Korea - Mungyeong Saejae Hike
Mungyeong is famous for two things. First, it contains a historic mountain path with three gates. "The 문경새재 과거 길, an important road connecting the province with Seoul by uniting the Han River with the main river in Gyeongsangbukdo." Second, it is the filming location for a historic drama.
“A long time ago, high mountains were viewed as borders between the living world and the afterlife and symbolized meeting and parting, hope and despair, glory and frustration. One of these mountains is Mungyeong Saejae, which linked the Seoul and Gyeonggi regions with the southern part of the country. Merchants used to climb this mountain, with their bags laden with goods hoping to strike it rich in the capital.”
The gates guarded the approach to Seoul for many centuries and this area saw a lot of fighting during the Japanese invasion of 1592.
Here we are in a film and TV costume-drama set, a permanent fixture painstakingly recreating old Seoul. "Specializing in historical dramas, it is the largest scale studio in the world. There are three palaces and many houses from the Goryeo Period, all spread over 60,000 m2."
Kingsley channeling his inner Saurabi (Korean Samuri) and fetching me water from the well on the film set.
Ice cream break...Kingsley tried his first coca-cola flavored popsicle. It was a big hit!
Further down along the trail we came upon the wounded pine tree - during the end of the war the Japanese military used the pine resins for fuel.
There are three gates with the last gate being at the top of the mountain, where the borders of the Gyeongbuk Province and the ChunCheong Province meet. The walk was absolutely stunning I only wish we had more time to explore. We only made it to Gate 2 before we had to turn back around so we didn't miss our bus back to Seoul.
“A long time ago, high mountains were viewed as borders between the living world and the afterlife and symbolized meeting and parting, hope and despair, glory and frustration. One of these mountains is Mungyeong Saejae, which linked the Seoul and Gyeonggi regions with the southern part of the country. Merchants used to climb this mountain, with their bags laden with goods hoping to strike it rich in the capital.”
Gate 1
On the steps of the Imperial Palace (movie set)
Further down along the trail we came upon the wounded pine tree - during the end of the war the Japanese military used the pine resins for fuel.
So many beautiful old buildings and historic spots along the way.
Gate 2
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