Geumgang Park, the Flower of Life Blooming at the Mountain Tail

The Geumgang Park which is located at the southeast bottom of the Geumjeong Mountain was called the ‘Sogeum River’ because the sceneries are beautiful as Geumgang Mountain, but it was later named the Geumgang Park in 1965. Since it is connected to the hiking path, you can see mountain climbers with big backpacks on clear days, and there are people who take pictures with pretty flowers of the botanical garden as backgrounds. There is the Marine Natural History Museum so little children play running at the yard, and there are cultural assets of the Busan region so it becomes an educational venue of history. It’s not so great compared to big amusement parks in Seoul, but you can also enjoy a small amusement park that has all kinds of attractions such as the Viking(pirate ship), the roller coaster, the chipmunk treadmill and the duck boat.
If you go up headed for the park, you can see the Mangmiru faraway. The Mangmiru which has kept its place since the Joseon Dynasty in 1742, is designated as the tangible cultural asset no. 4 of the Busan region. At the front there is a signboard that says ‘Dongraedogoamun’ and at the back there is a tablet that says ‘Mangmiru’ hanging. You could guess the history looking at the drooping big pine tree. If you pass here and the taverns that sell Dongrae pajeon(green onion pancake) and the dongdongju(garnish Korean wine), you arrive at the crosswalk for the Geumgang Park.
The cable car at the Geumgang Park operated back and forth the ridges of the Geumjeong Mountain, and it is an unusual attraction because you can not only see the whole area of the park but also the city. However there was an accident during run last January, so it has been stopped since then until now.
Going in the entrance, bronze statues that seem to come out in the story of Snow White and the seven Dwarfs greet the visitors. The faces of the statues that are quite funny look like jangseung(Korean traditional totem pole at the village entrance). The statue with the word ‘heart’ written on it has a hole in the middle to make a strange mood. The empty lot that shines is suitable for families, lovers and friends to have a seat on the mat and enjoy their packed lunch. Nearby, the cherry blossoms have started to bloom one by one before the magnolia has bloomed.
There are a lot of Buddhist temples at the foot of the Geumjeong Mountain, and the Geumjeong Temple located inside the Geumgang Park is one of them. The surroundings are arranged neatly. The green leaves add the freshness to spring. There is the Imjindongrae-eichong to the right of Geumjeong temple. It is the grave that has enshrined the body of loyalties that were killed at the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592. There are many other monuments in commemoration such as the Nature Conservation Charter Monument and the Japanese Brutality Victim Monument in the park. The tombstones and tombstones of literature of many writers come into sight. The Choi Gye Rak tombstone records children’s poem called the that fits the warm spring season. The contents are like below.
‘Inside the flower seed/blue leaves sway//Inside the flower seed/red flowers bloom//Inside the flower seed/yellow butterflies hide in.’ (Full text of the ‘Flower Seed.’)
If you walk following the path the Geumgang Herb Garden attracts us. Sweet herbs such as the rosemary, lavender and green thyme that we commonly know form a comfortable resting area. At the back a big model of a dinosaur leads way to the Marine Natural History Museum. This place, where children twinkle their curiosities have about 20,000 pieces of sample data of sea creatures at the shellfish gallery, crustacean gallery, Actinozoa gallery and the fossil gallery. If you go up to the 5th floor which is the rooftop there is a pretty garden nicely formed. The garden is named the ‘Ariarang’ taking the name of the mascot of the museum. Over the handrail, you can see the Geumjeong Mountain and the part of the Geumjeong city.
There are almost 50 species of wild flowers blooming at the forest walk leading to the Geumjeong Mountain. You don’t need to worry that you don’t know much about wild flowers. There are signs every now and then introducing those kindly. The entire forest walk is made meticulously so that people can enjoy the mountain comfortably, so you can find out your location betweenwhiles. If you follow the path the Yongso pond, the Yongchoo pond and the Geumgang pond provide spectacles for you who have walked a long distance. There were strange eggs in the pond so I went near it, and gladly it is the Korean salamander. There are one, and two and more Korean salamanders that we can’t see usually. Maybe this is the habitation. The water is pretty deep but due to the clean water, you can see to the bottom.

The Geumgang Park is very quiet. But if you listen carefully you can hear the sounds of the lives that are full in the park. Little animals run out to the path in the spring, and wild flowers bashfully hold out their heads. The Korean salamanders that we can’t easily see these days take a spot in the Geumgang pond at the park. The fragrance of the herbs fills the whole park. Silent but full of energy, the Geumgang Park is a place like that.