Gangbuk
Gangbuk is located in the northern part of Seoul and is famous for its clean waters and the scenic beauty of Bukhan Mountain.
Gangbuk is located in the northern part of Seoul and is famous for its clean waters and the scenic beauty of Bukhan Mountain.
There is a myth about a huge tortoise which swam into the Han River from the Yellow Sea emerged and started to walk around Hanyang or current Seoul. People were surprised at the appearance of the huge tortoise and tried to drive it away back to the river.
Despite their efforts, the tortoise kept moving past Inwang Mountain and started to climb Bukhan Mountain. But its movements destroyed the beautiful scenery of the latter. Startled at the tortoise's destructive passage, the gods of Inwang Mountain, Samgak Mountain, Bukhan Mountain and Dobong Mountain cooperated to turn the tortoise towards Surak Mountain, located in Sanggye-dong, Nowon-gu.
But the tortoise firmly resisted and started to fight against the mountain gods. The fight turned into a bloody war amongst the five, which caught the attention of the Creator in heaven. The Creator finally ceased the fierce fight by transforming the tortoise into a rock and the mountain gods into a forest of maple trees. As a result, Bukhan Mountain became famous for its spectacular scenery and has become a resting place for people as well as gods from heaven.
Unfortunately however, urban development has taken over and Tortoise Rock can no longer be found. The area has been swallowed into a redevelopment region for new apartment complexes. Nowadays important buildings such as The President Residence, Law offices, The National Assembly building, and many universities have developed commercial supremacy. Shopping towns and movie theaters are the shrines of the 21st Century.
Gangbuk has good transportation. It is mostly connected by subway, and lines go to Incheon (line 1), Gangnam (line 3), Ansan (line 4) and Bonghwa Mountain (on line 6).
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