Bulgoksan is a mountain in

Gyeonggi-do Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. Its area extends over the cities of

Seongnam Seongnam () is the fourth largest city in South Korea's Gyeonggi Province after Suwon and the 10th largest city in the country. Its population is approximately one million. Seongnam is a satellite city of Seoul. It is largely a residential cit ...

and

Gwangju Gwangju () is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial office ...

. Bulgoksan has an elevation of . The mountain shares a name with another mountain in the

near

Yangju Yangju () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Yangju is located south of Dongducheon and north of Uijeongbu, not far from Seoul. History * 1395 - Renamed to Yangju. * January 1, 1963 - Uijeongbu is separated and becomes a city. * Apr ...

. Mt. Bulgok serves as a public recreation area at the southernmost part of the Seongnam green belt between Jeongja-dong and Gumi-dong. It also hosts

hang gliding Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...

take-off runs in the Southwest and Northeast. Mt. Bulgok is designated trail with Mt. Youngjang by

. Its peak is near to Sunae, Jeongja, Gumi-dong. Mt. Bulgok is loved by the citizens of Budang. To the north, Bulgoksan Mountain passes Taehyeon and Saemaul Pass by Taehyeon and Saemaul Pass, and leads to Neungnae Pass and Galmachi Pass, and Namhansansan Island. To the south, it passed the Danggogae in Bucheon, followed by Seongnae-eup in Seongnam, Gwangju, and Sunjeong-gu in Yongin. The hiking begins in Sunae-dong, Jeongja-dong, and Gumi. Starting in Jeongja-dong, people go to Bukjeong High School and the water station to climb the ridge and then follow Namgeung-dong. There is also a course of origin that connects to the Munjeongsan Mountain in Opo-myeon. On the top of the mountain can be seen a new town in Bundang, Yongin, and Jukjeon, and the natural ecosystem is well preserved, and a dense forest is abundant, creating a new view of Chunghyak-dong.

Handed down Story

There is a story that the name of mountain is named Bulgok because there was a temple in the mountain. Jeongja-dong residents considered this mountain holy. They had a ritual they performed for the mountain spirit. Because of this the mountain is also called as Mt.Seongduck or Mt. HyoJong. (In

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...

, "seong" means holy and "duck" means virtue.)

Hiking Course Information

Mt.Bulgok's hiking course is 5.6 km long and requires about 2 and a half hours to complete. It has many rest areas and athletic facilities. This includes 129 rest and

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

spots. The Songnam locals make use of the mountain often because of the easy access from the city itself. You are able to climb the mountain from Sunae, Buljeong, Jeongja, Gumi. The paths that are connected behind the

Korea Land and Housing Corporation Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) is a government-owned corporation which is responsible for the development of land in cities, and the maintenance and management of land and housing. Foundation Basis LH was built by law to form the Korea ...

is tough with high, rocky slopes.{{cite web , url = http://www.seoul.co.kr/news/newsView.php?id=20090622028007 , title =Seongnam Mt.Bulgok&Mt.Youngjang , first = Sangdon , last = Yoon , date = June 22, 2009 , publisher = Seoul News Paper

References

Mountains of South Korea Mountains of Gyeonggi Province Seongnam Geography of Gwangju

Handed down Story

Hiking Course Information

See also

References