Nochusan Mojeongtap Trail

In Daegi-ri, a mountain village in Gangneung's Wangsan-myeon district, a valley at the foot of Nochusan is lined with stone towers, many of them as tall as a person. There are about 3,000 of them, and one mother built them all by herself over 26 years, from 1986 until her death in 2011. There is no famous temple and no viewing deck here, yet knowing that one pair of hands made this whole landscape changes the way you see the valley.

A mother's 26 years

The towers were built by Cha Ok-sun, a woman from Seoul who married into a Gangneung family (some sources give her name as Cha Sun-ok). She had four children but lost two of them, and her husband fell ill; misfortune seemed to follow the family. Then, the story goes, a mountain spirit appeared in her dream and told her that if she stacked 3,000 stone towers in a valley, peace would return to her home.

She searched for the right place and in 1986 settled on this valley in Daegi-ri, a village nicknamed "the first village under heaven". She stayed here, choosing and stacking stones one by one, and reached 3,000 towers before she died in 2011. Television made her story known, and the path became the Mojeongtap Trail, "the trail of a mother's love".

In January 2016 the Korea Forest Service designated the towers a National Forest Cultural Asset under the name "Gangneung Nochusan Three Thousand Mojeongtap". It is a rare case of one person's private act of folk faith being recognised as part of the forest's heritage.

Where the name Nochusan comes from

Nochusan straddles Gangneung and Jeongseon County. Its name combines Lu (No) and Zou (Chu), the ancient Chinese home states of Confucius and Mencius. The Silla scholar Seol Chong and the Joseon scholar Yi I (Yulgok) are said to have studied on this mountain, and a shrine called Iseongdae honours the two. The stone tower trail runs along a lower valley on the north side, so it is a valley walk, not a summit hike.

The walk

• Route: car park – Sewol Bridge – symbol tower – Healing Camp entrance – stone-stacking area – Mojeong tower path – Mojeong towers.
• Length: about 1.2 km each way; allow 1–2 hours for the round trip along the stream.
• What you see: towers of every size line both sides of the stream and grow densest towards the end of the path, around the spot where she used to stay. There is also a wish mailbox where visitors leave letters for their children and loved ones.

Tripto tips

• When to go: autumn is best, when red and yellow leaves frame the grey towers. In summer the shady valley keeps the walk pleasant.
• Admission: free and open all year. It is a forest path, so go in daylight.
• Getting there: public transport is impractical, so most visitors drive. Use the free car park (1674-5 Daegi-ri, Wangsan-myeon, about 100 cars), then walk in on the path opposite the auto-camping site.
• Etiquette: each tower is part of one woman's life's work. Do not add stones, lean on the towers or step off the path for photos.
• Information: Gangneung tourism line +82-33-640-5420.