Sarah Shaw » Hiking in Korea: Seoraksan vs. Jirisan. The word ‘san’ means ‘mountain’ in Korean. This year, I’ve hiked a number of mountains, most notably two 12-14 hour trails in South Korea’s largest national parks: Seoraksan National Park, located in Gangwon province, and Jirisan National Park, located in South Jeolla province. At the end of May, I hiked Seoraksan, and in July, I hiked Jirisan, the tallest mountain on South Korea’s mainland. (Hallasan, on Jeju Island, is the tallest.) This post will compare hiking the winding Dinosaur Ridge trail on Seoraksan to the equally challenging Jirisan hike, in terms of scenery, time, conditions, physical rating and area surrounding the mountain.
Although there are a number of ways to hike each mountain, I will comment on my experience hiking the longer, more challenging route. Seoraksan: We began the hike at 3:30 AM in the dark. Jirisan: The scenery was not as, for lack of better term, picturesque as Seoraksan, since it was rainy in the morning, and cloudy at the peak. Camping and Hiking in Odaesan National Park, Gangwon Do, South Korea. This trip was to first camp at Dongpigol Campground on the first day and get an early start the next day for a 'horseshoe ridge' traverse from Birobong Peak to Dongdaesan Peak. I called the park's office in the morning and I was told that the trails were open.
The representative must've misunderstood me because only the trail to Birobong Peak was open when I arrived at the park. It's the highest peak so I didn't complain. I just had to cut my trip short. From the trailhead, Birobong Peak - 1563m/5128' is only a little over 3km-hike on mostly stairs, passing 4 temples. The first temple is Sangwonsa Temple. It took me 2:30hrs from Dongpigol Campground to the summit, including temple stops. Odaesan National Park - Hiking in South Korea.
Most of the routes at Odaesan are day hikes. Normally it would be possible to start at Sangwonsa, hike to Birobong (3.5 km), continue to Durobong (5.4 km), head back down to Dongdaesan (6.7 km), and keep going all the way to the Sogeum Service Complex gate (15 km). Getting There Gangneung is the primary access point for Odaesan and can be reached from Busan and Seoul via train or express bus. Gangneung Bus Terminal is a 5 minute taxi ride from Gangneung Train Station. From the terminal, take a bus to Jinbu (3,400 won). The ride takes about 45 minutes.
At Jinbu Terminal, local buses can be found at the back of the complex (pay on the bus). Jinbu Terminal => Woljeongsa 06.20, 07.40, 10.50, 14.20, 18.30, 19.40 Price: 1,500 won Jinbu Terminal => Sangwonsa 08.30, 09.40, 11.50, 12.50, 15.30, 16.40 Getting Away Buses to Sangwonsa and the trailhead return to Jinbu about 50 minutes to 1 hour after their original departure time (see ‘Getting There’).
Sleeping and Eating Campgrounds Contacts. Présentation des régions. Recommended Hiking Course! The Seoraksan Mountain Autumn Foliage Hiking Course. Journey through the Forests of Mount Jirisan A time of refreshment and reflection. Exploring Ulleungdo Island: A volcanic island formed by wind & fire. Recommended Hiking & Trekking Trails in Korea. Autumn Getaway Spots. Korea National Park. Daecheongbong Peak Course [Seoraksan] Travel Time : 16 hours Distance : 31 ㎞ It takes an hour to reach Gwimyeonam Rock after passing Biseondae from the ticket office at the entrance.
After Gwimyeonam, you will pass Cheonbuldong Valley famous for the beauty of the changing colors of tree leaves in fall.The name Cheonbuldong Valley is derived from the queer-looking rocks spreading on both sides looking like thousands of Buddha images. After passing Cheonbuldong, you will see Oryeon Falls, five waterfalls between the valley comprised of perpendicular rocks.
Korea National Park. Georim Course [Jirisan] Travel Time : 7 hours 30 minutes Distance : 16.5Km Georim means “a valley of gigantic forests”. The path from Georim to Seseok is 6km long and takes 3 hours to walk. The course is relatively gentle, being one of the easiest and shortest hiking courses in the vicinity of Jirisan Mountain. The hiking path from Georim Village to Bukhaedogyo Bridge is gentle all the way along the valley. Korea National Park. Gongnyong Ridge Course [Seoraksan] Travel Time : 16 hours 30 minutes Distance : 22.1 ㎞ It takes 5-6 hours to pass the 5.1km-long Gongnyong Ridge. It is a junction point between Yeongdong (referring to the east of Taebaek Mountains) and Yeongseo (the west of Taebaek Mountains). It is a very rigorous course, with changeable weather and steep paths. Korea National Park. Hangyeryeong Pass Course [Seoraksan] Travel Time : 13 hours 20 minutes Distance : 19.3 ㎞ 1,004m-high Hangyeryeong Pass is the junction point between Yeongdong and Yeongseo and between inner Seoraksan and outer Seoraksan.
Hangyeryeong is part of Seoraksan Mountain. At the pass, you can see Manmulsang Ridge in the direction of Yangyang and the beautiful valley in the direction of Inje. Korea National Park. Daecheongbong Peak Course [Seoraksan] Travel Time : 11 hours 20 minutes Distance : 16 ㎞ Starting from the ticket office at the entrance and passing the seated bronze Buddha and Geumgangchoronggyo Bridge, you will enter the Biseondae Path, a wooded forest path. Even the handicapped can go to Waseondae (containing a story of Mago who was lying on the platform) without difficulty. It takes an hour from Biseondae, where you can see many figures inscribed on the rock, to Gwimyeonam Rock.
After passing Gwimyeonam, you will walk along Cheonbuldong Valley famous for the beauty of the changing colors of tree leaves in fall.After the valley, Oryeon Falls will catch your eyes. There is steel stairs on the steep slope on the right. In winter, you should be careful about the danger of a snow slide.About five minutes’ walk from there, you will find Yang Falls Rangers Cabin on the right, where you can stay overnight and eat food. Korea National Park. Yupyeong Course [Jirisan] Travel Time : 5 hours 30 minutes Distance : 10.2Km The road from the Yupyeong Ticket Booth to Saejaemaeul is narrow, but the concrete paved road, however, forms a very agreeable forest tunnel.
Visitors can also appreciate the beautiful scene formed by Yupyeong Valley and bask in the cozy atmosphere of Daewonsa Temple. Leaving behind Daewonsa Temple, a hiking path begins at Yupyeongmaeul (1.5Km from Daewonsa Temple) or Saejaemaeul (5.2Km from Daewonsa Temple). Walking along this cozy hiking road, visitors will reach Mujechigi Waterfall 30 minutes before Chibatmok Shelter, which was thus named because an abundance of Chinamul (Korean leaf vegetable) once grew there.
Korea National Park. Baengmudong Course [Jirisan] Travel Time : 5 hours 30 minutes Distance : 9.2Km The path from Baengmudong to Jangetomok Shelter is 5.8Km, and takes around 3 hours and 30 minutes to walk. Two kilometers up the road from the Baengmudong Ticket Booth, a gigantic rock rises up in front of a steel bridge traversing the valley.
This rock is called Hadong Bawi. A few hundred meters further up the road from Hadong Bawi is Chamsaem Spring, which is the last spring on the way to Jangteomok Pass. Two hours’ hike past the spring will bring you to Jangteomok Shelter, which can accommodate up to 150 people. Korea National Park. Jongju (Traversing) Course [Jirisan] Travel Time : 13 hours Distance : 25.5㎞ The best hiking course of Jirisan Mountain is the traversing course. The course, which stretches for 25.5km from Nogodan in the west to Cheongwangbong in the west, usually takes 2 nights and 3 days to cover. The usual “traversing course” refers to the course running from Hwaeomsa Temple to Nogodan, Yeonhacheon Stream, Byeoksoryeong Valley, Jangteomok Pass, and Cheonwangbong Peak, while the return course runs in the direction of Dawonsa Temple.
However, most visitors prefer to take the hiking course from Seongsamjae Pass to Nogodan Peak, from where they pass over Cheonwangbong Peak and climb down to Jungsan-ri. The Unlikely Expat: Seoul's Mountain Hiking...and Shopping. Al Jazeera's newest story on South Korea is about Koreans' love of their mountains. Seoul is unusual among huge world cities in that it is built around mountains. Mountains in Korea aren't that huge, but the county has a lot of rugged terrain. Rio de Janeiro is famous for its mountainous urban landscape also. Originally the mountains there were not developed, and they sat like green islands in the middle of the city. But, as many people know, Brazil has an enormous underclass of very poor people. In Rio the land on the mountains was available for the taking, and it was the only place the very poor could afford to build their homes. There are places in Seoul that kind of look like that, but for the most part the mountains are still green islands of nature.
This is a google map of Seoul: All those green areas you see are mountains. Seoul grew incredibly quickly, and as you walk around the city you can see that there wasn't really much urban planning back in the day.