My Seoul Story Walking on Dullegil, best way to experience Seoul
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Matthew C. Crawford
This is the fourth in a series of contributions about Seoul's charms as seen from foreigners' points of view. ― ED.
By Matthew C. Crawford
The best way to experience Seoul may be to take a walk ― actually, a series of long walks. One can make a circuit of the old city wall in a day, but the city has ballooned far beyond the former fortress. To get a sense of Seoul as it now stands, I’d suggest walking the city limits.
This 157-kilometer circuit, called the Seoul Dullegil, opened at the end of 2014. It’s well marked and encompasses outlying mountains, little-known streams and sheltered back lanes. A long section is coextensive with about half of another local dullegil ― the one circling Mount Bukhan National Park. The Seoul Dullegil also winds past Seoul National University, World Cup Stadium and Seoul Arts Center.
It was a brilliant idea to link these sections together, since Seoul’s network of trails is one of the things that makes it such a livable city.
Shortly after I first arrived here in 2003, I found out that Seoul has unexpected pockets of nature. I began visiting Mount Maebong, a small mountain, or large hill, in my neighborhood. At the top was an exercise area open to the elements. After trying out some of the workout equipment, I could walk along one of the trails, forgetting I was in a city of 10 million and that the flashing lights of Gangnam were just a short distance away.
Now, more than a decade later, a look at the Seoul Dullegil map brings back memories of the hiking trails, jogging routes and cycling trails of the Seoul neighborhoods I’ve lived in. At the time, it felt like I had discovered these humble mountains and streams. The trails tended to stretch on and on ― encouraging one to explore a little farther each time and find out where they linked up with other trail networks.
It is also on the Dullegil and its connecting trails that I’ve had some of my most memorable encounters with fellow Seoul residents. On one occasion, I was flagged down along the local stream by a woman who needed help reaching a wild herb growing on an embankment.
More recently, on a trail of Mount Bukhan, I met a hiker who does the same route every day and calculates he’s hiked it over 1,000 times. At the finish line of a Dullegil race this year, I was congratulated by a woman in her 60s who manages to run a marathon a month. I’ve gained respect for the people of Seoul through these daily encounters, and have been inspired to test my limits through their example.
Like many other Seoul citizens, I’ve developed the habit of getting away from it all for an hour or so each day ― a healthy practice in any city. These days, I’m likely to be found jogging through the lush, nearly tropical scenery of Jingwan Stream or rambling along the boardwalk that hugs the cliffs of Jokduri Peak. While these trails can be experienced on their own, as parts of the Seoul Dullegil, they lead on to new discoveries. And eventually they come full circle.
Matthew C. Crawford is a freelance writer residing in Seoul