In the October issue of SEOUL, photographer Im Chan-kyung took a wonderful photograph of downtown Seoul from the summit of Seodaemun’s Mt. Ansan in the morning.
So inspiring it was, in fact, that I woke my fat melanin-deficient posterior up at 4am to hike up Mt. Ansan—camera and tripod in hand, but minus a flashlight, which probably wasn’t smart—to greet the sunrise over Seoul.
Now, Im took much better shots, but I don’t think these came out too badly. While I was waiting for the sun to rise, I was reading some tips on sunrise photography—one was to set the white balance on cloudy or shady warm up the colors a bit. So I did.
Click on the images for sharper, full-sized photographs.
The views from the top of Mt. Ansan might be the best in the city, with views of the surrounding mountains, N Seoul Tower and, in the foreground, Seodaemun Prison History Museum. There’s an old signal fire station (like Mt. Namsan) and an observation platform at the summit, too. The signal fire station is undergoing some restoration/construction, but there’s still some pretty good spots to set up your tripod.
You get a good view of Mt. Inwangsan, including Seoul’s old city walls and the Guksadang Shrine. Beyond Mt. Inwangsan, you can see Mt. Bugaksan and the grander peaks of Bukhansan National Park.
Finally, the sun pops up from behind the mountains…
At just under 300m, Mt. Ansan is a pretty fun hike with good views and a couple of funky rock formations. Some of the paths are popular with mountain bikers, too, if that’s your thing. This time out, I started at Seodaemun District Office, where one of the trails up the mountain begins, and descended to Hansung Science High School and Seodaemun Prison History Museum.
A shorter trail starts at Bongwonsa Temple near Yonsei University.
Check out the hiking map here for a better look at the trails.
There was a good deal of mist caught in the hills this morning.
Seodaemun Prison History Museum wasn’t open yet when I passed through, unfortunately. The park around it was, though, and with the trees turning color, it’s not a bad place to stroll about.
Map: Mt. Ansan
View Mt. Ansan in a larger map
Amazing photos as always! Thanks for sharing! It’s now on my list of places to go.
Glad you like the photos, and Mt. Ansan definitely belongs on your list!
Oh, Ansan! I haven’t been up there in years! Good on you for getting up there that early.
Back in the day (i.e., pre-IMF), a few of us went up at night to see the city lights and went a rock too far and ran into the guards who were on the mountain. They yelled at us in Korean whoareyouyou’renotsupposedtobeuphere and pointed their weapons at us. My teenage self may have nearly crapped his underoos.
Whenever I went up, though, it was always from the Yonsei side (through Pong•wonsa Temple).
I think the situation on the mountain has changed quite a bit since then — the entire hill is one big park. There is still a base at the very top, though.
Yeah, sometime around 2001 or 2002 I brought my dogs up there (they love hiking trails) and saw that it was all pretty much in civilian control where I believe the guard post had been.
Great shots. I totally don’t have the power to wake up that early. It’d probably be easier for me to stay awake and go. Anyway, great shots!
I don’t usually make it a point to wake up at 4 in the morning to hike a hill, either, but you know, it was worth the effort. Probably worth a return visit on Jan 1, unless I go to Taebaeksan, which I’m strongly considering.
all the classic elements of Seoul: LED screens, N Tower, tombstone apartments, mountains, and remnants of Japanese occupation.
Yep, they’re all in there.
Very good pictures, as always! It was worth the effort! Seoul looks great in the sunrise.
And as always, thanks for stopping by!
I echo what the others have said, superb pictures. The first one is a gem. Did you use the same masking method as the one a couple of posts back?
Good effort on getting up so early!
Thanks, sir. And this time, I didn’t use any masking. In fact, all I did with these is run “Auto Contrast” on Picasa.