What is Saturdays in Korea?

Tired of doing the same old thing every weekend? Saturdays in Korea is activity club for those who want to break their normal weekend routine and do something different. For Koreans, it's a good chance to practice English. For ex-pats, it's a good chance to practice Korean. For everybody, it's a great chance to meet new people and have fun.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Mt. Surisan (수리산)

While there are quite a few mountains that are in and around the city of Seoul itself, it is nice to try a change of scenery and see a different part of Korea. To the south of Seoul in the suburb cities of Anyang (안양) and Gunpo (군포) is the mountain range of Mt. Surisan (수리산) which is quite accessible by the public transportation system that connects to Seoul.

From Mt. Surisan (수리산)


Content

Meeting Location

Since there are many paths all throughout the Mt. Surisan area, there are also quite a few choices of where to meet. One option would be Beomgye Station (범계역). Though this station is not right next the mountain range, it does provide some benefits as a meeting place. First of all, since Beomgye Station is on Line #4 (the light blue line), it is easy to get to from downtown or the southern part of Seoul. Also, at Exit #2 there is a nice commercial district that has plenty of places to eat lunch or pick of some food and beverages before your hike.


View Mt. Surisan (수리산) in a larger map

Next to Exit #3, there is the Beomgye Station Bus Stop. From there you can catch two different buses from Beomgye Station to one of the many trail heads to Mt. Surisan. For where we went, you can take either Bus 10-1 or Bus 6.


Getting to Mt. Surisan

After leaving Beomgye Station on either Bus 10-1 or Bus 6, you will eventually start to up the foot hills to Mt. Surisan in the west. Both of these buses will stop at the Seongkyeol Univ. Bus Stop (성결대학).


View Mt. Surisan (수리산) in a larger map

From this bus stop, head to the previous intersection that you passed before getting off the bus and turn right further up the hill to entrance of the university. At the main gate, take a right and then your first left. As you go up this road, you will see the Seongkyeol Graduate School (성결대학원) on your right.

From Mt. Surisan (수리산)

To the right of this building, there will be a sign that reads 등산로 입구 (Entrance to the Hiking Trail). Take this path and you will walk up some stairs behind the school. At the top of the stairs the path will lead to a set of pavilions next a natural spring. From here, you have a few choices of paths to take to go hiking.

From Mt. Surisan (수리산)

From Mt. Surisan (수리산)



Hiking in Mt. Surisan

When hiking in this area, it can get a bit confusing since there are so many inter winding trails in the area. Some of them will lead up the mountains, some back down into the city and others around the mountain. The main peak in the area goes by the name of Kwanmobong (관모봉). When you are going up the mountain, you can just keep an eye out for the signs pointing to the peak as seen below.

From Mt. Surisan (수리산)

For those of you who are savvy with a map, you can use sites like Daum Maps to find hiking paths all over the Korean peninsula. To help simply your search, here is a map of Kwanmobong to help you find the hiking paths in the area. A bit to the north east is Seongkyeol University, the place where we started our hike.

If you do get a bit lost coming down the mountain later, the cities of Anyang and Gunpo are quite visible to your east, while to the west the mountain range just extends for a long distance. In a worse case scenario, head east into the cities. Once you get back down, you will eventually reach a subway line; either Line #4 (the Light Blue Line) or Line #1 (the Dark Blue Line). If you do need some help getting to a subway station, you can always ask one of the locals, "가까운 지하철역이 어디에요?" (Where is a nearby subway station?)

From Mt. Surisan (수리산)

From Mt. Surisan (수리산)
You will find some paths in this area will be a bit more direct to the stop but steep while other paths will loop around to a more gradual incline. For the more adventurous, you can enjoy one of the many paths that circumnavigate the mountain. As you come to intersections, you will find more markers that will point to the Kwanmobong Peak.

One of my favorite features of this mountain range is the ragged stone outcrops that break through the tree line and allow you to look over the forest into the surrounding area. The places also provide a nice place to take break and have a snack.

From Mt. Surisan (수리산)

From Mt. Surisan (수리산)

From Mt. Surisan (수리산)

From Mt. Surisan (수리산)

From Mt. Surisan (수리산)

You will know when you reached the top when you see a small clearing with benches and a flag pole with the Korean Flag (태극기). This a great spot to take a heroic or patriotic picture.

From Mt. Surisan (수리산)

This is a good place to take a look at the cities of Anyang to the northeast and Gunpo to the southeast. If the weather is nice or very hot, there is a good chance that you will see a man selling ice cream at the top. It is amazing what someone can do with some Styrofoam boards, plenty of tape, dry ice and a strong back. The usual price is about 1,500 Won. If someone is selling ice cream at the top, you will hear a rhythmic chant of "Ice-Kke-Ki" (아이스께끼). A fun cultural note, Ice-Kke-Ki is what a little Korean boy will scream out before he tries to lift up a woman's skirt.

From here, you can take one of a number of paths that will lead you back down the mountain into adjacent cities. Also, if you have a good supply of food and water and are feeling adventurous, you can continue along the miles and miles of paths that follow the spine of the mountain. If you are really daring, you could even cross the mountain pass and make it to the coastal town of Ansan (안산).


Even though Mt. Surisan may be a little out of the ways from downtown Seoul, it offers a nice change of scenery from mountains that most Seoulites go hiking in. Also, since there are a plethora of paths crisscrossing the mountains, it will take a long time before you have completely explored this area.

1 comment:

  1. I realize that this post was made almost 5 years ago (to the day), but thanks for posting this. I've lived in Gunpo for a while and have hiked a few other parts of Surisan. Those hikes were fine, but there was no vista. I went to Gwanmobong after reading your post and was not disappointed. Thanks again!

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