A quiet sport climbing crag is hidden in the town of Uiwang near Anyang south of Seoul. It is a small rock with 12 routes, and features climbing best suited for beginners or those looking for chill climbs. It is located about a 10 minute walk behind the Uiwang City Hall on the mountain of Obongsan.
The 12 routes are graded between from 5.7 to 5.11b. I will note there are only three routes graded higher than 5.9 so if you are looking for a challenge in the 5.11’s or 12’s, then you may want to look elsewhere. Most routes have 2-3 bolts and solid anchors. Some of the harder routes have fixed draws on the wall. However there is at least one route with no bolts, but places for trad gear if you are so inclined. It does have quite a few crack systems, so it could be a good place to go and practice some trad placements while safely on a sport climb.
The anchors are a mix between solid fixed rings or links and clips. Be sure to go over how to untie and set up a rope through a fixed ring before leading the routes, so that all climbers and belayers are on the same page. There is also a possibility of scrambling up the backside of the wall and dropping a top rope down that way if you didn’t want to have people leading. Also it’s a great spot to capture pictures of climbers from above – just use common sense and be safe about it!
This crag is located directly on a well-worn mountain trail and right behind some stationary exercise equipment. Many people walk the path and so you’ll have plenty of people stopping to watch you climb – especially on the nice weather days! There are benches you can use to put gear and bags on or to sit and relax. Remember to pack all trash and food in and out as there are no public garbage cans until back at the parking lot of City Hall. There are also public bathrooms and a water filling station down at the parking lot.
While there are many hikers on the trail, it’s not often busy with climbers. This makes it a fantastic place to go if you are still learning to climb outside and want easily accessible and achievable climbs to practice on. However you’ll want to check the bolts, hangars, and anchors when you climb as it may have been awhile since the gear was checked or maintained. This also means there may be quite a bit of dirt, spiderwebs, and general choss on the holds and routes that will need to be cleaned as you climb.
Gear to bring: rope (40m is fine), 8 quickdraws, harness, shoes, belay device, and helmet.
Location:
Obongsan Folding Screen Rock, Kocheon-dong, Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi-do
오봉산 병풍바위, 고천동 의왕시 경기도
Closest Public Transportation Stop: Uiwang City Hall Bus Stop – 의왕시청
Bus Numbers: 1-1 1-2 10 52 05-1 08