[One Day Walk] Meeting the Rock-Carved Bodhisattva Protecting Soraesan... Siheung Course 54

14.9km from Siheung Lotus Theme Park to Bucheon Sosa Station

The Siheung 54 Course of the Gyeonggi Dullegil is a 14.9 km trail that runs from Siheung Lotus Theme Park through Hojobeol to Bucheon Sosa Station. You can start by enjoying the lotus flowers and walk through both the city and the mountains.

The starting point, Siheung Lotus Theme Park, offers a spectacular view of the lotus flowers blooming in Gwanggokji Pond. There is a place in Siheung called Yeonseong (蓮城), and it is said that this area was named Yeonseong because the lotus flowers in Gwanggokji Pond spread widely. The best time to see the most beautiful lotus flowers in Gwanggokji Pond is August. On summer nights, many people gather to take photos of raindrops falling on fully bloomed lotus flowers.

Leaving the Lotus Theme Park and walking along the Botongcheon waterway, you will reach Hojobeol. Hojobeol is a reclaimed land created 300 years ago during the Joseon King Gyeongjong era by blocking the sea. It was farmland made to help the people and is the largest granary area in Siheung City, twice the size of Yeouido. Every October, the Hojobeol Festival is held mainly by residents to honor the wisdom of ancestors.

Walking along the waterway, you pass through the urban area of Sincheon-dong and enter a forest path. This is Soraesan Mountain. It is a 299-meter-high mountain, named after Sorae-eup, which was the name of the area before Siheung was promoted to a city. There are many theories about the name Sorae. One theory is that the terrain resembles a conch shell; another is that it was called 'Solnae' because of many pine trees by the stream, which later became Sorae; another suggests it comes from the Korean word ‘solda,’ meaning narrow, referring to the narrow terrain; and yet another theory says that during the Baekje and Tang alliance wars, Tang general So Jeongbang stayed here after departing from Laizhou (萊州) in Shandong Province, China, and the name Sorae was derived by combining one character from So Jeongbang and Laizhou.

When you climb Soraesan, on clear days you can see Seoul city and the West Sea with the naked eye. The representative cultural heritage of Soraesan is the Ma-ae Bodhisattva Standing Statue. While climbing toward the summit, halfway up the mountain, you encounter a 14-meter-high rock-carved standing Bodhisattva image engraved on a huge cliff called Janggunbawi (General Rock). It features a well-balanced body, angular face, clothes covering both shoulders, and vine patterns carved on the cylindrical crown worn on the head. It is estimated to have been made during the Goryeo Dynasty and has protected Soraesan for a thousand years. Although the lines have faded over time due to weathering, the artistic spirit and Buddhist faith of the ancestors remain vivid.

Crossing the suspension bridge from Soraesan and exiting the forest path leads you to the destination, Sosa Station.