Gyeryongsan

Gyeryongsan National Park was declared in 1968, among the first in the country, and lies in central South Korea, next to the cities of Daejeon, Gongju and Nonsan. At 65 km² it is one of the smallest national parks, but also one of the most visited because of its proximity to major urban centres.

Its name means "rooster-dragon mountain" and describes the main ridge: a line of summits whose profile recalls the scaled back of a dragon topped by a cockscomb. The highest peak is Cheonhwangbong, at around 845 metres, and the relief alternates rocky crests with wooded valleys and streams.

Gyeryongsan has for centuries been, along with Taebaeksan, one of the two great centres of Korean shamanism, and its valleys hold an unusual density of temples, hermitages and places of worship of various traditions. The main ones are Donghaksa, a nunnery on the eastern flank famous for its monastic school, and Gapsa, on the western flank, founded in the Baekje period and surrounded by mature forest. The mountain was at one point considered a candidate site for the capital at the beginning of the Joseon dynasty, and remains of those interrupted works still survive.