De Hanmer À Busan: Chasing Autumn... in Seoul

Last week, I was becoming impatient waiting for autumn to come to Busan. In the southern part of Northern Ontario, where I grew up, the leaves turn red, yellow and brown in late September to early October. And by the beginning of November, they have already mostly fallen from the trees. As the last week-end of October approached, and most of the trees in Busan were still completely green, I began to miss the autumn colours. And so, informed by my colleagues that autumn arrives a little bit earlier in the northern part of their country, I decided to go find autumn in Seoul.

Seoul has a surprising number of trees. Some are located within the city's urban landscape, but the majority are on mountains located within the city. Interestingly, the perimeter wall of the old city of Seoul, first constructed in the 1300's, runs on three of these mountains, namely Namsan (남산), Bukaksan (북악산) and Inwangsan (인왕산). And so I decided, in my quest to see the autumn colours of Seoul, to visit at the same time the perimeter wall of the old city.

Most of the perimeter wall of old Seoul has been destroyed. However, a few parts of it have survived through the centuries, and many others have been reconstructed in more recent times. The most accessible parts of the old perimeter wall are the gates, as many of them are located beside roads. Dongdaemun (둥대문) is the most spectacular. It is located on a traffic island on the east side of what used to be the old city of Seoul. And in my eyes, it is somehow comparable to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. I unfortunately could only catch a glimpse of Dongdaemun from a taxi one evening. I did, however, see the smaller Gwanghuimun (광희문), located slightly to the south of Dongdaemun.

Gwanghuimun, near Dongdaemun culture and history park, Seoul.

As for the wall per se, a portion of it can be seen on Namsan, at the southern end of old Seoul. I think that this may be a portion of the original perimeter wall that has been preserved, but I'm not sure. Of note is a signalling station, located near the highest point of Namsan, the architecture of which reminds me of some aspects of the Cambodian temples at Angkor Wat. I visited this section of the old perimeter wall on a sunny day, around sunset. A good number of the trees in its vicinity were displaying their fall colours, and in the light of the setting sun, they were stunning.

Namsan, Seoul, in the fall.

A view of Seoul from Namsan.
Visible are Bukhansan, Bukaksan, and the Myeondong district of Seoul.

The fall colours on Namsan, with Seoul in the background.

The perimeter wall of old Seoul, on Namsan.

Seoul tower, on Namsan.

A lone leaf, with Seoul tower in the background.

Trees on Namsan, illuminated by the setting sun.

Bukhansan, Bukaksan and Seoul at sunset.

Moss, twigs and leaves on the perimeter wall of old Seoul, at sunset.

Trees illuminated by the setting sun, beyond the perimeter wall of old Seoul.

The majority of the remaining portions of the perimeter wall are located on Bukaksan and on Inwangsan, two mountains located north of, and north-west of the ancient royal palaces of Gyeongbokgung (경복궁) and Changdeokgung (창덕궁). To follow this portion of the wall on foot is physically demanding, as the faces of Bukaksan and Inwangsan are quite steep and difficult to climb. One highlight of the trek along this portion of the wall is the spectacular view of Bukhansan (북한산) that can be obtained from both Bukaksan and Inwangsan. Bukhansan is a mountain located to the north of Seoul, more precisely to the north of Bukaksan, that has been declared a national park. It is a beautiful piece of geology!

The perimeter wall of old Seoul, near the north-eastern face of Bukaksan.

The perimeter wall of old Seoul winding up Bukaksan.

Trees on Bukaksan, in autumn.

A view of Bukhansan from the western side of Bukaksan.

Bukhansan, as seen from the western side of Bukaksan.

An evergreen and a leafy tree between Bukaksan and Inwangsan.
Can you tell if the leafy tree is a maple?

Another highlight of the trek along this portion of the wall is Inwangsan itself. I love this mountain! According to my Lonely Planet guidebook of South Korea (a very thoughtful gift from my sister), Inwangsan is considered sacred by the practitioners of ancient shamanistic religions, and I understand why. The mountain is covered with boulders, some of which are enormous, and it boggles the imagination to think about how they could have ended up so high up the mountain. I am by no means a geologist, but I think that I have found evidence of glacial activity on Inwangsan. It therefore seems plausible to me that these boulders have been deposited on the mountain by glaciers. However, it also seems that the rock of which the mountain is made can be easily eroded, and I wonder if some of these boulders are not simply parts of the original mountain that have been detached from its larger structure by erosion processes. If you're visiting Seoul, I highly recommend that you visit Inwangsan.