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Discovering a World Heritage Site In My School’s Backyard

On this edition, I’m turning the clock back to December 2017, when I was able to visit Namhansanseong, just south of Seoul, South Korea. Around this time, I was a couple of months into working my first teaching job. I lived in Seoul, but only right by the border of the city. I took about a twenty-minute bus ride everyday to this brand new town, called Wirye. I originally didn’t think there was much around the area, until I was able to meet a couple of teachers that lived there. They were avid hikers, and invited me to join them on their next hike that was right in the neighborhood. I’m not much of a hiker, but being in a new country and open to new experiences, I naturally accepted.

I didn’t know at the time, but I was stumbling upon a gem.

We were hiking on a workday, so we joined up a little early in the morning around 9am. Both of our jobs didn’t start until 2pm, so there was plenty of time to be up and down the mountain by noon. The mountain itself wasn’t that intense of a hike, and it only took about an hour to reach the top.

Getting there was a process in itself though, at least for myself. It was painfully obvious how inexperienced I was with hiking, when I showed up with my running shoes. With winter just coming into full force, it was pretty chilly and around 23 degrees Fahrenheit. I came layered up but all of the jackets quickly came off once I started breaking a sweat halfway up the mountain. I was a little too focused on making it to the top, so I didn’t get any pictures of the hike itself, but the top was the best part of it all anyway.

I really had no idea, until I got to the top; there was a fortress that had the honor of being a World Heritage Site. Later on, I researched the history of the place, and it’s quite impressive. It has been around for hundreds of years, and played a major role in separate efforts to fight off the Chinese, Mongols, and later the Japanese.

It wasn’t completely demolished during the Japanese colonial period, like most of the other fortresses were, and Koreans have taken up massive efforts to restore and preserve the area over the years.

It was an absolutely beautiful day to explore the area, as well. Even though there was heavy snowfall the night before, the morning wiped away the overcast skies, and the sunlight brightly bounced off of every inch of the complex.

From the top of the mountain, there was also an incredible view of the city. Because Namhansan sits just south of Seoul, it’s still within view of the Jamsil neighborhood. Seeing Lotte World Tower rise above all the city’s smog is a surreal sight.

Being at the top of the mountain was empowering to say the least, and an incredible way to kick off an otherwise normal working day. I almost didn’t want to leave so soon, but unfortunately there was no other option. Heading down was the hardest part of all, and my running shoes definitely didn’t pair well with the icy path. I slipped and fell in more ways than I can remember, having me constantly thinking about the experience for a couple of weeks for both good and sore reasons.