If you climb up along the Jongro Library and pass the historic archery field, you will see the mountain. If you walk along the park or walk by the Book-ak Skyway roadway along the back fence of the park, you will reach the same mountain path.
Although those are the routes that I have been taking to Inwang Mountain since I was an elementary school student, now I am taking the Nusang-dong route that I had not walked despite it sitting right next to my place.
Suseong-dong Valley Hill restoration was one of the projects that the former Mayer Sehoon Oh has devoted to the innovation of Seoul with great ambition. When I heard about the project to restore the Suseong-dong Valley as the most famous artist of Yi Dynasty, Gyumjae Jeongsun had painted it, to make the water from the waterfall to flow to Gwanghwamun, I thought of MB who won the Presidential election after succeeding the Chunggyecheon project.
It was an extremely difficult process. Hanoks at Nusang-dong were demolished quietly, real estate agents built four to five floor villas and sold them and above all, demolishing the high-rise apartment building which has been built right next to the valley hill in the days of President Junghee Park during 1960s was a problem.
In foreign countries, villages on hills with a good view are more prestigious. There are Beverly Hills and wealthy villages on the hills with a winding road in San Francisco and in Seattle and Hawaii.
Although there are factors that followed the real estate price increase of Gangnam, after the construction of the apartment at the best spot of the waterfall that is near downtown, the affluent village has turned into an ordinary one. Looking at the wealthy village on a gentle slope in Israel, I thought of the apartment of the hill at the best spot in my village at the end of East Asia.
It took much time, money and work to make them to move out. The former Mayor Sehoon Oh’s term has ended before the completion of the reconstruction of the waterfall in 2012 and the current Mayor Wonsun Park has at least stopped the Suseong Valley Waterfall’s water flowing past Gwanghwamun by stopping the construction just before the completion. I do not know whether it was for the reason of cost saving or to prevent the former Mayor from gaining fame from the citizens for completing the construction just as the success of Cheongyecheon allowed gaining such fame.
That was how the citizens of Seoul got to enjoy having the Suseong-dong Valley at Inwang Mountain just as it was drawn in the great painting of Gyumjae, and that was how the village called Seochon started to be recognized
I started to walk the neighboring Nusang-dong alley to visit Suseong-dong Valley and sometimes, I walk along the valley to see tourists enjoying the view. When I have a visitor whether it be my old American friend or a fan from Japan who brings a book that I wrote, I take them to the valley
The ordinary row houses on the alley to the valley block the view of the mountain, cut the sunlight and are not the most beautiful houses in the world but the houses are dressing up with shops that have uniquely decorated first floor, restaurants and tea houses every day.
If you climb the hills patiently, you can have a clear view of the top of the ‘Chima Bawi’ (meaning skirt rock) at Inwang Mountain and there you will see the Giringyo stone bridge in the painting of Gyumjae that has been there since Yi Dynasty.and the ancient times. There you will also find newly built gazebos and pine trees everywhere, and you can see the waterfall and you will be amazed by the lyrical scene of the reflection of the dazzling sunlight on flame grasses in the autumn
It is almost hard to believe that you can have such magnificent landscape right in the middle of a big metropolitan city.
I see an image of my grandmother who used to say ‘you live and learn’ and when I walk the old road of the valley and the mountain that have stayed there since forever ago as if I have never climbed the mountain before, I miss my father who used to walk around Sajik Park and the archery field every evening
