Naju City Opens 'Geumseongsan Summit' Permanently for the First Time in 56 Years

The summit of Geumseongsan, the guardian mountain (jinsan) of Naju City in Jeollanam-do, is expected to be permanently opened to the general public for the first time in 56 years starting next year.

The city announced on the 6th that it will begin construction of a hiking trail for the permanent opening of the Geumseongsan summit on the 7th.

Once the trail is established, hikers will be able to freely climb Nojeokbong, the summit of Geumseongsan, without restrictions.

Geumsungsan Mountain, the guardian mountain of Naju.
[Photo by Naju City]

The summit of Geumseongsan has been strictly off-limits to the public since 1966, when a military unit designated as a national security facility was stationed there, except for the New Year’s sunrise event held every January 1st.

Although it is a beloved mountain for citizens and hikers located close to the city center, the inability to reach the summit?the highlight of hiking?has led to decades of public desire for its opening.

Accordingly, since the launch of the 8th municipal administration, the city has continued discussions and cooperation between civilian authorities and the military to open the summit. As a result, in April, an agreement for the permanent opening of the Geumseongsan summit was signed with the Air Force’s 1st Missile Defense Brigade.

Following the agreement, the civilian and military parties held several working-level meetings to finalize the hiking trail route and methods for removing buried landmines, and have now begun full-scale construction of the trail.

The Nojeokbong hiking trail will be a deck path with a total length of 432 meters.

For security reasons, the trail will not use the military base’s main gate route but will be constructed starting near Naktabong within a minimal area that does not damage the ecosystem.

Construction is being accelerated with the goal of completion by December this year so that New Year’s sunrise visitors can use the trail on January 1st next year.

For the safety of hikers and security of the military facility, protective walls, barbed wire, announcement equipment, and information boards will also be installed.

Mayor Yoon Byung-tae said, “The agreement between civilian authorities and the military, valuing national security and community coexistence, has borne historic fruit in the form of the permanent opening of the Geumseongsan summit after 56 years through the construction of the hiking trail. We will do our best to fully return Geumseongsan to the citizens starting with the New Year’s sunrise next year.”

Naju = Kim Yukbong, Honam Reporting Headquarters, Asia Economy baekok@asiae.co.kr