Namhansanseong

Namhansanseong sits on a ridge about twenty-five kilometres south-east of Seoul, built and rebuilt across centuries as a refuge for the court in an emergency. What makes it unusual is that it is not a keep but an enclosed upland: a wall of roughly twelve kilometres rings a shallow bowl of forest that once held a temporary palace, granaries, command posts and several temples, with a village that is still lived in. The walk around the wall is the point, four hours or so on a well-made path with gates, bastions and long views over the valleys on both sides. The provincial park around it is busy with Seoul hikers at weekends.

History

The mountain was defended long before the present fortress: a 2005 dig found a Silla-era fort, Jujangseong, and in Goryeo times a Gwangju Fortress stood here. After Yi Gwal's rebellion of 1624 and the Later Jin invasion of 1627, King Injo ordered Yi Sŏ to build it with Buddhist monk-soldiers from all eight provinces, and it grew into the best-equipped fortress in Korea, a wall of 7.5 kilometres around 212 hectares with an emergency palace, military buildings and room for about 4,000 people, a refuge capital in war and a seat of administration in peace. Much of it was wrecked in 1907, it lost its role as the county seat in 1917 and was damaged again in the Korean War, and after large wall restorations it became a provincial park from the 1970s and later a World Heritage Site (Wikipedia, Namhansanseong).

What to look for

• The wall circuit - about twelve kilometres of rampart with four main gates.
• Haenggung - the reconstructed temporary palace inside the walls.
• Sueojangdae - the surviving command pavilion on the western high point.
• The village - the small settlement inside the fortress, with its old temples.

When to go

Autumn is the best season and also the busiest, with Seoul hikers filling the buses from Sanseong station on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Come on a weekday if you can. Winter walking is fine on the cleared paths but the ridge is cold and windy. Start early if you want the full circuit in daylight.

Before you go

The buildings inside are mostly reconstructions, so the fortress reads as a walk rather than a monument. The circuit is a proper hike with climbs and uneven stone underfoot. Weekend crowds are heavy and the bus up from the station queues badly. The village inside is lined with restaurants and car parks, which flattens the atmosphere.

Nearby

Seoul is an hour north; Suwon and its own fortress lie to the south-west.

Key facts