As Mt. Seolak, Mt. Jiri are mentioned as celebrated mountains of Korea, Mt. Geumjeong is told as a guide mountain of Busan district. Every mountain has its own beauty and special features. Mt. Geumjeong has also the unique beauty and authentic features, too. The features includes the natural scenery of Mt. Geumjeong, mountain fortress, temples and legends grown up around the mountain. It is no exaggeration to say that it is a natural and cultural museum. There coexist historical and cultural heritages with harmony in it.
I can summarize the features of the mountain as followings as;
First, the grand figure of mountain produced by winds and snow falls for a long period of time as a natural heritage shows the pictures of nature which are full of endless change and various beauty. The overwhelming beauty produced the reputation of "small golden river". And the biggest fortress in Korea, Geumjeongsanseung (Geumjeong Mt. Fortress) is located in the mountain as a historial heritage. It has a magnificent appearance and reminds us of the spirit of our ancestors for defending our country. The harmony of the nature and artificial works composes the unique beauty of scenery of the mountain.
Second, there are various legends and folk tales that has grown up around twelve peaks, including the main peak, Godangbong and budddist images as cultural heritages. These stories contains the sentiments and ideas of our ancestors. They are various in kinds and are full of suggestions on local spiritual culture. In addition to it, an old temple with a thousand years of history, Beomeosa is located in the area. It is a holy place of the temple culture which has contained the weight of the history and it has shone the light of spiritual salvation to mankind for more than a thousand years.
This mountain has grand natural sceneries which are a product of the long period of time since the prehistoric age, Geumjeongsanseung (Geumjeong Mt. Fortress) which is a historical proof of living spirits of defending the country, the magnificent landscapes of the ancient Buddhist temple which has bloomed the Buddhist culture for a thousand years, and mysterious legends around them. It has been contained the authentic historical and cultural meaning to residents of Busan. It leaves nothing to be desired to be a symbol of spirit of Busan citizens and love for Busan.
Therefore, I observed the landscapes of the nature, fortress, and the old temple and the legends and contemplated them and tried to find new pictorial beauty inherent in the images based on the two perspectives mentioned in the above. And I tried to find transforming scenes of the nature by human beings in the era of development and modern change and its permanent archetypes of the nature.
The methods used for the photographical expression for the above mentioned purposes, new color pictures and new Topographics are used in a representational sense. I pursued expressing images of contemplating and psychological landscape pictures according to the oriental perspective on the nature which seeks after the harmony of life of nature, a happy dispensation of nature and spiritual world of human beings in the sense of image..
By adapting new color pictures, I tried to express the images of the colors and lights in nature, historical identity and spirits of our ancestors for saving the country in Geumjeongsanseung (Geumjeong Mt. Fortress), and Buddhist culture in the landscapes of the temple, sentiments and ideas of our ancestors in the legends. I adopt the new topographics and found the negative scenes of nature deformed by humans. However, I showed the beauty of nature which keeps the original form by its strong hold on life. I also tried to express the order of nature and its healthy life force by focusing hardly noticed images before even if they have been there all times.
Thru this study and pictures, I, researcher of this study has made the imageries on natural landscapes, mountain fortress wall, temples and various legends of them, which may represent the identity or essence of Mt. Geumjeong. It is a quite difficult work to express the fascinating beauty of pictorial images of Mt. Geumjeong to the full. It requires continuous trials to express them more.
I find the meaning of the study in that sense that this study may be awaken the significance of preservation for Geumjeong Mt., a guardian mountain of Busan and it become a starting point of new consciousness for the mountain. I wish that this study help to increase proper attentions and interests in Mt. Geumjeong and continue to pile up the images as historical, cultural, and educational materials.