Namhansanseong

I went to this place on Sunday afternoon with HaeJin and it was a good hike. It's located 4 stops from Moran station on the pink line. It's been a while since I climbed up any mountain so I used some muscles that haven't been used in a while. It took about 45 minutes to get up there, about 800 meters, and at the top you can see the Seoul Tower in the distance. Altogether the wall surrounding the top of the mountain range is about 20 km long and it resembles the Great Wall in China except it's not as big or as long ofcourse.

When you get to the top there is this pavilion called Su-eo-jangdae (below) and it was built for military purposes in 1624. King In-Jo of Joseon fought in person for 45 days during the Manchu Invasion in 1636. It is really well kept and is renovated often. It is the province's number 1 treasure.

This is a rock with some detailed carvings in it. I have been thinking about how great it is to climb mountains in Korea and how much I miss it. I've been up Seorak, Chiak, Jiri, Halla, Munsu, Kaji and numurous other smaller mountains. It is nice once you get hiking and you can feel how it is a different part of the world and away from the streets and people in Seoul. Now that I experienced going up this small mountain range over the weekend, I want to do more of it!