Seoul City is one of the most beautiful cities of the world and has been called “Soul of Asia”. Without a doubt, it is absolutely among the most beautiful, historic, amazingly unique, and developed cities around the globe. From sky-touching skyscrapers to the old traditional houses, this city has so much to offer for every kind of tourists. And if you want to have a bird’s eye view of the city, Seoul City Wall is the best way to do so.
Hiking at Seoul City Wall is just stammeringly beautiful. You get to see the whole city from the top once you make it there. The beautiful city surrounded by city lights and nature is just a breath-taking view. Locals love to hike up there and have a little picnic or party. Couples love the view from the top, it’s very scenic and romantic. Stick with and we will tell you all you need to know about hiking at Seoul City Wall, its history, surroundings, location etc, and how to get there!
History of Seoul City Wall
Do you know that Seoul City is surrounded by four mountains namely Baegak (Bugaksan), Naksan (Naktasan), Namsan (Mongmyeoksan) and Inwangsan. These mountains give a good platform to build a wall to protect the city from the invaders. Hence, it was built under the orders of King Taejo, the founder of the Joseon dynasty, where the workers were brought from different parts of the dynasty. It is said that around 197,000 people were brought together who worked days and nights to complete the Seoul City Wall and within just 98 days, they constructed this megastructure.
Since the wall has been repaired many times since 1396, (e.g. in 1704) however 70 percent of the wall was returned to its original form as of 2014. Having the various types of massive stones always gives you a good understanding of the basic process of its restoration. You’ll immerse yourself in history and admire people’s hard work.
How to get to Seoul City Wall
There are several ways you can get to the Seoul City Wall.
1) Naksan Mountain Trail
To get to this hike, you have to get to Hyehwamun Gate. Take line 4 and exit for the Hansung Univ. Station. Keep walking straight, turn left when you see stairs, on the stairs, to the wall. It’s just a three minute walk!
In the midway, Ihwa Mural Village comes, join that, you’ll see signs of Naksan mountain. From here, you have to take a mini taxi to get to the wall of the Naksan mountain trail.
Best thing is it’s free, open 24 hours a day!
Naksan Mountain (124m)
People call this hiking at Seoul City wall the easiest hike. Since it’s the lowest mountain of Seoul’s four inner mountains. It’s also called Camel Hump because it resembles it.
2) Baegak Mountain Trail & Bugaksan Mountain
In short, this takes you from Changuimun Gate (located in Buamdong was one of the gates to Seoul during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) to Sukjeongmun Gate and then to Hyehwamun Gate.
To get to this hike, you have to first get to Gyeongbokgung Station (line 3, exit 3). From this station, take a bus colored green. Bus numbers can either be 7212, 1020 or 7022. Then get off at Jahamun Pass/Yun Dong-Ju Literature Museum (5th stop). You can take a taxi to Changuimun Gate.
Note: Baegak Mountain Trail is basically 4.7km long and is approx a 3 hrs hike. It runs from Changuimun to Sukjeongmun to Hyehwamun. Although this was closed for 40 years because North Korea invaded the area, it reopened back in 2007.
Note: Changuimun Gate hike is a long steep climb (30-60 mins) all the way to the summit of Baegak (Bugaksan) Mountain.
These trails might be too lengthy and long for some people. So if you don’t need to do this, there’s a lot more better options which we’ll write down below:
- Start the hike from Hyehwamun Gate, Malbawi Information Center or Sukjeongmun Information Center instead.
- There are so many cafes for people who get tired easily, to comfort you and provide you with better hydration at this stop.
- Cafes are present near Changuimun Gate at Buamdong as well.
Remember to take a few things on your hike as you can get lost in the beauty when you reach the top and end of your hike but you also need a few important and necessary things to go on!
Checklist before the hike
So here a few things down below you need to check before taking the hike, especially for hiking at the Seoul City Wall:
- Hiking backpack
- Weather-appropriate clothing
- Don’t forget to wear your hiking boots or shoes
- Food and water
- Navigation tools such as a map and compass
- First-aid kit
- Knife or multi-tool
So what are your plans for this weekend? Are you heading to the Seoul City Wall? If yes, not forget to leave your pictures in the comments section below. Have a wonderful trip and make some unforgettable memories.