Poamsan is one of the

Sobaek Mountains The Sobaek Mountains are a mountain range cutting across the southern Korean peninsula. They split off from the Taebaek Mountains and trend southwest across the center of the peninsula. They are traditionally considered to reach their southwest ...

of central

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 ...

. It rises to above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

, and stands on the border of

Mungyeong Mungyeong ( ko, 문경 ' ()) is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The local government, economy, and transportation networks are all centered in Jeomchon, the principal town. Mungyeong has a lengthy history, and is known today for ...

City,

North Gyeongsang North Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상북도, translit=Gyeongsangbuk-do, ) is a province in eastern South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remained a province of Korea until the ...

province and

Chungju Chungju (충주시) is a city in North Chungcheong province, South Korea. Uamsan is a mountain located within the outskirts of the city. The city is famous for the annual martial arts festival held in October. Also of note, former UN Secretary-G ...

City,

North Chungcheong North Chungcheong Province ( ko, 충청북도, ''Chungcheongbuk-do''), also known as Chungbuk, is a province of South Korea. North Chungcheong has a population of 1,578,934 (2014) and has a geographic area of located in the Hoseo region in the s ...

province. To the southwest of its principal peak, Poam mountain descends to the low pass of

Haneuljae Haneuljae, also known as Gyerimnyeong (계립령/鷄立嶺) is a mountain pass in the Sobaek Mountains of central South Korea. It runs between Chungju city in North Chungcheong province and Mungyeong city in North Gyeongsang province. Haneuljae ...

. Much of Poam Mountain is now contained in

Woraksan National Park Woraksan National Park ( ko, 월악산국립공원, 月岳山國立公園) is located in the provinces of Chungcheongbuk-do and Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. It was designated as the 17th national park in 1984. It is named after the mountain Wor ...

. Its lower slopes contain a number of important cultural artifacts, many of which are linked to the role of Haneuljae as a key transit route in the

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...

and

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

periods. For example, the site of the Goryeo-era

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 ...

temple of Mireuksa is located in Mireung-ni,

City. The site of the Silla-era Buddhist temple of in Gwaneum-ni,

Mungyeong-eup Mungyeong-eup (문경읍; 聞慶邑) is an '' eup'' in Mungyeong city in Gyeongsangbuk-do. It was formerly the seat of government of Mungyeong County, until its merger with Jeomchon in 1995 to form Mungyeong city. The eup contains the provincial ...

, Mungyeong City. Stone pagodas and sculptures from these long-abandoned temples, which appear to have played a double role as temples and traveller's

hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared b ...

s, can still be found at the sites.

References

Seo, Y.-i. (2001). 신라 육상 교통로 계립령 (Silla yuksang gyotongno gyerimnyeong / Gyerimnyeong, land transportation route of Silla.) In Mungyeong Saejae Museum (Ed.), ''길 위의 역사, 고개의 문화 (Gil wi-ui yeoksa, gogae-ui munhwa / The history upon the road, the culture of the passes)'', pp. 129–150. Seoul: Silcheon Munhak. Mountains of South Korea Mungyeong Chungju {{SouthKorea-geo-stub

See also

References