Yeoninsan Mountain

 The origin of Lover's Mountain:

        There is a mountain located in the middle of Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi province. It is said that if you climb this mountain and hope that your love will come true, love will come true.

        Once upon a time, a young man named Gilsu was living near lover’s Mountain, selling charcoal in winter. However, no one knew where this young man came from or who he was. There was a girl whom Gil-soo loved. She is Sojeong, she lived at a rich gentry’s(양반) house as a maid. Sojeong was not originally a maid, but her parents borrowed rice during the famine. As a result, she became a maid at the gentry's house..

        Gil-soo met So-jeong three or four times a year when he brought charcoal, and when he found out that they were in a lonely situation, feelings of love began to sprout little by little. Once, Gil-soo fell on a snowy road while bringing charcoal, and he was treated for the wound at the gentry's house.

        After lying down for 10 days, Gil-soo decides to marry So-jeong no matter what he does, and tells the gentry that he wants to marry So-jeong. Then, the gentry says he will give So-Jeong, if he brings 100 bags of millet or hand over a charcoal kiln. Gil-soo, who was worried about giving up his place of life, eventually made a promise that he would bring 100 bags of millet. However, Gil-soo, who had nothing, had no way to prepare a hundred bags of millet.

        Gil-soo, who was agonizing, accidentally finds out that there is a large field where he can plant millet seeds just below the summit of Lover’s Mountain. Gil-su, excited with joy, plant and take care millet to grow day and night. Gil-soo's millet grows well, and as the years begin to ripen, Gil-soo and Sojeong’s dreams ripen together, they swell with the hope that they can live together. However, the gentry, who had no intention of giving Sojeong from the beginning, framed Gil-soo as a run-away son of a traitor.

        Gil-soo, who managed to escape from the arrest, visited secretly So-jeong. However, he found out that So-jeong lost hope and gave up the rest of her life on the rumors that Gil-soo was arrested and persecuted. Gil-soo returned with So-jeong's cold body, set fire the millet field and runs into it, burning with millet which was his hope. The next morning, when the villagers went up, the two of bodies were gone but strangely only two pairs of shoes that Gil-soo prepared for wedding, and azaleas and violet flowers remained intact around the field.

        Lover’s mountain was a nameless mountain, but on March 15. 1999. Gapyeong County chose the name based on the local legend, It was named as Lover’s Mountain(연인산) ever since.

After learning about this glorious past, I prepared to hike to Yeoninsan Mountain, also known as Lover's Mountain. One of the mountains with a height of more than 1000 metres is Lover's Mountain (1068 m). The hike took roughly three hours. Because there is no established path and the peak is steep, I found this mountain to be just as difficult as Taebaek. I frequently felt tiered because the mountain climbed steeply throughout the entire walk. However, the snow covered mountain pushed me to the top to see its gorgeous view. There weren't many people around. The tranquilly that surrounded the mountain enhanced its charm.