This year’s winter teacher field trip came early. We rented a bus and headed to Paju for a day of touristy site seeing. My co-teacher was super sweet and despite not going translated the schedule into English for me. What I should’ve done with this information was research the places we were going before hand so I didn’t end up blind sided first thing when we hit the Gamaksan Mountain Trail.
Gamaksan Mountain (감악산) goes by a couple different names, including Kamak Mountain and Hill 675 (675고). Don’t let the fact one of it’s names is called a hill fool you. It’s not an easy afternoon stroll. Gamaksan has a peak of 675m (~2,214 feet) and is a steep hike up. Wear good hiking shoes and take some water with you.
One of the biggest draws to the area is the suspension bridge. The red bridge is called the Gloucester Heroes Bridge. It commemorates soldiers during the Korean War in 1951 who managed to hold their ground for 3 nights. The bridge is 150 meters (492 ft) long and is 170 meters (557 feet) above the ground of the valley and road below.
The bridge is worth the visit and if you have enough stamina to continue on up the mountain there are plenty of other things to visit like a nearby temple. Several buses in the area get to the trail (25, 25-1, 26, 27, 091C, and 092(다리) ), just make sure you get off at 범륜사 (Beomlyunsa) stop number 31367.
