'Namyangju' engraved in Unho typeface developed by city and local temple
Namyangju has completed the installation of new summit markers bearing the city's name on Suraksan and Buramsan, the city announced Friday.
The replacement markers were installed to clearly identify the summit locations of both mountains and to raise awareness of them as mountain resources belonging to Namyangju, strengthening the city's identity and symbolic presence.
Suraksan straddles Namyangju, Seoul's Nowon-gu and Uijeongbu, while Buramsan spans Namyangju and Nowon-gu — but the summits of both mountains fall within Namyangju's jurisdiction. Despite this, the two peaks have long been perceived as Seoul mountains, leaving their status as Namyangju assets relatively underrecognized.
In response, the city pursued the marker replacement in conjunction with its 2026 Suraksan Forest Trail Maintenance Project.
The new markers were designed to address the deterioration and small size of the previous ones, with a focus on clearly displaying the Namyangju name.
The Suraksan marker measures 700×1,050×280 millimeters and the Buramsan marker 600×1,050×250 millimeters, each crafted with a stone base. The name "Namyangju" is carved into both in intaglio using the Namyangju Unho typeface.
The Namyangju Unho typeface was jointly developed by the city and Bongseonsa Temple, based on the handwriting of the Buddhist monk Unho. He participated in the anti-Japanese independence movement in his youth and compiled the country's first Korean-language Buddhist dictionary, dedicating himself to the advancement of the Korean language and hangul.
The city said incorporating a typeface rooted in the region's historical and cultural heritage was intended to deepen Namyangju's identity and symbolic character through the markers.
"Suraksan and Buramsan are precious mountain resources whose summits lie within Namyangju," said Jang Jong-gi, head of the recreation facility management division. "We will continue to develop forest recreation spaces so that more people come to know Namyangju's mountain assets and can experience nature, history and culture together."
Meanwhile, the city had requested corrections after some portal sites listed the summits of both mountains as being located in Seoul's Nowon-gu. The information was updated in May, and the summit of Suraksan is now listed as Byeollae-myeon, Namyangju, while Buramsan's summit is listed as Byeollae-dong, Namyangju.
pjh@heraldcorp.com
