23 April 2026
Do not call it a hike
Inwangsan and Mangwon market
I promised no hiking so I will not call it a hike. Also I was wearing normal pants, so that means it cannot possibly be a hike. No stats either.
Today I caught the subway over the river and walked up Inwangsan. The tourist err upward stroll.
It has the best views of Seoul by far, plus a wall. I have seen a lot of walls lately. Anyway, I found a different way up the side via a staircase compared to my previous visits, which was nice and shady as it was hot and my pants were filling with sweat.
After appreciating the view, I headed down the normal way, following the wall and all of it's never ending construction.
My next and final stop was apparently the hip and upcoming market area at Mangwon. To me this seemed like any other market, only smaller. I suspect it's popularity is because it is very near to Hongdae (red road with buskers) and also the world cup stadium, which is perhaps when it became re-popular.
So that was probably enough for my kind of last day but not really, as my flight leaves late afternoon tomorrow.
A shrine to pray for the arrow to fly straight and true.
Because yes, the shrine looks over this archery area. I did not take a very well angled photo, they are shooting at targets about 100m away, over some rocky areas with flowers. Not many hit the targets.
Now I will go up there. I had taken a wrong turn and was about to double back, then I checked the map, and there is indeed a side trail.
The side trail has many stairs, and more shade, and less people. All a fair trade off.
The low down view with stairs. Still polluted today, I read an article suggesting the pollution was worse than the last few years, and that is surprising given the lack of crude oil in the world.
I arrived at the junction with the main trail. I have climbed that small mountain before too.
Now I will follow the wall up there, largely in the sun.
Looking down as I near the top. It gets steep. Hello Seoul tower.
Beyond there are more walls and trails, but not for me today.
Here is the summit area, full of tourists. Despicable selfie takers.
Now I will head down again. It probably takes about 45 minutes to get to the top if you don't stop for a 3 course meal.
More rock and view.
Probably a quicker way down if you had a long rope.
Possibly the same photo as earlier, but with a bit of purple flower.
There is the top seen from further down than on my way up because of the whole side trail thing.
Not far to go.
I was glad to be back in shade, the wall is still there though.
After a subway ride with one transfer, I arrived at Mangwon k-market, ready to see what a trending market looks like.
Exactly like any other market, but with more young people and tourists.
The other end is labelled Mangwondondong world cup market, with a few soccer (football) balls painted around the place.
It is never too late to get crabs.
The streets around the market have a lot of cafes but it is probably not worth the hype.
Finally, I needed some water, so sat at a convenience store trying to figure out if this sculpture at the pop-up trendy market was genuinely made of lego or not. The jury is still out.