''Gwanaksan'' ( Korean for Mt. Gwanak; 632 m) is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

in southern

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

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 ...

. Portions lie in the Gwanak-gu and

Geumcheon-gu Geumcheon District (Geumcheon-gu) is one of the 25 ''gu'' (districts) of Seoul, South Korea. It was created from southern parts of ''Guro-gu'' and tiny sections from Gwangmyeong in 1995. Its district office is located in front of Siheung Station ...

districts of Seoul; other portions lie in the neighboring cities of Anyang, Gyeonggi and Gwacheon. The name ''gwanak'' means "hat-shaped peak," and refers to its ''gat''-like profile. Thus Gwanaksan literally means "mountain of the hat-shaped peak." Currently it is referred to as "Gwanak," since ''san'' already contains the meaning of "mountain." Together with Songaksan in

Kaesong Kaesong (, ) is a special city in the southern part of North Korea (formerly in North Hwanghae Province), and the capital of Korea during the Taebong kingdom and subsequent Goryeo dynasty. The city is near the Kaesong Industrial Region close t ...

, Gamaksan in

Paju Paju () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Paju was made a city in 1997; it had previously been a county (''gun''). The city area of Paju is ,"Paju (Gyeonggi-do Province)." ''Naver Encyclopedia of Knowledge''. Naver, 2015. 4 Mar. 2016. ...

, Uaksan in Pocheon, and

Hwaaksan Hwaaksan is a mountain in South Korea whose area extends over Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi-do and Hwacheon County, Gangwon-do. It has an elevation of .An 2003, p.465. See also * List of mountains in Korea The following is a list of mountains ...

in Gapyeong, Gwanaksan was long considered one of the five representative peaks of

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 ...

(''gyeonggi o-ak''). The main campus of

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a national public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea; it is one of the three "S ...

is located just northwest of the mountain, and the Gwacheon national government complex lies to the east. Also nearby is the

Anyang Resort Area Anyang (; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan province, China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north respectively. It had ...

, a popular local tourist attraction. On the mountain itself lie numerous

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

temples, including Wongaksa. Most of the mountain slope is protected land. The mountain is very popular with older climbers, since it can easily be reached by Seoul's public transportation. Annual hiking traffic is close to 5 million people. The Seoul side was designated a city park in 1968.

Trails

Seoul National University Entrance (11.3 km, 4 hours) Siheung-dong (11 km, 3 hours, 30 minutes) Anyang amusement park (12 km, 4 hours, 30 minutes)

Gallery

Image:Yeonjudae - Summit of Gwanaksan - 2008-10-25.JPG, Yeonjudae - the summit Image:Radar equipment on Gwanaksan summit - 2008-10-25.JPG, Radar equipment on the summit Image:Yeonju Hermitage, Gwanaksan - 2008-10-25.JPG, Yeonju Hermitage on the Gwacheon side

Trails

Gallery

References

See also