[Travel Journey] The Simple Jirisan Dulle-gil Path to Becoming 'Rich in Heart'

Walking the 20km Jirisan Dulle-gil Course 3 from Namwon Inwol to Hamyang Geumgye - A Trekking Full of Affection

Hikers are passing through Inwol Village, the entrance to Course 3 of the Jirisan Dulle-gil Trail.

After passing this hill, Geumgye Village, the final destination of Course 3, is within reach.

[Asia Economy, Cho Yong-jun, Travel Specialist] The dawn in a mountain village begins with the sound of the guesthouse grandmother clattering as she cooks rice. Standing in the yard stacked with firewood, the dawn settles over the ridgeline, and a distant time arrives where smoke from the fire and mist blend together. The Jirisan Dullegil trail connecting Namwon Inwol Village and Maedong Village is a place to encounter autumn mountain village scenery and the life of rural folks. Walking along the forest path, passing village walls laden with persimmons, and at rest stops, even a single bite of savory pajeon (green onion pancake) excites the appetite. Throughout the walk, a simple greeting often leads villagers to offer freshly harvested fruits or vegetables with both hands. In this heartfelt and humble mountain village journey, the heart becomes rich.

If it is your first time walking the Jirisan Dullegil, you can start at the Inwol Center in Inwol-myeon, Namwon City. The center is located 200 meters to the left before crossing the Guinwol Bridge on Inwol Market Road. The center provides section maps, accommodation information, and brochures about nearby tourist attractions. Sometimes, you may also meet walking companions there.

Now, setting off in earnest on the Jirisan Dullegil. After crossing Guinwol Bridge, turn left to begin the Inwol-Geumgye section (Course 3, 20.5 km). At an average pace of about 2.5 km per hour, it is an 8-hour course. If you start around lunchtime, it is best to stay overnight in Maedong Village and walk the remaining section to Geumgye the next day without strain. Since the days are getting shorter, you should start no later than 1 p.m.

The path follows the Namcheon (Ramcheon) stream, meeting rice paddies and villages, then crosses forests and hills to connect to other villages. This section connecting Jeollado and Gyeongsangdo from Namwon Inwol to Hamyang Geumgye is a historically significant route where the Jirisan Dullegil was first pilot-opened. In the Inwol-myeon area, a fairly large five-day market was held, and before the new road was built, villagers used to walk the old path (now the Jirisan Dullegil) to visit the Inwol Market.

Wolpyeong Village, where murals are worth seeing in every alley, means "the hill where the moon rises" and is also called Dalo-reum Village. It takes about four hours to walk slowly from Wolpyeong Village to Maedong Village. The mountain village and forest path, stream, and hill backed by Jirisan are all part of the Dullegil. The path starting along Namcheon and the rice paddy embankment in front of Wolpyeong Village leads to Junggun Village. Junggun Village was where the central army unit was stationed during the Imjin War, among the front, central, and rear armies. Beyond the fences, persimmons ripen, garlic and chili peppers are dried, and sesame is threshed as part of daily life.

People are passing through Junggun Village, known as the mural village.

The forest path before entering Maedong Village is deep and dense.

Passing Junggun Village, the forest path begins in earnest. At the fork, if you choose the steep hill, a narrow and quiet forest path provides shade. The path passes the remote hermitage Seonhwasa (formerly Hwangmaeam) and connects to Suseongdae. The clear water of Suseongdae serves as a drinking water source for residents of Junggun and Janghang Villages. At the entrance of Suseongdae, there is a rest area where you can pause and enjoy the late autumn scenery like a painting. There used to be many rest stops along the Inwol-Geumgye section of the Jirisan Dullegil, but recently only 3 to 4 remain. They open mainly on weekends and holidays when many visitors come, offering travelers pajeon, omija tea, and Makgeolli.

Crossing Baeneomi Pass, the exhausting forest path ends with a wide-open view of the Jirisan foothills. At the end of the forest path stands the sturdy Dangsan Pine of Janghang Village. The village holds a Dangsan Festival with Jirisan as the backdrop. Under the Dangsan tree, which is hundreds of years old, the old earthen wall paths of Janghang Village are tranquil. Beyond the village, the ridge of Baraebong Mountain slopes down.

A large maple tree located just before descending to Janghang Village

The Namcheon stream, which flowed parallel to the Dullegil maintaining some distance, meets the Mansucheon and flows into the Nakdong River. Crossing Janghang Bridge in Janghang Village leads to Maedong Village, which holds significant meaning as the midpoint of the Inwol-Geumgye section. Travelers going to Hamyang Geumgye Village often spend a night in Maedong Village. There are about ten guesthouses run by grandmothers in the village. Before Dullegil guests started visiting, Maedong Village’s main income sources were cultivating bracken and harvesting honey.

The breakfast table set by the guesthouse grandmother is abundant with mountain vegetables such as mulberry shoots, butterbur, and jangnok greens. The vegetables are dried in spring from nearby mountain slopes and seasoned with perilla oil as needed. Steamed stuffed chili peppers and godeulppaegi kimchi, both homegrown, are also fragrant. Stories of marrying into Hamyang Macheon 50 years ago, tales of going to the market instead of the mother-in-law... The grandmother’s years seep through the faded photos, and intertwined stories and smiles warmly linger in the yard. When leaving after an overnight stay, the grandmother escorts you to the gate and hands you a handful of candies. Though traveling frugally on foot, your heart becomes as strong and generous as Jirisan.

Jirisan viewed from Geumgye Village, the terminus of the Dulle-gil Trail

If you climb up Maedong Village, you can encounter the majestic scenery of Jirisan.

A little off the Dullegil signpost, several attractions cluster together. Near Maedong Village is Toesujeong Pavilion (Jeonbuk Cultural Property). It is a pavilion built by the Joseon-era scholar Park Chigi after retiring from office, with a unique structure featuring a single room in the middle of the pavilion. In front of the pavilion, rocks and a stream harmoniously blend.

Along the Inwol-Geumgye section of the Jirisan Dullegil continuing to Deunggujae, you encounter more scenery. At 500 meters above sea level in Jungwhang and Sanghwang Villages in Sannae-myeon, terraced rice paddies spread out. Beyond the harvested paddies, the Jirisan ridgeline and the villages brushed past are visible at a glance. After the last rest stop, climbing a steep hill leads to Deunggujae Pass (650m). Deunggujae is the dividing pass between Jeollado (Namwon) and Gyeongsangdo (Hamyang). In the past, residents crossed Deunggujae with Jirisan close by, living without boundaries or barriers.

A village resident I met on the trail gave me dried persimmons to eat on the way.

When viewed from Changwon Village, Jirisan Cheonwangbong Peak feels within reach. From the left peaks, there are Jungbong, Habong, Cheonwangbong, and Jesukbong.

In old times, people traveled between Hamyang and Namwon by crossing Odojae and Deunggujae. Soon, the panorama of Changwon Village unfolds. Through wide-open gates, sunbathing chili peppers can be seen. Autumn spreads across the yard, making the season of abundant harvest palpable.

Reaching Geumgye Village marks the end of the Inwol-Geumgye section. After walking about 20 km, the heart feels light. The dirt path has sometimes turned into cement, and as dusk falls, only one or two lights are visible, but now there are several pensions. Outsiders diligently hammer nails to build picturesque houses on the mountainside. They simply hope that people approach a little more slowly than now.

◇Travel Notes

△Getting There=From the Seoul metropolitan area, take the Gyeongbu Expressway, then at Hamyang IC on the Daejeon-Tongyeong Expressway, transfer to the Gwangju-Daegu Expressway. Exit at Jirisan IC and go to the Dullegil Inwol Center located in Inwol-myeon to start Course 3.

Jirisan = Text and photos by Cho Yong-jun, Travel Specialist