Korea's First Mountain Pass Mungyeong Haneuljae ... 2.48km of Ancient Road Restored After Over 2000 Years

On the 8th, Mungyeong City in Gyeongbuk held a completion ceremony for the ‘Restoration Project of the Haneuljae Old Road’ at the summit of Haneuljae, located at 525 meters in Gwaneum-ri, Mungyeong-eup.

About 200 people attended the ceremony, including Shin Hyun-guk, Mayor of Mungyeong City, Lim Eui-ja, a member of the People Power Party, Hwang Jae-yong, Chairman of the Mungyeong City Council, Park Young-seo, Senior Vice Chairman of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Council, Gyeongbuk provincial council members, Mungyeong city council members, and local residents.

After the completion ceremony, a radio orienteering event was held, hosted by Mungyeong City and organized by the World Confucian Culture Foundation and Andong MBC. Radio orienteering is a walking program conducted via live radio broadcast.

On this day, about 200 participants from across the country took part in various experiential programs such as ‘Daegeum Performance,’ ‘Find the Real Ondal,’ and ‘Stop the Goguryeo Invasion,’ adding historical significance to the restoration of the Haneuljae Old Road, which reopened after about 2,000 years.

Restored Haneuljae Old Road.

Haneuljae is a mountain pass at an altitude of 525 meters, located on the border between Gwaneum-ri, Mungyeong-eup, Gyeongbuk, and Mireuk-ri, Suanbo-myeon, Chungju, Chungbuk. Haneuljae is the earliest mountain pass mentioned in Korean historical records.

The Samguk Sagi’s Silla Annals records that the pass was opened in the 3rd year of King Adalla Isageum’s reign (156 AD), and from then on, Haneuljae became a center for military, transportation, logistics, and culture. Buddhism was transmitted to Silla through Haneuljae, and the three kingdoms fiercely contested control over it.

In particular, General Ondal was eager to reclaim Haneuljae at the risk of his life. Additionally, Haneuljae served as a distribution route for Mungyeong ceramics, and before the official establishment of the Mungyeong Saejae Road in the early Joseon Dynasty, travelers had to cross Haneuljae to go from Seoul to Busan.

This historic road had remained only in the Chungju section until now, but with Mungyeong City’s restoration of the Haneuljae Old Road, the old road connecting Mungyeong and Chungju has been completed.

The Haneuljae Old Road restoration project began in 2019 to develop Haneuljae as a tourist resource and revitalize the local economy. After four years, a 2.48 km old road was restored from the summit of Haneuljae, passing Poamsan Mountain and leading to Gwaneum 1-ri village. A village cooperative sales center was also built to sell local specialties and promote Haneuljae.

The restoration of the Haneuljae Old Road is expected to attract many visitors and invigorate the local economy.

A Mungyeong City official said, “Mungyeong Saejae is located about 10 km from Haneuljae. Before Mungyeong Saejae became active in the early Joseon period, Haneuljae was the main passage. The narrow mountain path used by woodcutters, the Haneuljae Old Road, was widened to 1.5 meters so that tourists can explore it on foot.”

The Mungyeong Haneuljae Old Road completion ceremony was held, and local residents are celebrating the event.

At the completion ceremony, Mayor Shin Hyun-guk said, “It is moving that Haneuljae, a site with a long history and countless stories, is reopening after about 2,000 years. Starting with today’s completion ceremony, we will promote and carefully maintain the Haneuljae Old Road so that many people can visit, feel the breath of history, and heal, making it a premium old road.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.