GyeongJu Namsan 경주 남산

We wanted to hike the mountain, NamSan, nearest Gyeongju, the capital of the Silla Kingdom of a thousand years. We did not know how difficult this hike was going to be. Not only that, but we really thought this was going to be a stroll, believing how difficult the mountain hike would be if the mountain was known and loved by hundreds of millions of people in Sila throughout its a thousand years. How wrong we were. There are four (4) different trails. We chose the SamReung-YongJangGol trail. We took the Bus 507 from the Gyeongju Main Bus Terminal (시외버버스터미널), but any of the Bus 500, 506, 508 would take you to SamReung 삼릉 Bus Stop. It was at least an 8-kilometer hike; the very strenuous hike to YongJangGol Entrance (용장골) took us about 4 hours, taking pictures and making occasional stops along the trails. But I have to tell you that it was one of the best experiences I ever had hiking any trails.

So many destroyed Buddha statues are all over the mountains. These were acts of Confucius followers during the Joseon-dynasty 1390s–1910s. This was the only period of Korean history when Buddhism was suppressed by the elites of the society then, even though the rulers of the Joseon-dynasty, the Yi family, were Buddhists themselves.

Lines were drawn and carved so that images of Buddhas were formed. These Sila-In (Sila people) truly loved their Buddhas.

See that Buddha statue at the bottom of the rock. It appears everywhere around Gyeongju, and on this mountain were Buddhist temples, Buddha statues, and pagodas. Only the ones made of stones have survived over 1300 years.

Another name for this mountain, Keum-O-San, 금오산. It says 468 meter above the sea-level.