Starting point: Sanghyeon Maeul Geumjong-gu (상현마을금정구)
Closest bus stop: Seondong Sanghyeon Village (선동상현마을)
Middle point: Cheolmagyo Bridge (철마교)
End point: Igok Village (이곡마을)
Closest bus stop: Igok (이곡)
Total distance: 9 kilometers
Total time: 2 hours
Difficulty: Easy
The trail starts off at the scenic Sanghyeon Village, and is also the meeting point for three separate Galmaetgil trails: 7.2, 8.1, and today’s star: 9.1.
After visiting the stamp booth and getting the stamp for 9.1, you can find public restrooms to the right of the sign. On this trail, there’s three easily accessible restrooms (but one is not always open), so I would highly suggest using the facilities here.
The area around here is beautiful, and you can look out at the Hoedong Reservoir, but trail 8.1 will take you around the reservoir itself, so that will be its own story. Once you get back out to the bus stop/information board, you’ll follow the red arrows/pink arrows to find path 9.1. After crossing the Seondonggyo bridge, your trail will begin to deviate from the other two paths.
Any time you come up to one of these information trees, you’ll want to head towards 철마교/ Cheolma Bridge.
Cherry blossoms were still in bloom around this area, and I passed plenty of bikers/hikers who were stopping to take pictures. About 1.5 kilometers into the trail, you’ll pass the Nurigyo Bridge. When opened, you can walk across the bridge across the reservoir. This bridge is closed in inclement weather, which explains why I missed it the first time I tried this path.
One issue that might come up in walking these trails is construction. Luckily, even with the ongoing construction, there’s usually a small indicator of where the path leads to next. Here, you can see there’s a pillar left up with the red arrow pointing to the direction that you are supposed to take. I would suggest being more careful in these construction areas, as cars will usually only have one lane to travel down, and drivers tend to speed here.
Another 1.5 kilometers in, you’ll reach the Busan Healing Forest. This is located next to the Busan National University Experimental Forest as well (but this one was not open when I was walking the trail.) Here you can find a quiet little area with lots of areas to rest and sit. There’s even a small case where you can grab a book and read (all in Korean). There’s also a restroom here that is open from 8:30 to 5:30 in the afternoon. Note that in inclement weather, this forest area might not be open.
After another two kilometers or so, you’ll hit the Cheolma area, which is known for Korean beef, otherwise known as 한우. This countryside area is filled with small houses, colorful murals, and fields that stretch as far as one can see. You can also find some cute snail signage around here.
Here you’ll also reach the midpoint stamp checkpoint. Look past the giant cow mural on the bathrooms, and you’ll see a small pagoda for resting as well as a public exercise area. (Note, there are many of these little exercise areas dotted throughout the trails, and it’s a great place to interact with elderly grandmas and grandpas who are usually interested in why a foreigner is in a random area). Also, this is the last public restroom for a while, so I would highly suggest freshening up here!
Instead of walking across the bridge, follow the red arrows and cross the road. Follow the snail sign and head down the path.
After another two kilometers or so, you’ll come to this information sign, denoting two available paths. One is the original Galmaetgi path (denoted in red), and the other path just follows the main road (denoted in black). The original one with the Galmaetgil signage is a much more scenic route, however, if the weather is rainy, I would highly suggest taking the shortcut and just walking along the main road, since part of the path will be cut off. If the weather is nice, then take the Igok bridge and follow the trail.
My favorite part of this trail the first time I walked it in September 2023, was an interaction I had with an old grandpa. That day, it had been raining quite heavily, and there’s a portion in this longer path that requires crossing an area that floods easily. While I was standing at the sign (that very clearly says NO WALKING WHEN THE RIVER FLOODS), and internally debating just how ignoring it could be, an old grandpa popped up out of nowhere. He gestured for me to follow him, and pointed out a smaller ladder further down the fields that could cross the river path safely. Then he just gave me a thumbs up and said “화이팅!” before plodding back to his little area of farmland. Looking back at this area now, I still think I could have made it across.
After these detours, walkarounds, and misadventures, you should reach the end of Galmaetgil 9.1. If you would like to end your hike here, there is a bus stop with a village bus (Igok-이곡) . My total time this go around was 1:46:17, and I walked a total of 9.32 miles.
In this area, across from the bus stop/end point, there is a small restaurant named Sigeol Bapsang (시골밥상) that has a delicious beef tartare bibimbap (육회비빔밥) for a great price of 10,000 won. The food came out pretty quickly, and the side dishes were delicious as well. If you plan on doing Galmaetgil 9.2, I would suggest this place for a quick bite to eat and rest (and restroom break), before heading into the woods and mountains of Gijang.
And with that, Galmaetgil 9.1 has come to end. See you next time for another trail leading to somewhere exciting!
