Busan tourism: Urban national park attracts diverse hikers
The Geumjeongsanseong fortress wall stretches along the foothills of Geumjeongsan in Busan. Courtesy of Geumjeong District
Geumjeongsan National Park offers easy subway access and panoramic views of the southern port city
On the morning of Aug. 25, hikers gathered in small groups outside Beomeosa Station on Busan Metro Line 1, in the city's Geumjeong District, and set off for Geumjeongsan National Park. From the station they walked about five minutes uphill and boarded the No. 90 city bus, which reached Beomeo Temple in about 10 minutes.
Roughly a dozen hikers rode the bus, along with about a dozen more visitors bound for Beomeo Temple and other nearby sites. Kim Jong-seok, 66, who had come from Seoul, said he knew little about the mountain.
"I didn't know much about Mount Geumjeong, but I came because I heard it had been designated a national park," he said. "It's more charming than I expected, and it's nice that you can see a famous place like Beomeo Temple at the same time."
Beomeo Temple, a Buddhist site at the foot of the mountain, is a favored starting point for Mount Geumjeong hikers. The first route heads from the North Gate of the fortress to Godang Peak to the East Gate, Wonhyobong Peak, the Third Watchtower and the South Gate, covering about 13 kilometers. A second route starts at the South Gate, includes a cable car to Geumgang Park and continues on foot. Depending on how far and how long people want to walk, hikers can loop back to their starting point or descend from a midpoint such as the East Gate. More than 200 trails cross Mount Geumjeong, connected like a spider web.
Hikers walk toward Buri Gate of Beomeo Temple in Geumjeongsan National Park in Busan. Korea Times photo by Kwon Kyoung-hoon
Mount Geumjeong, reachable from the city center by public transportation, became Korea's 24th national park in November 2025, and the Korea National Park Service took over full management on March 3. It is Korea's first national park inside a major city. The Busan city government and Geumjeong District are combining Beomeo Temple, Geumjeongsanseong — a fortress wall that runs along the ridgeline of the mountain— hot springs and local food with the hiking trails to build the mountain into a destination that keeps visitors in the area longer.
Past Daeung Hall, the main worship hall at Beomeo Temple, the trail toward the North Gate opens into dense forest. Wooden and stone stairs alternate, but the grade is never steep, and the climb allows hikers to take in the scenery.
International visitors are a common sight on the trail. Wei Ta, a Taiwanese hiker in their 20s, said, "I came with my mother because we heard Mount Geumjeong is the most famous mountain in Busan."
Jérémie, a French hiker in his 20s descending the middle slopes with his girlfriend, said he had found the mountain online.
"It's really beautiful and wonderful," he said.
At the North Gate, several young people were taking photos . Near the summit, Kyle, a 26-year-old American on a trip through Korea, said he had come straight from Mount Halla on Jeju Island.
"It's a national park you can reach easily on public transportation, and it's wonderful being able to look down on downtown Busan," he said.
Hikers rest and look down the mountain from Godang Peak in Geumjeongsan National Park in Busan. Korea Times photo by Kwon Kyoung-hoon
From the top of Godang Peak, panoramic views unfold of the Nakdong River estuary, the Gimhae Plain and the city of Yangsan in South Gyeongsang Province. On the path from the summit toward the East Gate, Geumjeong Fortress stretches far along the ridge. On the way down, the high-rises of Haeundae's Marine City and Gwangan Bridge come into view.
Geumjeongsan National Park covers 66.9 square kilometers, spanning Busan's Geumjeong, Buk, Dongnae, Busanjin, Sasang and Yeonje Districts, as well as the city of Yangsan in South Gyeongsang Province. It can be reached by subway and city bus, and it holds natural, historical and cultural assets including Beomeo Temple, Geumjeong Fortress, Sanseong Village and a collection of hot springs. It has earned the nickname "a treasure trove of natural ecosystems in the heart of the city," and provides habitat for 1,782 wildlife species, including 14 endangered ones.
The Geumjeong Fortress wall stretches along a forest trail in Geumjeongsan National Park in Busan. Korea Times photo by Kwon Kyoung-hoon
Busan Metropolitan City and Geumjeong District are also working to encourage hikers to venture beyond the mountain to nearby attractions and neighborhood businesses by linking the Beomeosa forest trail, Godang Peak and the fortress hike with local food and cultural experiences in Sanseong Village, and to bundle meditation, temple food and hot springs as tourism packages.
The city is developing outdoor tourism programs around the mountain so that hikers finish a walk and then eat local food, visit traditional markets and soak in the Dongnae hot springs. Packages combine a range of experiences including body scrubs, a mobile sauna bus and traditional liquor tasting. "Templeking in Beomeosa," which ran around the temple from June to August and again from September to November 2025, packaged mountain trekking with temple tours and Korean Buddhist temple cuisine, drew 500 participants.
Na Yun-bin, director general of the tourism bureau at the Busan city government, said the aim was to stop visitors from hiking and going straight home.
"We focused on connecting the tourism route so that visitors who come to Mount Geumjeong don't just hike and go home, but also use the surrounding attractions and experience programs," Na said.
A visitor looks at a trail map at Sanseong Pass, located between the East Gate and the South Gate, in Geumjeongsan National Park in Busan. Korea Times photo by Kwon Kyoung-hoon
The tour program "Soul Trail in Mount Geumjeong" links the Beomeo Temple perimeter trail, the temple grounds and the Seon (Zen) Culture Education Center, pairing trekking with meditation, temple food and a tea experience. Selected for Busan's locally tailored tourism project, it runs 20 times from July through November and includes a version for foreign participants.
The program changes by season. Summer brings guided trekking, singing-bowl and sutra-copying meditation, sound walking, a guided walk focused on ambient sounds, temple food and tea sessions. Autumn shifts to a pilgrimage format that visits the Beomeo Temple perimeter trail and the Seongbo Museum in person.
Geumjeong District also runs Geumjeong Fortress Guard, a program built on the fortress's history and culture. It operates from March through November, with local businesses in Sanseong Village, including restaurants and cafes, taking part.
"Participants numbered 580 in 2019, and this year the figure is expected to approach 2,000," a Geumjeong District official said.
A cable car connecting the South Gate of Geumjeongsan National Park in Busan to Geumgang Park at the foot of the mountain / Korea Times photo by Kwon Kyoung-hoon
Two programs aimed at foreign visitors, K Mountain Temple Nuri-gil and K Culture Salon, walk participants through Beomeo Temple and the forest trails, introduce traditional culture and take in the history and food of Geumjeong Fortress. Geumjeong Fortress Guard draws in Sanseong Village restaurants and cafes as partners, and provides visitors with discount coupons they can redeem immediately.
Yoon Il-hyun, head of Geumjeong District, said the mountain was meant to become a second pillar of the city's tourism.
"This is an effort to move Busan tourism beyond its existing focus on the sea, so that the Mount Geumjeong area becomes another axis of local tourism and visitors come back to Busan a second and third time," he said. "We will do our best to connect the heightened interest created by the national park designation with trekking, history and culture experiences, and local commerce, so that Mount Geumjeong establishes itself as a new K-Trail."
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.