Maisan

Drive across the Jinan plain and two grey rock peaks stand up side by side like a pair of pricked ears. Their resemblance to a horse's ears gave the mountain its name, Maisan (馬耳山). Up close the rock looks like rough concrete studded with pebbles, pitted with holes as if it had been bombarded, nothing like the smooth silhouette you see from a distance.

Name and geology

The mountain has had several names: Seodasan under Silla, Yongchulsan under Goryeo and Sokgeumsan in early Joseon. From the reign of King Taejong it was called Maisan for its ear-like shape. The two peaks are Ammaibong ("female") and Sumaibong ("male"); sources give slightly different heights, about 686–687 m and 680–681 m respectively.

Maisan is made of conglomerate, gravel and sand laid down on a lake bed around 100 million years ago in the Cretaceous and later pushed up by crustal movement. On the southern face you can see large and small cavities, a landform called tafoni: water seeps into cracks, freezes and thaws repeatedly, and widens the holes from the inside. Tafoni on this scale are rare. Maisan became a provincial park in 1979 and a national Scenic Site in 2003, and it is part of the Jinan-Muju National Geopark.

What to see

• Tapsa Temple: a small temple at the southern foot with some 80 stone towers of piled natural stone. Tradition credits them to a lay hermit, Yi Gap-yong (1860–1957), who is said to have built them alone. They range from about 1 m to 13.5 m high, and were designated a provincial monument in 1976.
• Tafoni: on the southern slope of Ammaibong you can see the honeycomb cavities close up.
• Eunsusa Temple: right below Sumaibong. Its wild pear tree, about 18 m tall and estimated at 640 years old, is a Natural Monument, as is the colony of climbing euonymus growing up the rock.
• Geumdangsa Temple and Hwaeomgul Cave: easy additions on the southern route.

Good to know

Older residents of Jinan say the five peaks in Irworobongdo, the "Sun, Moon and Five Peaks" screen placed behind the Joseon king's throne, depict Maisan. Scholars do not treat this as established, but one look at the mountain explains why the story exists. Tapsa was included in a CNN list of 33 beautiful temples in Korea. The Maisan conglomerate is part of the strata laid down in the Jinan basin, an ancient lake basin, and it is the signature site of the Jinan-Muju National Geopark.

Tripto tips

• Costs: the heritage admission for the Tapsa and Geumdangsa area is listed as KRW 3,000 for adults, KRW 2,000 for teenagers and KRW 1,000 for children. Parking is KRW 2,000 for cars.
• Which entrance: there is a northern entrance on the Jinan town side and a southern one in Maryeong-myeon towards Tapsa. If Tapsa is your priority, use the southern entrance.
• Time needed: 1.5–2 hours for Tapsa and Eunsusa, or half a day if you add the surrounding ridges.
• Best time: cherry blossoms line the approach road in spring; silver grass and autumn colour follow in the fall. On blossom weekends the car parks fill early.
• Getting there: it lies just south of Jinan town, a short drive away. Public transport can be infrequent, so check a map app.