Sukjeongmun Gate

Sukjeongmun is the north gate of Hanyangdoseong, the wall that enclosed Hanyang, the Joseon capital. It is one of the four great gates together with the east, west and south gates, but it stands deep in the hills on the eastern ridge of Bugaksan and can still only be reached on foot along the wall trail. Closed to the public from 1968 and reopened in 2006, it gives you the feeling of walking a path in the middle of Seoul that was shut for decades.

History: a gate closed almost as soon as it was built

Sukjeongmun was built in September 1396 together with the other city gates. It was first called Sukcheongmun, and the name Sukjeongmun first appears in a record of 1523. Just 17 years after it was built, in 1413, a geomancer petitioned that the gate harmed the energy flowing to Gyeongbokgung, so it was closed together with Changuimun and pine trees were planted on the road to block it. For the rest of the Joseon period it was hardly used. Instead, Hongjimun was opened a little to the northwest for traffic, so while Sukjeongmun is the north gate by position, Hongjimun is often seen as the gate that actually did the job. Sukjeong means "to govern solemnly".

The gate did, however, play a role in rituals. The north was associated with water and yin, so when drought struck and rain was prayed for, Sungnyemun in the south was closed and Sukjeongmun in the north was opened. A folk belief also held that visiting the gate three times before the first full moon of the lunar year would ward off bad luck, and women are said to have come here for that reason.

What survives today

Because it stood in the mountains, the gate escaped damage when the wall was torn down for roads and tramlines during Japanese rule. It is therefore the only great gate with the wall still intact on both sides. The pavilion on top was built in 1976. After the 1968 commando raid on the presidential residence, access was banned for security reasons; the gate reopened with the surrounding wall trail on 1 April 2006.

600 years in the stones

Construction of the city wall began in 1395 with earth and stone. In 1422, under King Sejong, the earthen sections were rebuilt in stone, and in 1704, under King Sukjong, neatly squared stones were used to build almost vertical walls. Walking the wall around Sukjeongmun, you can compare the shape of the stones and the way they are laid to guess which period each section comes from.

Tripto tips

• Route: start at the Samcheong information centre above Samcheong-dong and walk past Sukjeongmun and Baegakmaru to Changuimun to cover the whole Bugaksan section, or simply turn back after the gate.
• Trail hours: entry and exit times vary by season, and entry closes early in the afternoon, so set off in the morning.
• Time and effort: about 1.5 hours for a return trip to the gate, about 3 hours if you continue to Changuimun. There are many steps, so wear trainers.
• Watch out: parts of the trail are close to military facilities; follow the signs where photography is prohibited.
• When to go: fresh spring green and autumn colours make the views of Seoul over the wall especially good.