my Seoul vacation will then truly be over. T.T
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