Mungyeong Saejae () is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

in central

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. It lies on Joryeong Mountain between the main peak (1017 m) and Sinseon Peak (967 m). The pass itself rises to above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. Mungyeong Saejae connects

Mungyeong Mungyeong (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The local government, economy, and transportation networks are all centered in Jeomchon, the principal town. Mungyeong has a lengthy his ...

City,

North Gyeongsang North Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in eastern South Korea, and with an area of , it is the largest province in the Korean peninsula. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remaine ...

province with

Goesan County Goesan County () is a county in North Chungcheong Province, South Korea. Demographics As of 2021, Goesan-gun has a population of about 40,000 people. The area has been affected strongly by the graying of the South Korean population, and more th ...

North Chungcheong North Chungcheong Province (), also known as Chungbuk, is a province of South Korea. North Chungcheong has a population of 1,578,934 (2014) and has a geographic area of located in the Hoseo region on the south-centre of the Korean Peninsula. Nor ...

province. Water flowing down from the Mungyeong side of the pass eventually flows into the

Nakdong River The Nakdong River or Nakdonggang (, ) is the longest river in South Korea, which passes through the major cities of Daegu and Busan. It takes its name from its role as the eastern border of the Gaya confederacy during Three Kingdoms of Korea, Kor ...

and meets the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

. Runoff from the Goesan side eventually flows into the Han River, which passes through Seoul to meet the

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea, also known as the North Sea, is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. Names It is one of four ...

Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

. The pass is also known by the name Joryeong (). Both names literally mean "bird pass," and probably signify "a pass so high that even

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s find the crossing difficult." The pass is renowned as the only place where the old

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

between

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

and

, the

Great Yeongnam Road The Great Yeongnam Road (), was one of the principal roads of Korea during the Joseon period (1392–1910). It ran between Hanseong (modern-day Seoul) and Dongnae (in modern-day Busan). More generally, it served to connect the Gyeongsang provinc ...

, still looks like it did in the

Joseon Dynasty Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

. On June 4, 1981, the area around the Mungyeong side of the pass was declared Mungyeong Saejae Provincial Park, which is now a significant tourist attraction. In addition to the pass and the surrounding scenery, the park boasts a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

and tourist hotel, along with a small village of businesses catering to the tourist trade. During the Joseon period, Mungyeong Saejae played an important role as the gateway in and out of the

Gyeongsang Gyeongsang Province (; ) was one of the Eight Provinces of Joseon Korea. Gyeongsang was located in southeastern Korea. The provincial capital of Gyeongsang was Daegu. The region was the birthplace of the kingdom of Silla, which unified Korea in ...

province. Scholars, traders and government officials from Gyeongsang had to go through the pass when going to or from Seoul. Three great gates which maintained control over the pass during that time still stand, although the only people who go through them now are

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. Mungyeong Saejae is the subject of at least one traditional Korean folksong in the ''

arirang ''Arirang'' ( ) is a Korean folk song. There are about 3,600 variations of 60 different versions of the song, all of which include a refrain similar to "arirang, arirang, arariyo" (""). It is estimated that the song is more than 600 years old ...

'' style.

Images

Korean Gate Painting (177043047).jpeg, Ceiling of the second gate Mungyeong_Saejae_Second_Gate_2.JPG, Second gate Saejae_Bubong.jpg, Joryeongsan, from Mungyeong Saejae

References

Mungyeong Special Tourist Zone(문경 관광특구) https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/ATR/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=1963068 Mungyeongsaejae Provincial Park (문경새재도립공원) https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/ATR/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264143 Mungyeongsaejae Open Set (문경새재 오픈세트장) https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/ATR/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=2481599

External links

* * {{coord, 36, 46, 01, N, 128, 04, 27, E, type:landmark_source:kolossus-kowiki, display=title Mountain passes of South Korea Landforms of North Gyeongsang Province Landforms of North Chungcheong Province Mungyeong Scenic Sites of South Korea

Images

See also

References

External links