I visited a reportedly secluded and challenging mountain range, and met a lot of people.
Introduction
It’s week 3 of the mountain arc, but I’m still invested and ready to hike. I’ve really enjoyed the exercise and found a very diverse set of insects and birds for my personal photography collection. However, these trails have been fairly crowded and I haven’t been able to become fully emersed in nature. Therefore, for this week’s adventure I actively searched for a less populated, less developed trail to enjoy a peaceful, uninterrupted solo hike. This lead me to the northern-most peak of the Yeongnam Alps, Munbok-san.
Located near the small city of Cheondo-gun, Munbok-san and the surrounding area appears to have a checkered past. Like every mountain of the Yeongnam Alps, Munbok-san was a training grounds for monks fighting against Japanese invaders during the Imjin War. Immediately after the Korean war, the government considered this ridge to be a hiding grounds for communist sympathizers. To eliminate the perceived threat, the villages in the foothills and communities in the mountain were effectively destroyed. Today, the area remains rural with no real villages or communities associated with the mountain. On a positive note, Korean conservationists believe the area is a habitat for otters, a rather rare animal for inland Korea.
Given the low population, there is really no way to reach Munbok-san without taking a taxi or driving. Adventurers be warned, there are no taxi stalls in the area for the return trip.
The Journey
10:30 AM. I take a taxi from UNIST campus to a local retirement home near my hiking trail. The drive is making me carsick as the rural roads have many twists, hills, and valleys. The roads are also much narrower compared to the city, making every corner rather intense. At one of the turnabout junctions I notice a sign for Unmunsa, a very famous Temple I have considered visiting. After seeing how difficult it is to reach this temple, I have decided to skip this trip.
11:00 AM. As the taxi approaches my destination, I start seeing lines of cars along the road and groups of old Korean’s dressed in designer hiking gear. The isolation and wildness of Munbok-san appears to have attracted other weekend hikers. Immediately after leaving the taxi I check my phone and appear to be lost. The trail is supposedly 100 meters in front of me, but all I see is houses and personal driveways. I stand off to the side and take pictures of some sort of monument (see below) to see where the Koreans go. To my surprise, they all start walking through someone’s property right past their front door. I’ve come this far, so I guess I have to follow.
11:10 AM. Immediately behind someone’s house I see a sign showing the hiking trails of Munbok-san. The entrance is completely covered by weeds and the trail is incredibly steep. Once again, I’ve come this far so let’s go.
11:20 AM. The trail has immediately flattened to a gentle slope and really opened up. The weather Is just perfect for hiking, and there are songbirds everywhere. To my right is a fairly big stream and the sound of flowing water is very soothing. I’m finally starting to enjoy the trip as anticipated when I see my first direction sign. It looks completely new, which is rather unexpected for such an untouched gem. I think the isolation and ruggedness of Munbok-san has been slightly exaggerated.
Picture of the trail immediately after making it up the steep incline.
11:30 AM. The trail is starting to get less obvious and one side is a completely open mountain side. Just when I start thinking I misjudged Munbok-san, I see a trail leading to a wide open area next to a natural, picturesque waterfall. There are many large, naturally smooth rocks and about 10 old Koreans using them to have a picnic and listen to their awful music. Several are literally walking in the water to take selfies next to the small waterfall. They must be so brave to venture this far into the wilderness for lunch.
12:00 PM. I reach another fork in the trail and my phone says this leads to 문복산 하늘문바위 and 문복산 마당바위. This turns out to be several rock formations in the shape of a pyramid. I do not know when, how, or why they were built, but I still took these pictures. Enjoy.
12:30 PM. I continue on the main trail towards the summit, but I am distracted every 100 meters by natural waterfalls. These areas are so wide open and filled with large rocks that I can literally sit on the edge of the fails for pictures.
Pengsoo is the intellectual property of the Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) of South Korea. Please do not sue me.
1:00 PM. I reach my first fabled “rope bridge” on a Korean mountain. According to my colleagues ,who I’m certain have never gone hiking in Korea, there are hiking trails so steep that a literal rope is provided to keep your balance. The path is steep, but I don’t really need the rope for extra support. Oh well, maybe the next ridge will be harder.
1:30 PM. The trail has started to get silly. I’m following the colored ribbons across the stream, then back to the other side, then across the stream, then back…. I finally reach the end of the stream where trail becomes very steep. Unfortunately, I will not be able to hear flowing water the rest of my trip. Another rope bridge is provided, and I think I’ll need to use it soon.
2:00 PM. I’ve made it about half way up the summit trail and decide to take a break on a literal bench. Many thanks to the intrepid adventurers who literally carried them for three hours to this point. At this point in the journey, I’ll share some of the more interesting insects I photographed during the hike.
Chinese windmill butterfly
Neptis sappho butterfly
2:30 PM. I’ve come to the end of the rope bridge and the trail has finally leveled out. The trees are much more sparce and I can finally the sky on this beautiful day. The hiking trail leads directly to a rock slope and I can see hiking ribbons on the other side. I don’t see the trail, but I climbed on anyway.
Where's the trail?
2:35 PM. I reach an opening in the mountainside and another bench. I don’t know why, but this is the first place where I’ve gotten a little bit of acrophobia. I took this picture from about 10 feet away from the edge.
2:40 PM. I’ve made it to the literal summit of the mountain! To be honest, there is no good place to take a panorama shot from this point so I feel a little underwhelmed. Nevertheless, another mountain conquered.
3:00 PM. I decided to take a different route back to my original starting point. It appears I’ll be enjoying a gentle slopping ridgeline for 75% of the walk, followed by an incredibly steep decline. As I’m slowly strolling down the mountain I see a snake (rock mamushi or Japanese pit viper) in the middle of the path. It doesn’t immediately flee, allowing me to take the pictures below. After about five minutes of crouching over it I began to wonder if its poisonous.
3:20 PM. Having survived the snake encounter, I continue my trek home. I’m not wearing headphones, but I am definitely hearing some sort of music in front of me. It reminds me of the music played in Temple halls, but there’s definitely no Temples on this mountain. I keep looking for hikers coming towards me but I’m completely alone. I reach another opening in the mountain side and see two Korean men sitting next to the side. One of them is playing an instrument with instrumental music coming from his phone, while the other is rocking to the rhythm. This mountain opening might be my favorite.
3:30 PM. The two Koreans notice me and gesture me over. I spend the next 20 minutes talking to them about my experience in Korea. In general, both men worked for Samsung building equipment for oil rigs and natural gas drilling. They literally lived on a research island (near Jeju) for over 20 years until the older man was forced to retire due to his age. His friend basically retired early to avoid being isolated on a literal island. Together, we descended the rest of the mountain to our starting point talking about places I should visit in Korea. As one man went to retrieve their car, I learned that taxis won’t come to this isolated mountain. Luckily, they drive me about 20 minutes closer to civilization where I can finally get a cab.
5:00 PM. I arrive home and reflect upon this latest journey. I really enjoyed the climb to the summit, but having companions for the walk down was my favorite part. One day I may look for a hiking club to tackle the largest mountains such as Jiri-san or Hala-san. Three mountains conquered, about 5997 left to go.