Sangdang Sanseong

Incase you are wondering, Sangdang Sanseong is not the leisurely stroll it appears to be in guide books. It’s 4.8 km seem to be vertical and it should not be attempted with only a puny chicken burger from Lotteria in your belly.

The day started off pretty poorly. Larry, who I met at the Cheongju Bus Terminal, and I asked a girl at the tourist information office how we might arrive at the 400 year old fortress-on-the-mountain via city bus.

The Golden Pavilion.
Cheongju

“No direct route,” she said. She then said something neither of us caught and wrote down two bus numbers, a greater than symbol and an “X”. It looked like a math equation. Either way the general idea was that Bus A would take us to Cheongju Stadium in Uptown, Bus B would take us to the fortress on the mountain: Sangdang Sanseong.

Bus A took us nowhere near Cheongju Stadium. Larry and I realized we were in trouble when we found ourselves alone and pulling into a bus station. We quickly worked out that the tourist rep had said that was caught by neither of us. The two busses were the only busses out of god knows how many that did not go to the Stadium.

So, feeling like complete and utter morons we cabbed it to the stadium and there waited for the bus that would be arriving in an hour, give or take.

The thing that is so amazing about being in a new place is that everything seems so exotic. A five minute walk took us the Golden Pavillion. Erected sometime in the 1800’s this place is something for Western eyes to behold. The entrance is guarded by fierce, fanged totem poles. Inside is a golden pagoda that stands five stories tall. What was more surprising is that the place was completely deserted save for a few dogs chained to trees whose job it seems is to scare the crap out of anyone foolish enough to pose in front of a great big bell.

Finally, we caught a break and found ourselves on a bus heading straight up a mountain. I have been on some unnerving bus rides on bigger mountains in my life, but this one was up there. The road was not built for busses, that is for sure. Whether or not the road was even built for a standard car is open for argument but regardless the way was more akin to an amusement ride than a 1000W ($1.00) city bur ride.

The Mountain Fortress.
Cheongju

The main issue is that the road follows the most direct route to the top of the mountain. Rarely is one able to sit comfortably in their seat as most often they are being flung to either side of the bus as the vehicle negotiates hairpin turns without more than a foot of breathing room. To look out any window is to see the trees coming at you only to be replaced by open air. To look out the front of the bus is just plain unsettling as it looks as though the bus is simply spinning in circles. For ten minutes we carried on like this and Larry, nudged and firm against the window, laughed as I bounced around all the while trying not to look outside. You begin to understand that maybe it wasn’t such a good time to ride on the Magic School Bus.

The bus finally pulled down a long narrow road, somehow managed a 3 point turn and let us off amidst a folk village on one side and a pond on the other. We walked until we found a small trail around the pond and decided that was as good of a place as any to begin our walk.

The beginning of the trek around the fortress is deceptive. We passed people sitting by the pond and families walking this way and that. The trail curves at the far end of the pond and doubles back and then takes you up a small incline. This was the end of the “leisurely” stroll that I was expecting.

The trail then turns and races up a very long and very steep hill. It is a courtesy that there are beams of wood laid into the earth so as to form steps but they do not help very much. We passed an elderly woman who was having a hard time of it and was trying to pull herself up the handrail.

I can only imagine Autumn.
Cheongju

At the top of the hill is the first of many views that made the sweat and blisters worth it. The valleys and hills that surround the fortress had become visible already and in the distance urban Cheongju was beginning to become visible.

Sangdang Sanseong is a fortress whose walls reach around the top of a mountain. It was built in the late 1500s and the structures themselves are incredible in that they are relics of a time that seems ancient to somebody from the States.

The way didn’t get any easier. The Lonely Planet guide book fails to mention several things. For example, nowhere do they mention turning a corner hoping to find level ground only to be faced with a fixed ropes course over a bunch of rocks at a fairly steep incline. True, the ropes weren’t really necessary as ice would not be forming at 85 degrees but neither of us were planning to take on the Hillary Step. The book doesn’t say anything about what it is like to sweat and walk up a hill that never seems to end in hiking shoes and then be passed by some jerk slacks and dress shoes.

The valleys of Cheongju.
Cheongju

Still, sweat dries and you are left cool and relieved. We sat for a long time on a couple of rocks that lay more or less at the highest point before the trail continues on back to the pond. We watched as couples, families and children ran by. The views into the valleys were simply amazing. Beyond the fortress walls were the hills, many of which were now well below us, and the smoggy city line of Cheongju and beyond.

“I’ve gotta say,” said Larry, “I didn’t expect this to be so gorgeous.”

Point for Cheongju.