The way is shut

DAY 17

(Reading time: 7 minutes)

If you wander through the very heart of Seoul—or ideally even one of its five palaces—you can’t help but notice “that crooked mountain” in the background.

Here are views from several spots, just to make it perfectly clear:

(From the left, clockwise: behind Admiral Yi Sun-shin, behind Gyeongbokgung Palace, behind King Sejong, and a view from N Seoul Tower on Namsan.)

Then it occurs to you: instead of constantly gazing at it, wouldn’t you rather climb up and take a look down from its peak? That mountain is called Bugaksan, and the journey there is even better because you can combine it with the so-called Seoul City Trail—a circuit that skirts the historical core of the capital.

The trail, of mild to moderate difficulty, is just under 20 km long and can be completed in a single day. Pure walking time is about 7 hours, not counting stars, sorry, the duration and frequency of breaks, rests and/or detours.

Key landmarks along the circuit include the summits of Naksan (124 m, east), Namsan (270 m, south), Inwangsan (339 m, west), the aforementioned Bugaksan (342 m, north), and the historic gates.

The path winds partly through urbanized areas and partly through nature, passing preserved or reconstructed walls. It is, of course, free and accessible to the public 24/7 (though we’ll discuss the “100% accessibility” later).

We decided to tackle the upper half of the route—the section that passes through a greener area and includes Bugaksan.

We got off at the Seodaemun station on the purple metro line and set off toward our starting point near Donuimun Gate.

A short portion of the initial hike led us through the city…

…but soon we entered nature at the foot of Inwangsan and began our ascent.

The path to the summit is naturally mostly via stairs, which creates lines and queues of an unexpectedly exasperating nuisance. After a while of patiently waiting in line, it’s possible that your patience wears thin and you resort to what is known as Jára Cimrman’s revolutionary “step aside.”

If you’re a Western tourist, you likely know how to climb a hill even off the stairs—so what could be simpler than stepping out of line to bypass the surprisingly goggling clusters of people on stone or dirt? It’s fast, effortless, and highly effective… thank goodness our national genius existed; his method is truly groundbreaking! 😊

Inwangsan rises only to 338.2 meters, which—for some Korean reason—is rounded up to 339 meters.

…but the view from it is worth bypassing every goggling pilgrim on the trail.

Finally, we saw Gyeongbokgung Palace in all its magnificent expanse!

At the highest point of Inwangsan lies an enormous rock, upon which you must, of course, climb and then take a photo. Hardly do you finish waiting in line for the summit before you seamlessly join another line for the top boulder, because that’s the proper thing to do, isn’t it?

So we bypassed the rock and admired the view until we were approached by a young, English-speaking Korean woman accompanying a Buddhist nun. They asked if we were hungry and whether we brought enough food. Despite our clear statement that we did have a snack, they insisted on giving us something. We received two rolls of Korean kimbap and two tangerines. After a brief chat about where we were from and how we liked it there, we parted our ways.

Most of the tourists at the summit chose to return by the same route they came. Only a fraction continued on toward Bugaksan (including us and the nun). Off in the distance to the left, the majestic Bukhansan loomed, and we passed signs forbidding photography in this or that direction and banning access off the designated trails. We found ourselves in a military area.

Below Bugaksan, we were forced to take a detour of the entire hill via an alternate route instead of going straight. And then, literally about 200 meters before (or below) the summit, a fence halted us. “You can’t go further—you must not enter here. No tourists allowed.”

Bugaksan experienced a bloody conflict between the two divided Koreas not so long ago. In 1968, 31 North Korean soldiers infiltrated Seoul with the aim of assassinating the South Korean president. They even reached his workplace, the so-called Blue House (Cheong Wa Dae), situated below the summit. A shootout ensued, after which the unsuccessful North Koreans tried to escape along the mountain trail around Bugaksan. South Korean forces shot 29 of them, captured one, and one disappeared without a trace. This incident resulted in the area around the mountain being closed off and declared a military zone.

Partial public access was restored only in 2020 during President Moon Jae-In’s administration, and full access was permitted two years later. Nevertheless, you’re still in a military area—you pass military posts, barbed wire, and cameras constantly watch you, and if authorities decide to close off parts again, they simply do. “The way is shut” and “You shall not pass.”

What a pity—we were really close. The question remains whether we would have planned the route exactly the same if we had known about the closure beforehand. Probably yes. Yes. Definitely yes. 😊

Moreover, our slightly disheartened souls were soothed by an elderly man who sold popsicles beneath the closed summit. He hauled a cooler all the way up on foot to offer vanilla or strawberry popsicles to passersby for a very small fee. Respect!

Finally, we cast one last glance at the unreachable summit of Bugaksan and then down toward Seoul.

After that, we descended eastward toward the Sukjeongmun and Hyehwamun Gates, where we ended our day-long journey around the historic walls.

A slight disappointment from not reaching our designated goal was wonderfully compensated by one thing: good food… and today it had to be extra good to overcome all the hassle of crowded stairs, top boulders, detours, and an unfulfilled mission!

Fortunately, we knew exactly what to eat.

Dakgalbi in a hot pan with a cheesy river!

We washed it all down with beer, and to the considerable surprise of the staff, another beer followed—and the world was in order again. A mountain, or not. 🙂

DONKEY’S SPECIAL:

• “The way is shut. It was made by those who are Dead, and the Dead keep it, until the time comes. The way is shut.” – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
  
• I personally consider Jára Cimrman’s “step aside” to be a brilliant response to stagnation and retreat. It is closely related to string theory and an infinitely expanding universe—complex topics, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from one of the greatest minds, and he wouldn’t have settled for anything less either. -> Consider your position on the “B” string in the midst of infinity. Ahead lies your goal, the “C” string, and behind you is the point where you came from, the “A” string. Retreat means defeat, so it’s unthinkable—and you still can’t or don’t want to reach victory, which would be attaining the “C” string. What now? Enter the “step aside,” a maneuver that guarantees the motto “not one step back.” An infinitely expanding string to the left and right guarantees enough time to decide on the best way forward, while the goal remains at an unchanged distance*. With a bit of practice, you can apply this approach in real life on our finite planet. Yes, it’s not for everyone, but if it were too easy, everyone would do it.
• Officially speaking, Jára Cimrman’s ‘step aside’ is something a bit different. I’ll let you google it yourself. The theory above is my personal construct based on the ‘step aside’ concept.
• Regarding the nun, we have a theory that she participated in a pilgrimage during which she performed good deeds (for example, by gifting others).

–mj-

*Any line drawn perpendicular from any point on one string to the adjacent string always has the same length, regardless of the chosen point.