[One Day Walk] The Pass Crossing Yeonghonam... Enjoy the Scenic Views of Seomjingang River

10.6km from Gatan Village, Hadong-gun, Gyeongnam to Songjeong Village, Gurye-gun, Jeonnam

Editor's NoteJirisan is a mountain with an elevation of 1915m, designated as South Korea's first national park. The mountain range spans Jeollanam-do, Jeollabuk-do, and Gyeongsangnam-do, and is considered a sacred mountain of the Korean people. Walking the Jirisan Dulle-gil trail, which passes through 21 sections, 20 towns and townships, and over 100 villages, allows you to encounter nature, people, and the history of Yeongnam and Honam regions. We introduce the Jirisan Dulle-gil trail, which stretches a total length of 300km and is as generous as a father's embrace.

The Jirisan Dulle-gil 'Gatan-Songjeong' section is a course that goes from Gatan Village in Tap-ri, Hwagae-myeon, Hadong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do to Songjeong Village in Songjeong-ri, Toji-myeon, Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-do. It is 10.6km long, takes about 6 hours, and has a difficulty level of 'high.'

This course crosses Yeongnam and Honam regions from Gyeongsang-do to Jeolla-do. The trail follows an old mountain pass that connected Hadong and Gurye, so you need to prepare well. The more challenging the path, the better the scenery. Most of the trail is through forest paths running alongside the Seomjin River, offering spectacular views. You will also encounter a 4km cherry blossom tree-lined road from Hwagae Market to Ssanggyesa Temple.

The journey begins at Gatan Village. This village was formerly called Gayeoul (Gatan), meaning a beautiful shallow stream like a fairyland. It is said that a celestial being lived here and dipped a fishing rod into the beautiful stream, hence the name Gatan. The residents still refer to it as Gayeoul or Gaerol.

Walking about 1km from Gatan Village leads to Beopha Village. As the name suggests, Beopha Village was a Saha village. A Saha village is a traditional village subordinated to a temple, where livelihood and customs were centered around the temple. In the past, many temples surrounded Beopha Village, creating a Buddhist land, so it was called Saha Village (寺下村) or Beopga Village (法家村).

Leaving Beopha Village and walking about 20 minutes, you reach the first mountain pass of this course, Jageunjae (Eoandong). It is connected to a bamboo forest path with dense cypress and sasa plants. Climbing Jageunjae leads to Chotdaebong, Hwangjangsan, Dangjae, then to Tongkkotjibong, Bulmujangdeung, Huindeumdeung, and finally to Samdobong (Natnalbong), the main ridge of Jirisan. Bulmujangdeung marks the boundary between Gyeongsangnam-do and Jeollanam-do.

While walking Jageunjae, you can find traces of old rice paddies that have now become grass fields. One such field features a small wildflower garden created in 2019 to commemorate the Jirisan Dulle-gil's entry into the Guinness Book of Records. A resting area was made with surrounding stones, and wildflowers such as shrimp orchid, yellow iris, daylily, sky lily, and leopard lily were planted.

Descending from Jageunjae, you reach Gichon Village. Gichon Village was formerly called Yeongok (燕谷). The pine forest in front of Gichon Village has a geomantic shape resembling a swallow, which is how the name originated. The entire valley from here to Piagol is also called Yeongok Valley. The village name Gichon comes from the Hangju Ki clan (幸州奇氏) who settled and formed the village, originally called Gichichon (奇氏村). Later, as the Ki clan moved to Jodong (now Junggi Village) and other clans settled in, the name was changed to Gichon (基村).

Leaving Gichon Village, you must climb Mogaejae. The name Mogaejae means 'a mountain pass on the way.' It is a mountain pass that crosses from Ha-ri, Oegok-ri by the Seomjin River, to Naeseo-ri Won-gi and Sinchon. In the past, it was a key route connecting Gurye to Beomwang-ri in Hwagae, passing through Gurye, Mogaejae, Dangjae, and connecting to Chilbulam and Uisin. The old path from Gurye to Mogaejae became part of the Jirisan Dulle-gil, and the path from Mogaejae to Dangjae was also part of the Jirisan Dulle-gil but was closed in 2019. From Mogaejae, there is an observatory where you can see the Seomjin River and Namdo Bridge spread out before your eyes.

Crossing Mogaejae, you arrive at the final destination of this course, Songjeong Village. Songjeong Village is an administrative village consisting of several villages such as Anhansunae, Bakkat Hansunae, Sinchon, and Wonsong.

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