A corner in the historic Seochon neighborhood. Photo by Robert Koehler.

The Ryugaheon Gallery in Seochon. Photo by Robert Koehler.

The historic Daeo Bookshop in Seoul’s Seochon district. The bookshop first opened in 1951. Photographed by Robert Koehler.

Namhansanseong Fortress

SEOUL OUTDOORS

IT’S TIME TO GET OUTSIDE AND DO SOMETHING

Spring truly begins in earnest, making it the perfect time to take advantage of Seoul’s countless opportunities for outdoor sports and leisure. Whether its bagging the rocky peaks surrounding the city, biking pleasant riversides, paragliding above the city, or simply strolling amidst historic alleyways, you’ll find something that matches your inclinations. SEOUL has asked several residents to recommend their favorite places to enjoy the great outdoors.

Namhansanseong Fortress

Running
Written by Kevin Dowling

Spring is right around the corner and there is no better time to hit the trails of Namhansanseong! A favorite for this writer, Namhansanseong has it all: smooth runnable trails, beautiful scenery, and a great choice of eateries in traditional Korean hanok-style restaurants. The fortress wall that runs along the mountain ridge offers great photo opportunities and views of Seoul. The best part is that this heritage site is easy to access by subway. Follow the Wirye Dullegil signs and enjoy a trail run through the rolling hills of Korea’s countryside. You will feel miles away from the hustle and bustle of Seoul city yet be only a short train ride away.

Kevin Dowling has run ultramarathons in Vermont, Hawaii, Hong Kong, and Jejudo Island. When he is not running in the mountains of Korea he is studying for an MBA at Sejong University and working full-time at AGS Four Winds International Movers.

GO> Sanseong Station 산성역 (Line 8), Exit 3. Take city bus 9 to the Namhansanseong rotary.

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Rock climbing on Insubong © Sanirang Alpine Networks

Rock Climbing
Written by Peter Jensen-Choi

Insubong Peak in northern Seoul’s Bukhansan National Park is our choice for natural traditional (trad) climbing for its stunning views, numerous multi-pitch trad routes, and easy park access. Insubong is one of the main climbing meccas for Seoul’s traditional climbers and boasts well over one hundred routes ranging in difficulty from 5.6 to 5.13. Insubong is truly the climber’s climbing crag, with bouldering, sport, and trad climbing available with crack, slab, face, chimney, and ridge style climbs. Insubong is not for the faint of heart; it should be climbed with a professional guide or someone with sufficient trad climbing experience.

Peter Jensen-Choi is the founder of Sanirang Alpine Networks (sanirang.net), a privately owned climbing business designed to expand the accessibility of climbing in Korea’s finer alpine environments to foreign and Korean enthusiasts alike.

GO> Take Bus 120 to its final stop and then take a cab or shuttle bus to the Doseonsa Temple parking lot. From there, begin hiking the main trail for 30 minutes to Insu Campground, then cut across the campground and head directly up the less obvious trails for another fifteen minutes. You cannot miss the headwall of Insubong’s main Big Slab.

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Walking
Written by Robert Fouser

Without question, my favorite walk in Seoul is weaving through the alleys of Tongui-dong, the micro-neighborhood that sits at the entrance to Seochon. The easiest way to start is from the Daelim Art Museum. Take the alley behind the museum and walk past the site of the famous white pine. Turn right and then turn left again at Gallery Artside and enter the narrow alley on the left. The long narrow alley lined with hanok (traditional Korean-style houses), each with its own personality, is the most exotic alley in Seoul.

Prof. Robert Fouser is an associate professor of Korean Language Education at Seoul National University and writes SEOUL’s Historic Walks column.

GO> Gyeongbokgung Station 경복궁역 (Line 3), Exit 9

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© Daehan Paragliding School

Paragliding
Written by Ohudy Luna

Not many people partake in paragliding, but if you’re in Seoul and are curious, then you’re in
luck. Not too far from Guri Station (a 10-minute walk from Exit 2) are a number of paragliding schools where you have the option of either doing a tandem flight (KRW 120,000), receiving lessons to become a certified pilot (KRW 400,000 for P1), or, if you’re already licensed, just paying for the transportation up the hill (KRW 40,000 for P1–P3, KRW 20,000 for P4 and above). Although there are a number of schools, the easiest one for foreigners to get in contact with is Daehan Paragliding School because of the friendly Englishman named Andrew who works for them. You do ground training and theory with him by the Hangang River near Banpo Bridge or Guri Station, and once you’re ready to fly, you can go to Guri Station (Jungang Line) to start flying.

Originally born in Los Angeles, Ohudy is a 26-year-old guy constantly cycling everywhere, in any weather, looking for new experiences with others.

FYI>

Daehan Paragliding (Andrew): T. 010-2189-9688
Daehan Paragliding (Seong Hyu): T. 010-5329-6330

Bukhansan National Park

Hiking
Written by Robert Koehler

One of the best things about Seoul is that it’s surrounded by mountains—you can find dramatic alpine scenery even in the heart of Seoul. The Baegundae Trail of Bukhansan National Park is one of my favorites. It’s not an especially difficult hike—it takes just two hours to walk from the parking lot of Doseonsa Temple to Baegundae Peak—but the views of the park’s countless peaks from the upper reaches of the trail are inspiring. Just below the peak is Baegunsanjang, an historic mountain shelter/lodge that offers simple meals and, when the weather is warm enough, accommodations. It’s worth spending the night here in spring and autumn (especially May and October)—you can then reach the peak just before sunrise and take in the “sea of clouds” that gather below the granite peak of Insubong.

Robert Koehler is the editor in chief of SEOUL.

GO> Take bus No. 120 from Suyu Station 수유역 (Line 4), Exit 3 to the last stop. From there, take a shuttle bus or taxi to the parking lot of Doseonsa Temple. The trail begins from there.

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Biking along the Hangang River

Biking
Written by Daisy Larios

Nothing says spring like a leisurely riverside bike ride! Luckily, Seoul Metropolitan Government offers bike rentals starting at KRW 1,000 throughout the city, as do many of the city’s individual districts. There’s one in the parking lot near Exit 1 of World Cup Stadium Station (Line 6); you can pay with a T-Money card but you’ll need your passport number for the computerized rental system. Look for the path that heads down to Bulgwangcheon Stream and head due north along the stream until Eungam Station (Line 6), or go down to the Hangang River and to the right, where a pleasant ride through its adjacent parks awaits you. Drop by the Nanji Ecological Wetlands for a dose of springtime renewal.

A California native, Daisy Larios is a trained librarian who enjoys eating, reading, writing, and photographing her way around the world. She currently edits and writes for Seoul Selection.

‘MAPPING’ SEOUL IN THE 1930s

Colonial cartography offers fascinating insights into a dark period in the capital’s history

Written by Robert J. Fouser 
Images courtesy of author

Historians know the power of maps as research tools. They know that maps, like other types of historical documentation, are accurate not in the absolute, but as reflections of society at a given point in time. Maps tell how space was organized in the past and how people defined it, giving information that helps develop, along with many other sources, the “story of the past.”

Maps of Seoul in the 20th century document the tremendous changes the city experienced in those 100 years. Amid the torrid climate of change, two periods stand out: the 1930s and the 1970s. These two decades brought rapid changes in maps, as city planners responded to surging population growth that began in the previous decades. From 1920 to 1940, the population jumped from 253,000 to 1,110,000; from 1960 to 1980, it jumped from 2,445,000 to 8,364,000. This explosive growth overwhelmed the city infrastructure at both times.

Colonial administration

Of the two periods, the 1930s are particularly interesting because it brought great change to the historic heart of Seoul, producing the urban paradigm that lasted until the 1970s when the Gangnam area was developed based on apartments and wide roads. Decisions about planning in the 1930s, of course, were in the hands of Japanese colonial rulers who looked to administrative centers in Japan for ideas. By 1940, Seoul, or Gyeongseong (Keijo in Japanese), as they called it, was the fifth largest city in Imperial Japan, ranking between Kyoto and Yokohama.

A map printed from the early 1930s says much about Seoul after a decade of growth in the 1920s. Areas of grey dots and the largely intact Seoul Wall are most noticeable. The grey dots indicate urban areas and fill most of the area inside the wall, but also expand to the south and west, areas that developed after the Japanese destroyed the city wall. Itaewon was the center of the Japanese military and was secluded from the rest of the city by Mt. Namsan and the hills in what are now Hannam-dong and Yaksu-dong.

Dissolving social classes

Of particular interest are the white spaces in the Bukchon area. Anguk-dong and areas closer to Gyeongbokgung Palace were dense, but Gahoe-dong and Gye-dong, popular tourist spots today, were largely white space. By contrast, Seochon, the area on the other side of the palace, was more densely developed. The streetcar line running along the west side of the palace and larger areas of flat land help explain the difference at this time.

A map printed in the late 1930s shows many of the changes that took place in that decade. Rapid development of Gahoe-dong and Gye-dong occurred in the mid-1930s and this map show more streets and alleys. The collapse of Joseon society after Japanese colonial rule began in 1910 gradually impoverished the aristocratic families that had lived in Bukchon. By the 1930s, they were forced to sell their large estates, which were divided into smaller lots for the densely packed rows of Koreanstyle city houses, or “city hanok.”

Increasing urban spread and Japanization

By the late 1930s, the city had filled in the area inside the walls and had spread well beyond them. In the earlier map, Daehak-ro and Hyehwa-dong were white space, except for Gyeongseong Imperial University, the forerunner of Seoul National University. By the end of the decade, the area was full of roads and alleys. Part of the city wall near Dongdaemun had been destroyed, and two street car lines expanded east. Earlier growth in Yongsan had spread to Mapo, and the map showed Noryangjin, one of the first areas on the south side of the Han River to be urbanized. Noryangjin and Yeongdeungpo, the first primary industrial areas of Seoul, were incorporated into the city in 1936 (Yeouido was a swamp and not shown on most maps).

The growth of Seoul in the 1930s also reflects the weight of efforts to “Japanize” Ko r e a . The earlier map gave local neighborhood names for areas in northern half of the city in Korean (“dong”) and in Japanese (“cho”) for areas in the southern half. This reflects the pattern of settlement that emerged during the colonial period in which Japanese dominated the southern half of the city and Koreans the northern half. In the map from the late 1930s, all of the neighborhoods are given in Japanese, which reflects the “Japanization” of the city both as policy and as demographics.

Reading maps of Seoul in the 1930s shows a city changing from a compact administrative center to a large metropolis with a diverse economy. These maps also show the extent of colonial oppression and stand as reminders of the struggle for ownership of history that continues in Korea to this day.