How to Visit the Hwangnyeongsan Mountain Observatory in Busan

Hwangnyeongsan Mountain Observatory in Busan is a hidden gem that’s not known to most first time visitors. This post will tell you everything about how to go to the Hwangnyeongsan Mountain Observatory if you don’t have a car.

When I was planning my Busan itinerary, I came across this Tiktok video of someone walking down a boardwalk looking area with an amazing view of the city during sunset. The whole scene looks like it came out of a movie and from that moment, I knew that was a place I wanted to go.

However, the problem was that I had never seen that from any Busan blogs I was reading, so I knew it must be somewhere out of the way and in the mountains. After researching a little more, I found out the name of the observatory and its location, but it was very unclear to me how to get there, and more importantly, how to get back.

The only articles I came across that sort of explained how to get back after dark was from a Chinese blog, but even then it wasn’t very clear. For this particular reason, we decided to visit in the morning so we wouldn’t be lost in the dark.

Now that we had a successful visit to the the Hwangnyeongsan Mountain Observatory, I am here to share our experience to help those who are planning a visit up to this beautiful spot.

Where is Hwangnyeongsan Mountain Observatory

Hwangnyeongsan Mountain Observatory is on top of Hwangnyeongsan Mountain in the center of Busan. It is east of the popular neighborhood of Seomyeon and west of the modern Haeundae Beach.

Since Hwangnyeongsan Mountain is a popular area for hiking, many locals hike up to this observation deck area, so it is not a desolate area by any means. For those who don’t want to hike, it is also an easy drive up the mountain.

How to get to Hwangnyeongsan Mountain Observatory

There are 3 main ways for someone to get to Hwangnyeongsan Mountain observatory:

• Hiking up
• Taking a bus then hike
• Taking a taxi up

Hiking up Hwangnyeongsan Mountain Observatory

Many locals, especially the elderly, hike up Hwangnyeongsan Mountain to exercise. I personally did not hike up, so I don’t have specific details on the hike. However, when we were there, I saw a picture of the hiking course at Hwangnyeongsan Mountain.

There seems to be 2 routes to the observatory:

• From Kyungsung University (2.4km, 50 minutes one way)
• From Busan Hyenam Special School (2km, 40 minutes one way)

There are two other hiking routes that are longer and can coincide with the two routes above to visit the observatory. You can see all the routes on the map below.

Taking public buses to Hwangnyeongsan Mountain Observatory

If you are on a budget, then the cheapest way is to take local buses and then hike up. Depending on where you are coming from, you may need to change buses once or twice, but eventually you will want to be on the bus to Mulmangol Village.

Once you get off the bus at Mulmangol Village, you will have to walk uphill (some pretty steep part) for about 35-40 minutes until you see the parking lot. So in total it will take you 1 hour to 2 hours to get to the parking lot area if you take public transit (again, depending on where you are coming from).

From the parking lot, it is another 10-15 minutes to walk up the forested path (some stairs involved) until you reach one of the observation areas (there are 2, but the one you are looking for is further).

If you are wondering how to get bus directions to Hwangnyeongsan Mountain Observatory, use Naver Map (or Kakao Map), and type in 황령산 봉수대 to look for directions.

Below are screenshots of example directions from the BIFF area in Busan to Hwangnyeongsan Mountain Observatory. As you can see, it can take quite a long time by taking buses and walking.

Taking a Taxi to Hwangnyeongsan Mountain Observatory

Taking a taxi is the easiest and fastest way to reach Hwangnyeongsan Mountain. We used Uber to get local taxis when we were in Busan. We stayed at the Stanford Hotel Busan near BIFF square, and our Uber took about 30 minutes and cost 16000 Won to get to the parking lot

From the parking lot, we simply walked up 10 minutes to the observation deck area.

What is there to do at Hwangnyeongsan Mountain Observatory

As the name implies, there is an open air observation deck at Hwangnyeongsan Mountain, but that’s not all there is.

From the parking lot, we walked on the forested path for about 10 minutes towards the observation deck. Some part of the trail is just dirt, whereas other parts involved a bit of wooden stairs.

During the climb there were signs in Korean pointing to different directions, we simply just followed the stairs up until we saw a glass observation area with a view of the ocean (photo above). You can stop here for a quick photo if you want.

You will soon walk by the beacon mound, where you can climb up and have a higher vantage point of the city. There is also an indoor cafe with glasses all around it, so you can enjoy a drink and cakes while enjoying the view.

Personally I came here for the actual observation deck area first. The area has a few swing looking chairs that allow you to sit there and relax while enjoying the view.

We came super early to avoid people since we love taking shots without people in them, but you can visit at any time of the day. Night time is particularly popular as Busan is all lit up, and it is the perfect place for a romantic date on a summer night.

Besides the viewpoints on the mountain top, we also saw some exercise machines (the outdoor kind) down near the parking lot. This is for the elderly to exercise when they are up here.

How to get back down from Hwangnyeongsan Mountain Observatory

It is actually pretty easy to get a taxi to go up to Hwangnyeongsan Mountain Observatory, since you will most likely be coming from one of the touristy areas in Busan.

However, leaving Hwangnyeongsan Mountain Observatory is a whole other story. I had suspected that there probably was no taxis just waiting up at the mountain since most locals do drive up with their own cars, and I was proven right.

When we visited in the morning, after getting back down from the observatory to the parking lot of where we were dropped off, we could not get a taxi. There were simply no cars available and nobody would pick up our request.

I sort of knew this was gonna happen, and figured the next best thing to do is to walk down to either a bus stop or a more populated area to get a taxi.

Looking at the map of the area, we found that the closest bus stop was Mulmangol Village (just like I mentioned above), so we figured if there is a bus stop, there might be taxis around. Since it was during the day, we just followed the map and walked down the road to Mulmangol Village.

This is how I realized how steep the hill can be at times. After walking about 20-25 minutes (uphill would take longer), we finally reached Mulmangol Village, a small culture village at the foothill of the mountain.

From there, we were able to get a taxi (and still waited 15 minutes) to take us to our next attraction in Busan. I am super glad we didn’t visit for sunset, because I probably would’ve stressed out way more trying to find our way in the dark.

Best time to visit Hwangnyeongsan Mountain Observatory

Sunset is the most popular time to visit Hwangnyeongsan Mountain Observatory, as you can get day time, golden hour and night view all at once. But it is also the most crowded time as all the couples and photographers go up there around this time.

Night time is also nice to visit to get the beautiful night view with the lights in the background. But I would only recommend visiting at night if you have your own car.

If you are a tourist, then it’s better to visit early morning. This way you can get the place to yourself, have no issues getting a taxi/ bus and have a nice view! We went around 7:30am and it was a good experience.

Is Hwangnyeongsan Mountain Observation Deck Worth It?

Absolutely! I thought Hwangnyeongsan Mountain Observatory was totally worth the trek up, no matter what time of the day (unless it’s foggy). The view is absolutely gorgeous and it is the perfect place to visit if you want a nice view of Busan (or want a romantic date or simply a photoshoot).

I understand that most first timers in Busan probably think it’s too out of the way, but I can guarantee you this hidden gem is popular among locals for a reason. If you absolutely want to visit at night but don’t want to deal with having to walk down in the dark, then I would recommend this night photoshoot tour where a local guide will personally take you up there (among other nice places in Busan).