Surisan Mountain

Surisan rises to 489.2 m where four cities meet: Gunpo, Anyang, Ansan and Siheung. Locals treat it as their backyard mountain (a subway station is named after it), yet its ridge carries a chain of quartzite peaks, a hill fought over in the winter of 1951 and a valley where persecuted Catholics once lived in hiding. In 2009 it became Gyeonggi Province's third provincial park.

Four peaks and a name

The highest point is Taeeulbong (489.2 m), linked by the ridge to Seulgibong (469.3 m) to the south-west, Gwanmobong (426.2 m) to the north and Suambong (395 m) to the north-west. The mountain seems to shoot straight up from the plain, so the climbs are steeper than the modest height suggests, and most of the peaks and cliffs are hard quartzite. It belongs to the same range as Cheonggyesan, Gwanaksan and Gwanggyosan.

Two stories explain the name. One says the peaks look like an eagle (suri); the other links it to Surisa Temple, said to have been founded under King Jinheung of Silla, which still stands on the Gunpo side of the mountain.

The Battle of Surisan, 1951

From late January to early February 1951, during a UN counter-offensive in the Korean War, the mountain became a battlefield. The Turkish Brigade and US troops fought the Chinese 50th Army for Hill 440 until 6 February. Both the Turkish and American units took heavy losses, but the Chinese finally gave up Surisan and the front turned in the UN's favour. Today the same ridge is full of morning walkers; knowing what happened here changes how the view looks.

A hidden Catholic valley

In the Byeongmogan valley on the Anyang side, Catholics fleeing persecution in the late Joseon period built a small village. St Francis Choe Gyeong-hwan (1805–1839), one of the 103 Korean martyr saints, settled here with his family, cleared the slopes to grow tobacco and led the community, which grew from three or four households to more than twenty. He was arrested in the 1839 persecution and died a martyr; his eldest son was Fr Thomas Choe Yang-eop, who trained for the priesthood in Macau. The valley is now a Catholic pilgrimage site, and standing in it, only a few kilometres from busy city streets, shows how well such villages could hide.

What to see

• Around Taeeulbong: rock viewpoints near the top look over Sanbon new town, Anyang and, on clear days, Gwanaksan.
• Suambong: the Ansan-side peak, with a summit stone on the rocks and open views towards the West Sea.
• Spring flowers: in April and May azaleas colour the ridge and the Royal Azalea Hill near Surisan Station turns pink and red.
• Old trees: trees aged 100 to 300 years earned the forest first place in the Korea Forest Service's "Beautiful Forest" contest in 2002.

Tripto tips

• Getting there: take Seoul Subway Line 4 to Surisan Station; the provincial park's forest-bathing entrance and the azalea hill are close by, though the station sits in a residential area and you will walk a little to the trailhead. There are also trails from Byeongmogan (Anyang) and below Suambong (Ansan).
• Time needed: half a day for a single peak; the full ridge from Gwanmobong over Taeeulbong and Seulgibong to Suambong is a full-day walk.
• Best seasons: April–May for azaleas and October–November for autumn colour, which are also the busiest times.
• Watch out: quartzite slabs get slippery after rain, so wear boots with a firm sole. Signposts switch between Gunpo, Anyang and Ansan place names, so keep a map app open.