Because Korea is almost completely covered in mountains, there are countless places to go for a breath-taking view! We recently checked out a mountain view fairly close to us in North Busan. I heard about the Geumjeong mountain cable car from my co-teacher in my first year in Yangsan, but we didnt make it there until now! Like we’ve been saying a lot lately, we should have gone a lot sooner!

Geumjeong Mountain is part of the large Geumgang Park, which has more than enough things to see to fill a whole day. It includes the mountain fortress and famous Beomeosa temple, a 17km fortress wall and gates, a small amusement park, botanical gardens, and a cable car (called the ropeway on the signs). There are many different trails to tackle this mountain, but we went with the easiest way and took the cable car from the bottom. There were spectacular views from the cable car. We could see Haeundae beach, Gwanganli’s diamond bridge and mountains all around. Even though the view from N Seoul tower in Seoul is really famous, in our opinion the view from Geumjeong mountain is way more interesting and beautiful! The landscapes in Busan are just more dynamic (see what I did there? Dynamic Busan teehee). But really, seeing the mountains and the beaches with rocky coasts puts the view from Geumjeong mountain leagues ahead of the concrete jungle views from Namsan. Those of you that have been to both, what do you think? Which view do you prefer?

We made our way to the mountain from Oncheonjang Station Line 1. We think we may have had some outdated directions, so we’ve made a map of our own. But if you’re not sure you’re going the right way, just look around for people decked out in hiking gear and follow them. That’s what we did!

We only did a short hike because we didn’t get there until late afternoon, but there were still some pretty steep hills. I was silly and wore sandals, I definitely don’t recommend that! Along the trails there are small hermitages to explore, badminton courts, fresh spring water, and a few lesser known temples. All in all it’s a great place to explore for a day.

For more information about hours and cable car prices, check out the Korean tourism page here.

The road up to the entrance of Geumjeong was lined with hikers enjoying Dongnae pajeon and makgeolli.

View from the cable car on the way up Geumjeong mountain.

Another view, with the Gwanganli Diamond Bridge in the back.

Us at the top! We found a really cool lookout point on the trail and snapped this photo.

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