Blue House and Gyeongbokgung Palace in a single view... Bugaksan’s southwestern slope to open on the 17th

[Financial News] A trail along the southwestern slope of Bugaksan (Bugaksan Mountain), overlooking the Blue House, Gyeongbokgung Palace and downtown Seoul, is set to open. With the completion of an opening project carried out in three phases since 2020, the mountain’s major trails will be connected into one.
According to the Korea Heritage Service on the 14th, the 1.32-km trail along the southwestern slope of the scenic site known as the “Bugaksan Area in Seoul” will open at 9 a.m. on the 17th. The new section will be open free of charge 24 hours a day, and visitors must use the designated trail.
The trail starts at “Dolgorae Shelter,” the first rest area on the route from Changuimun Gate toward the summit of Bugaksan. It passes the Blue House Observatory junction and the “Manse Dongbang” spring before continuing to the “January 21 Incident Pine.”
At Manse Dongbang, a rock bears an inscription wishing the king a long and healthy life. Bullet marks remain on the January 21 Incident Pine from the firefight between North Korean armed infiltrators, who entered the country in 1968 to attack the Blue House, and South Korean military and police forces.
Four viewing shelters have also been built along the new section, each offering a different view. Visitors can walk along the mountainside, where pine forest meets rocky terrain, and look toward Inwangsan, as well as take in the scenery stretching from the Blue House, Gyeongbokgung Palace and Gwanghwamun to Namsan and downtown Seoul.
Access to Bugaksan, which had been restricted after the 1968 January 21 Incident, began opening to the public in 2007, when the Bugak section of Hanyangdoseong (the Seoul City Wall) was opened. This was followed by the opening of a 2.2-km trail along the northern section of Hanyangdoseong in 2020 and a 3.0-km area of forest on the southeastern slope in 2022.
Bugaksan was the principal mountain of old Seoul and is the highest of the four inner mountains surrounding downtown, alongside Naksan, Namsan and Inwangsan. Hanyangdoseong was first built in 1396 along the ridgelines of these four mountains.
Bugaksan is home to a range of historical and cultural heritage sites, including the Historic Site “Seoul Hanyangdoseong,” Buaam, Samtaeseongbawi, Chotdaebawi, Malbawi, Baegaksinsa, the source of Cheonggyecheon Stream and the site of Beopheungsa Temple.
The opening was carried out in cooperation with the Korea Heritage Service, the Presidential Security Service, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Jongno-gu and the Korea Heritage Agency. The Korea Heritage Service was responsible for preserving the scenic site and improving the trail environment, while the Presidential Security Service supported the opening and safety management. The Seoul Metropolitan Government and Jongno-gu handled trail maintenance and on-site management, while the Korea Heritage Agency supported on-site operations and use of the area.
A ceremony marking the opening will be held at 3:30 p.m. on the 16th in the area around Changuimun Gate on Hanyangdoseong at Bugaksan in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Huh Min, head of the Korea Heritage Service, and representatives of related organizations will attend. Performances and a tour of the newly opened section are also scheduled.
The Korea Heritage Service plans to expand hiking and guided-tour programs connected with nearby historical and cultural resources, including Hanyangdoseong, Gyeongbokgung Palace and the Blue House, while preserving the natural scenery, ecological environment and historical and cultural heritage.

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