Winter Visit to Munsusan Mountain in Gimpo – Round Trip from the Forest Bathing Area Parking Lot to the Observatory, Munsusan Fortress North Gate

Visit Overview of Munsusan Mountain

Gimpo Munsusan Observatory and the North Gate of Munsusanseong Fortress, visited on January 7, 2026.

Table of Contents

Munsusan Forest Bathing Area Parking Lot
On the Way to Munsusan Observatory
Location of Munsusan Observatory
North Gate of Munsusanseong Fortress
Places to Visit Near Munsusan Fortress North Gate
History of Munsusanseong Fortress

Below is a video showing the view from the Munsusan Observatory and a bird filmed on the way down.

Munsusan Forest Bathing Area Parking Lot

I started from the Munsusan Forest Bathing Area parking lot. I did not realize there were three parking lots and parked near the entrance. This turned out to be Parking Lot No. 1. Parking in Lot No. 2 requires less walking. The parking fee is 2,000 KRW for small cars and 1,000 KRW for compact cars.

I chose Hiking Course No. 1. From the very start of Course No. 1, there are wooden stairs. There is a restroom just before the trail entrance.

Munsusan Forest Bathing Area Parking Lot 1

On the Way to Munsusan Observatory

After passing the fourth section of wooden stairs, you reach the observatory. There are many wooden stair sections along the way to the observatory. The sections without wooden stairs are not very steep.

After walking a few meters from the observatory, there is a sign. According to the sign, there are 800 meters remaining to the summit. Because it was cold and physically demanding, I decided to give up on reaching the summit and turned back, descending via the observatory.

After the first section of wooden stairs, a sign appears indicating that 1.6 kilometers remain to the summit.

There is a spot that looks like the summit. It is not the actual summit.

Start of the fourth section of wooden stairs

Ganghwa Bridge as seen from Munsusan Observatory (close-up shot)

A sign visible a few meters from the observatory

Turning back toward the observatory to descend

A helicopter circled overhead. The reason is unknown.
Try to spot the helicopter.

Location of Munsusan Observatory

Gimpo Munsusan Observatory does not appear on Naver Maps, but on KakaoMap it is listed as “Gimpo Munsusanseong Observatory.” On KakaoMap, there is a difference of a few meters between the current location and the marked location of “Gimpo Munsusanseong Observatory.”

North Gate of Munsusanseong Fortress

After descending, I drove to a location marked as “Munsusanseong” on Naver Maps. Later, I found out that this place is actually the North Gate of Munsusanseong Fortress.

There is no separate parking lot. There is only a small space in front of the North Gate where a few cars can park.

Outside the North Gate of Munsusanseong Fortress

Left side outside the North Gate of Munsusanseong Fortress

Inside the North Gate of Munsusanseong Fortress

On top of the North Gate of Munsusanseong Fortress

Places to Visit Near Munsusan Fortress North Gate

Munsusan Fortress North Gate is located approximately 6 km in a straight line from Starbucks Gimpo Aegibong Ecological Park Branch.

Below is the link to my visit review of Aegibong Peace Ecological Park in Gimpo.

A Winter Visit to Aegibong Peace Ecological Park in Gimpo – Entry Process & Starbucks Siren Order

History of Munsusanseong Fortress

Munsusanseong Fortress was built in 1694, during the Joseon Dynasty.
It is historically significant because battles took place there between Korean forces and French troops during the French Campaign against Korea in 1866 (Byeongin Yangyo).
On August 29, 1964, it was designated as Historic Site No. 139.
In 1995, the restoration of the North Gate of Munsusanseong was completed. As a result, the stones appear uniform in size and neatly stacked.