Run & Grind

A Full Walk Around Suwon Hwaseong — Walking, Eating, and Resting After finishing the fortress trail, my wife and I walked around the café street. “It feels like Itaewon, but with more young couples and foreigners,” she said while looking around. Suwon Hwaseong is a great one-day course for couples, friends, or anyone who wants a simple walk and food trip . However, walking the entire trail may be a bit difficult for families with young children. I. Total Course & Time 1. Parking Lot Simply enter Hwahongmun Public Parking Lot into your navigation and you’ll be fine. It’s spacious, and when we arrived at 11 a.m. , there were plenty of spaces available. However, around 5 p.m. it was almost full. Since this is a public parking lot, the all-day fee is 7,000 won (50% discount for compact cars). 📍 Start point location 2. Time to Complete the Entire Course If you simply walk without stopping, it’s a 2 hour 30 minute course. Bu...

A Gentle Walk Through Namhansanseong Fortress If the charm of Suwon Hwaseong lies in its beautiful castle walls and the cozy cafés tucked inside the village, then the charm of Namhansanseong Fortress must be the tall, ancient trees standing at the mountaintop and the wide fortress trail that winds quietly beneath their shade. The entire course takes about two hours . Wear comfortable walking shoes, and if you sweat easily, packing an extra shirt isn’t a bad idea. There are several restrooms along the trail, but since they’re up in the mountain, there’s no place to wash your hands. Bringing wet tissues will make your walk more comfortable. Here was our day: Park at the public parking lot at 11:00 Walk Namhansanseong Course 1 for about 2 hours Visit the Haenggung Palace for about 30 minutes Enjoy a simple lunch for 40–50 minutes All together, it’s about a 3 to 4 hour trip. Parking at Namhansanseong Fortress We arr...

A Quiet Mountaintop Where No One Appeared for 30 Minutes I’ve never been to the Silver Grass Festival, but two days ago, my wife said she wanted to see an open mountain peak. So we decided to visit Mindung Mountain, a place known for its wide, treeless summit. For nearly half an hour, it felt like the entire mountain belonged to us — just the two of us, the wind, and the endless view. No crowds, no noise, only the sound of wind brushing through silver grass. When we finally reached the top, there wasn’t a single person around. It felt like a date in the sky. The Doline — A Pond Formed 550 Million Years Ago At the very top, there’s a small round pond called a Doline . The rocks on Mindung Mountain are made of limestone, and over millions of years, rainwater slowly dissolved them, creating this natural basin. Geologists say the Mindung Mountain Doline was formed about 550 million years ago . Standing beside it, it’s hard not to think abou...