Namsan

Same Saturday. Samseongsan at sunrise, and at 2:55 p.m. I was climbing again, this time in the middle of the city. Namsan is the mountain every Korean can sing — ‘the pine on Namsan’ opens the second verse of the national anthem — and it’s easy to forget it’s a real mountain until your legs remind you.

In the Joseon era it was called Mongmyeoksan, and the kingdom’s beacon-fire lines ended here: smoke by day, fire by night, relaying word from the borders to the capital. Today the signal on top is N Seoul Tower, standing over the octagonal pavilion.

From the summit the city runs north to the granite peaks on the horizon. Two mountains in one day. I’m aware this isn’t normal.