Screen Album - The Mountain. Photo by KBS.
Gyeryongsan National Park is one of Chungcheongnam-do’s defining mountain landscapes, where sharply rising granite peaks cut through softer surrounding hills to form dramatic ridgelines.
Its name comes from the image of a dragon wearing a rooster’s crest, and the mountain reflects that image well. The flow of the ridges feels graceful, yet fractured rock formations appear throughout the terrain, creating scenery filled with tension and movement. Long regarded as a site of strong geomantic energy, Gyeryongsan was once even discussed as a possible capital location during the Joseon era, giving the mountain both natural and historical symbolism.
Screen Album - The Mountain. Photo by KBS.
The May 17 episode of KBS2’s Screen Album - The Mountain follows popera singer Choi Hye-yoon and vocalist Ahn Se-kwon on a special spring trek where music, breath, and landscape gradually merge together.
The two connect the breathing rhythms developed through musical performance with the rhythm of walking itself, absorbing the sounds of valleys and ridgelines as part of the climb.
The journey begins at Gongsanseong Fortress. Running alongside the Geum River, the fortress walls were constructed using the surrounding terrain itself, allowing the structure to blend naturally into the landscape rather than separate from it.
Walking along the walls, the contrast between wind slipping through the stones and the modern cityscape of Gongju across the river becomes striking. Simply standing atop the ancient fortress creates a quiet overlap between the time of Baekje and the present day.
The route then continues toward Donghaksa Temple. Resting beside a mountain stream, the temple functions almost like a place of preparation before the ascent begins. The sound of water and the atmosphere of the forest naturally ease tension, creating a calm transition before the climb ahead.
Screen Album - The Mountain. Photo by KBS.
Once the trail fully enters the mountain, the forest thickens and the terrain gradually shifts from soil to exposed stone, revealing the mountain’s harsher character.
The section leading toward Nammaetap carries layers of legend and folklore, creating a distinctive atmosphere where landscape and story overlap. Though breathing becomes heavier here, the surrounding forest and birdsong sharpen awareness rather than dull it.
Further ahead, the Jayeonseongneung ridge reveals Gyeryongsan’s most dramatic topography. The path runs narrowly between steep rock faces dropping sharply on both sides, making the experience feel less like ordinary hiking and more like physically tracing the spine of the mountain itself.
Standing on the ridge, the view opens completely. Mountain ranges overlap endlessly in the distance, while even the direction of the wind becomes sharply perceptible.
Screen Album - The Mountain. Photo by KBS.
At the final destination, Gwaneumbong Peak, the entire mountain unfolds like a three-dimensional map. Granite peaks, forests, and ridgelines connect into one continuous flow while the air of spring drifts slowly across them.
The fatigue of the climb gradually dissolves into the scenery itself, leaving movement not simply as effort, but as experience. The descent then continues toward Sinwonsa Temple, quietly bringing the journey to a close.
Reported by News Culture M.J._mj94070777@nc.press
* This article was manually prepared as a translated piece and later proofread and reviewed with the assistance of AI.
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