Hotels near Bugaksan and the Seoul City Wall

Bugaksan, also written Baegaksan, is the 342 m peak standing directly behind Cheongwadae, and it carries the strangest access history of any hike in South Korea. After a North Korean commando raid crossed this ridge in January 1968, the mountain was sealed as a military zone and stayed shut until 2007. It then reopened under a regime of identity checks and numbered badges worn on a lanyard, which is why older guidebooks tell you to bring a passport. Identity documents stopped being required in April 2019. In March 2026 the Presidential Security Service confirmed the mountain remains open 24 hours a day even after the presidential office moved back into Cheongwadae in December 2025.

The Seoul City Wall route from Changuimun Gate to Hyehwamun Gate covers 4.7 km with roughly 300 m of elevation gain and takes about 3 hours, almost all of it climbing restored Joseon fortress wall on stone and timber staircases. Difficulty: moderate. Six visitor information centres operate 09:00 to 18:00 daily. One southwestern spur toward Cheongun-dong is still restricted, and a new 1.32 km section is due to open in the second half of 2026. Bullet scars from the 1968 firefight are still visible on a pine near Sukjeongmun Gate.

Pro Tip: Walk it north to south from Changuimun Gate to Hyehwamun Gate and finish at Hansung University Station (Line 4, Exit 6) - that way the 1,100-odd steps are a climb rather than a knee-punishing descent, and you end in Seongbuk-dong rather than on a bus back over the pass.