Before It Was a Scenic Trail, This Was a Cemetery

Mangwoo-ri Park is a pleasant walking trail today, but it began as a cemetery designated by Japan's colonial administration of Seoul (then called Gyeongseong). The repeated renaming of this place, in an attempt to erase that identity, is the park's real story.

Key takeaways

First-time visitors to Mangwoo-ri Park notice its pleasant "Contemplation Trail" and autumn foliage before anything else. But this hillside was designated a public cemetery by Japan's colonial administration of Gyeongseong (colonial-era Seoul) in 1933, and it kept absorbing the dead until it reached capacity in 1973 with roughly 28,500 graves. Fact Because the word "cemetery" carried an unwelcome stigma, the site was renamed "Mangwoo Cemetery Park" in 1977, then "Mangwoo-ri Park" in 1998, and more recently renamed again as "Mangwoo Historical & Cultural Park." Fact

FIT TRIP reads this park as a place of death that kept changing its own name to try to erase a stigma. As you walk, notice what got emphasized and what got erased with each new name.

What the postcard image misses

"A great walking trail" and "a foliage spot" only show half this place's story. FIT TRIP asks the sharper question: why did this cemetery need to change its name so many times? The answer isn't the scenery — it's the tension between the stigma of being labeled a "cemetery" and the historical weight of the people resting inside it.

✅ Before you go

This is still an active cemetery with real graves — visit quietly and respectfully
Some sections are mountain trail, so wear comfortable walking shoes
Check a map in advance if you're looking for a specific grave
Traditional grave-visiting holidays (Hansik in early April, and Chuseok in autumn) bring more visitors and vehicles

FAQ

Q: Can bodies still be buried here today?

A: No. Burials were banned starting in 1973. Fact

Q: Why has the name changed so many times?

A: To reduce the stigma carried by the word "cemetery." Fact