Bukhansan

Bukhansan National Park was declared in 1983 and covers some 80 km² at the northern edge of Seoul and in the neighbouring cities of Goyang and Uijeongbu. Its status as a mountain within a metropolis of twenty-five million people makes it a singular case: it is credited with the highest density of visitors per unit of area of any national park in the world, with several million people a year.

The massif is granite, and its three main summits — Baegundae, Insubong and Mangyeongdae — form the profile that gives the mountain its name, "the great mountain of the north". Insubong is one of the classic climbing walls of East Asia, with hundreds of routes opened on compact rock. The forest is Korean red pine and deciduous broadleaves, with an autumn colouring that multiplies visitor numbers.

The historic heritage is notable: along the ridges runs the fortress of Bukhansanseong, a mountain wall rebuilt in 1711 during the Joseon dynasty to serve as a refuge for the court in the event of invasion, with gates, command posts and associated temples. Pressure of use is the park's main conservation problem, with severe erosion on the busiest paths, and the administration has introduced rotating closures to allow the most degraded areas to recover.