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Bookmark & shareInwangsan Shamanist Hillside Walk
On this short but uphill walk you can see Seoul's most famous shamanist shrine, visit small Buddhist temples and see part of the Seoul fortress wall. The walk takes an hour or so. Take subway Line 3 to Dongnimmun station, leave by Exit 2 and turn down the first winding alley on your left. Walk uphill past the golf driving range and grocery shops for 10 minutes, and you'll see a temple gateway on your left. Walk through it to the noticeboard. Turn left to walk around the village where Buddhist temples and traditional houses cling to the rocky hillside. The temples have colourful murals on the outside that illustrate the Buddhist philosophy of life.
Back on the main path, a bronze bell marks the Bongwonsa entrance, the largest of the temples. The paintings on the entrance gate doors depict the guardian kings of heaven who protect Buddhists from evil. The shrine hall has five golden Buddha statues and a side shrine for the shamanist deities: Sanshin (the mountain god), Doksung (the river god) and Chilsung (the seven stars of the Big Dipper). Buddhism and shamanism have always coexisted peacefully in Korea.
Carry on up the steps to see the shamanist shrine, Guksadang. It was originally built on Namsan but was demolished by the Japanese in 1925 and Korean shamanists secretly rebuilt it on Inwangsan. The shrine is small but the altar inside is often loaded down with food offerings as shamanists believe that spirits still need food and drink. Walk left and up some steps to the extraordinary Zen rocks that look like a Salvador Dali painting. Women come here to pray for a son.
Climb up the hill for 10 minutes and you reach an altar where an ancient Buddha is carved on a rock. Shamanists perform their ceremonies under the shade of the trees. Natural springs in the area provide fresh water and you can easily walk to part of the Seoul fortress wall, which dates back to 1396.
All visitors should treat the area and the people with respect and remember that taking a photograph could interfere with an important ceremony.
A Top Day in Seoul
A good outing in Seoul involves eating, drinking and getting naked with the locals. The day begins with a spicy cold noodle breakfast in Namdaemun market and a surround sound encounter with Korea's eating customs. The shopkeeper in front of me never stops barking, 'Oh so seyo' (welcome) and 'Kuksu serbice' (free noodles) while the pregnant woman to my left belches and the old man on the right slurps down a bowl of noodles. Always amusing, sometimes jolting, this crowded lane of stainless steel counters never fails to yield a moment of truth: Koreans have an intensely personal and audible relationship with food. For a different kind of truth, I'm off to the brave new world of Apgujeong, the shopping and entertainment district for Seoul's A-list that's part commercial centre and part shrine to the Korean cult of beauty. After touring Seoul's heart of narcissism, I'm ready for a taste of substance, so I walk to Samwon Garden, a glorious barbecue restaurant to satisfy my urge to cook and eat meat. Burn off the meal with a walk around the Seoul Tower and it's time to bathe. Bathhouses are everywhere but I like Hurest Well Being in Myeong Dong because it's big and thinly attended in the afternoon. Sure, it's a great way to clean up, but the euphoria that arises after an hour of rotating between hot and cold tubs is truly exhilarating. Back to the real world refreshed and thirsty, office workers and students have energised Myeong Dong's late afternoon streets and alleys packed with teashops, restaurants and neon. It is here I choose to initiate the all important rehydration process at one of my favourite spots, a roadside plastic chair outside any convenience store. While replenishing vital fluids, a gaggle of curious university students approaches my table and shortly thereafter accepts an invitation to have a drink. The conviviality that builds over a bottle of soju (vodka-like spirit) is tempered momentarily by the realisation that the euphoria has dissipated. Not all is lost however, as I know I can do the whole thing again tomorrow.
Author: Rob Whyte
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