Geomdansan, the most beloved mountain of Hanam

With the arrival of spring, The SeoulTech presents Hanam City, a city located in Gyeonggi province that is worth a visit! While Hanam is famous for the Starfield shopping center, it boasts various tourist attractions and more intriguing features. Now, let’s explore this topic further.

 

Starfield Hanam

As of 2025, Starfield Hanam is the largest shopping mall in Korea, with an average of 1.5 million visitors annually as of 2023. The biggest advantage of Starfield is that it is entirely indoors, so you can enjoy every activity regardless of weather conditions, and experience shopping, food, entertainment, and relaxation all in one space. There are hundreds of stores to choose from, including EATOPIA on the third floor, where you can find a variety of restaurants, Youngpoong Bookstore, where you can find books and stationery, Smob (Sports Monster), where you can experience various activities indoors (admission fee required), Toy Kingdom, where you can find a variety of toys.

 

Aquafield Hanam

Starfield also has a water park—Aquafield. The park is organized on the concept of “feeling and healing,” and thus includes healing facilities both indoors and outdoors. It features various facilities, such as indoor water park, outdoor water park, lazy river, jjimjil spa, and jjimjilbang. There is cafeteria where you can enjoy snacks and food!

 

Hanam Geomdansan

Geomdansan, whose height is 657 meters, is the most beloved mountain in Hanam. It is easily accessible from Seoul, and has a panoramic view of the surrounding area, including the Hangang River and Paldang Dam. Geomdansan is a mountain with high historical value as it was a natural boundary protecting Baekje Wiryeseong Fortress, which is currently estimated to be Pungnap-Dong Toseong Fortress. It was the capital of Baekje, and sacrifices to the heavens were once performed there. There are theories that the name originated from the residence of a Taoist monk named Geomdanseonsa during the reign of King Wideok, and that its name originated from the inspection and control of goods entering Hanyang from all over the country using the Hangang River. There are several hiking trails on the mountain, including the Geomdansan Mountain Yugilijun Myo Trail (3.5km, 1 hour and 50 minutes) and Geomdansan Mountain Memorial Tower Trail (4.2km, 2 hours). Both trails are easily accessible from Hanam Geomdansan Station on Subway Line 5. At the summit of Geomdansan, there is a large open space from which you can look down on the Paldang Dam, the Yangsuri area, and the confluence of the North and South rivers. There are also views of Yebongsan Mountain, Ungilsan Mountain, Dobongsan Mountain, and Bukhansan Mountain. In autumn, many pampas grasses grow on the summit and ridges, making it a very beautiful mountain with a panoramic view.

 

MISA Boat Race Park

MISA Boat Race Park was built in 1986 for rowing and canoeing competitions during the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The 351-acre rowing facility is now a space for citizens, including a rowing stadium, parks, walking trails, hiking trails, and playgrounds. You can watch motorboat racing competitions held every Wednesday and Thursday, or rent a bike and enjoy a 5km bike ride around the lake surrounding the stadium. In spring, MISA Boat Race Park is a favorite spot for ‘double’ cherry blossoms near Seoul. The ‘double’ cherry blossoms are cherry blossoms with multiple petals, and unlike the common cherry blossoms, they have deep colors such as white, light pink, deep pink, jade, and red. The blooming season starts in early to mid-April and lasts until early May, so it is a good option for students who missed cherry blossom viewing due to midterm exams. Biking or hiking are good ways to enjoy the lake and cherry blossoms.

 

Nature-Friendly City

There are many places in Hanam where you can interact with animals. Misari Riding Club stables in Hanam offer everything from horseback riding experiences (for a fee) to specialized classes and clubs. There are two indoor zoos in Hanam, Zoorarium and ZoolungZoolung. ZoolungZoolung Hanam covers an area of over 1,000 square meters and houses 120 animals, including meerkats, capybaras, raccoons, and desert foxes. The zoo features low enclosures where visitors can roam freely and interact with the animals. The exhibits are organized into various themes such as Wind Hill, Valley of Stars, Red Gorge, Echo Hill, and Old Valley, and you can meet and interact with different animals according to each theme. In addition, there are various experience programs such as Animal Talk, where you can interact with the animals and the zookeepers, as well as animal snack interaction time. There is also a special guests program where you can learn about the natural features of the animals with the zookeepers. You can check the timetable of the activities on the website. Zoorarium Hanam is smaller in size compared to ZoolungZoolung, but it also has a variety of animals such as coatis, meerkats. The biggest difference between ZoolungZoolung and Zoorarium is that at the latter, you can feed all the animals by purchasing a feeding coupon.

As you can see, Hanam is a playground full of things to see, activities to do, and nature to enjoy, especially in the spring when the donarium cherry blossoms and flowers are in bloom. How about visiting Hanam this weekend? You can reach Hanam in less than an hour on the subway by transferring to Gunja Station on Line 5 and taking the Hanam Geomdansan Line.

 

Reporters

Myungjae Lee

swk08085@seoultech.ac.kr

Somin Hong

hongsomin@seoultech.ac.kr