Sketching through the haze from the Namsan Mountain

When exploring the orography of a city, climbing the Namsan Mountain is a must. Leaving the city suspended in a cable car and seeing the tops of high-rise apartment blocks at eye level offers a very different perspective. No longer dwarfed by the dense ‘Trump towers’, the domination of Seoul’s mountains is truly realised.

Beyond the ‘lovers locks’, revolving restaurant and teddy bear museum are some of the best views of the city. The Namsan is one of the more modest mountains in Seoul reaching only 237.6 meters in height, but its location in the middle of the city sets it aside from the peripheral mountains. The hazy day meant views weren’t the clearest but at least this meant there was some relief from the hundreds tourists who flock to this popular spot.

Sprawling cities spilling into the landscape and around the mountains seems almost infinite. As nightfall came, Seoul lit up boasting at least five giant television screens in each direction. Hundreds of snaking headlights crawling towards the Hangang and out of the centre as commuters made their way home weaving around the mountains.

Top left-right: Eroding the landscape, Through and beyond, To the Hangang, Tall buildings

Bottom left-right: Along the horizon, Another tower, Up to the summit, Light in the dark

My sketches are an attempt to draw simply what I saw, without preconceived ideas of how the city should move around the mountains. On reflection though, it seems the city is eroding the landscape but can it only eat away at it so far?

An excerpt from ‘Nature Inverted’ by Kim Seon-ah:

‘Colossal elements [of the landscape] remain unchanged, suffering no damage. [Human intervention] is no more than a scrap on the surface. Rather than conquer it, the city works its way around the obstacle, surrounds it and moves on.’