[One Day Walk] Feeling the Breath of the Dragon at 'Yongsan Family Park · Geoulmot Dullegil'

This is a course of about 5 km that circles around the outdoor area of the National Hangeul Museum and the Mirror Pond at the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan Family Park. Walking one lap around the 2 km trail in Yongsan Family Park, visiting the outdoor exhibition connecting the National Hangeul Museum and the National Museum of Korea, and circling the Mirror Pond once or twice, then arriving at Line 4 Isu Station or Sinyongsan Station totals about 5 to 6 km. On hot days like these, sitting in the wind path (large central stairs) between the two buildings of the National Museum of Korea dries sweat in just one minute.

Yongsan Family Park covers an area of 75,900㎡ (22,960 pyeong) with a spacious, open lawn, ponds, walking trails, and eye-catching sculptures that keep visitors busy. Until May 1991, it was a U.S. military golf course. In 1992, the Seoul Metropolitan Government took over and developed it into a park, and in November 1997, the area was reduced when the National Museum of Korea was established.

From the entrance of Yongsan Family Park, you can sequentially view nine sculptures donated by artists representing Korea, France, Switzerland, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, then head toward the backyard of the National Hangeul Museum. Although it is a walking trail, the forest is relatively dense, and when passing Mir Pond, Mir Bridge, and Mir Waterfall, mist sometimes rises, creating a mysterious scene. It feels as if a dragon is exhaling smoke. "Mir" is an old word meaning dragon, derived from the place name Yongsan where the museum is located.

Passing through the "Dragon's Breath," you enter the outdoor exhibition area of the National Museum of Korea. You can see the Younger Buddhist Statue (National Treasure No. 104), the Heungbeopsa Monk Jin-gong Statue and Stone Coffin (Treasure No. 365), the Bosingak Bell (Treasure No. 2, moved here in 1985 due to fine cracks; the current Bosingak Bell was newly made in 1896), and the Seven-story Stone Pagoda from Namgye-won site relocated from Kaesong (National Treasure No. 100), and even perform a pagoda circumambulation.

After finishing the pagoda circumambulation, you will encounter the open sky and a pond. It is called "Mirror Pond" because the museum’s image is reflected in the pond. Walking around Mirror Pond and climbing up to Cheongjajeong Pavilion to watch the museum’s swaying reflection in the pond is also a pleasant experience. Cheongjajeong Pavilion was built in 2009 as a symbolic monument commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Korean Museum.

After circling Mirror Pond once or twice, you can cross the street to the apartment forest in Dongbu Ichon-dong and take public transportation home, or head out to Namsan or the Han River for a longer walk. Yongsan Family Park and the Mirror Pond Trail are unique walking spaces where history and art coexist. It is a walking course that can be enjoyed with just about two hours of investment after work.

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