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Mount Gwanak's surge in popularity takes its toll
A puddle is fouled with what appeared to be instant noodle broth and other waste on Mount Gwanak in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. Captured from Instagram
By Park Ung
Mount Gwanak, riding a wave of surging popularity, is struggling with growing problems of littering, vandalism and safety as visitor numbers continue to climb.
On Monday, photos went viral of a puddle fouled with what appeared to be instant noodle broth and other waste, drawing sharp criticism.
Local authorities managing Mount Gwanak moved quickly to respond. After the site was suspected of falling within its jurisdiction, southwestern Seoul's Geumcheon District said Monday it had confirmed that the puddle was located outside its boundaries. That same day, Gyeonggi Province's Gwacheon dispatched workers to clean the puddle.
As the mountain is not a national park, it is jointly managed by multiple local authorities, including Seoul's Gwanak and Geumcheon districts and the Gyeonggi Province cities of Anyang and Gwacheon.
Improper disposal of waste is not the only concern. Last month, graffiti spray-painted on rocks near a hiking trail prompted Gwanak District to carry out restoration work.
The incidents follow a surge in visitors to Mount Gwanak, driven in part by a well-known fortune teller who described it as a spiritually charged mountain during a television variety show appearance earlier this year.
The Seoul Hiking Tourism Center's Mount Gwanak branch logged 5,521 visitors last month, up 41.2 percent from the same month a year earlier. On Google Trends, which tracks relative search interest over time, searches for Mount Gwanak in Korea climbed from 16 on April 30 to a perfect score of 100 on Sunday.
Hiking in Korea has also become a major draw for international visitors, with foreign visits to national parks last year topping 2.05 million, according to the Korea National Park Service. The Seoul Tourism Organization said foreign visitors to Seoul's three main hiking centers — at Mount Bukhan, Mount Bugak and Mount Gwanak — rose 25 percent from the same period a year earlier to 7,343.
Lacquer graffiti reading "There is no luck at Mount Gwanak for you" spray-painted on a rock on Mount Gwanak. Captured from Instagram
During last week's Labor Day holiday, hundreds of hikers crowded the summit at once, causing dangerous congestion and prompting fall-risk reports in some sections. Seoul, Gwacheon and Anyang issued emergency text alerts urging the public to avoid the mountain and exercise caution.
Local authorities are stepping up their response. Gwacheon has increased its holiday staffing from two to five, while Gwanak District expanded summit staff from nine to 13 and stepped up surveillance camera monitoring and patrols. Under the Forest Protection Act, littering or damaging forested areas can carry fines of up to 1 million won ($677).