The view from Bugaksan Fortress wall

On May 5th I went on another hike with the Royal Asiatic Society, this time to the Bugaksan Fortress wall. "San" means "mountain" in Korean, and Bugaksan is a mountain in the northern part of Seoul. One thing that still amazes me here is that there are actul mountains within the limits of such a large modern metropolis. Seoul is bigger than NY, yet the closest thing you'll find to a mountain in NY may be the hill on the north side of Central Park. (ok, I exaggerate. And the topography's different, of course. But even so....)

Here are a few of the photos from that hike.

In some places, you could look out and not know you were anywhere near a major city (or even a minor one). In others, you could see both the older residential areas and the new highrises.