Introduction to Hiking in South Korea
Korea is a mountainous country, so although Sophia and I visit primarily to see family and friends, we’ve started making the effort to get out of the cities and into the mountains. I’m glad we have, because there are some great walks on offer. Read on for more info, or go straight to a list of the walks.
Koreans are mad about hiking, particularly those in their middle age and early old age it seems. Although I respect this enthusiasm, it does mean the most popular trails can be quite crowded with brightly coloured hikers wearing the latest gear, and covering up their faces to protect themselves from the sun, or perhaps the air pollution if it’s a city mountain (or maybe it’s just to freak me out). Nevertheless, the crowds thin out on the more difficult tracks, and some of the scenery looks like those idealised scenes depicted in Daoist paintings.
Finding Track Notes
When planning my walks I used information from bloggers, and my wife looked up some of the walks in Korean, so I can’t recommend any central resource. As I post the walks I’ll probably describe them in a bit more detail than some of my others, or else link to specific sites where you can find notes.
The Weather in Far East Asia
The weather in Korea (like much East Asia) ranges from hot, oppressively humid summers, often with a wet season, to frigid and dry winters; so you’d better be prepared for the conditions when you walk. The summers can be very hazy, limiting the views, and there can be lot of snow in winter, so spring and autumn are probably the best times for hiking, (and you can get bonus spring flowers and autumn colours during those times of course).
The Walks in South Korea
You can browse through a list of the walks I’ve posted on so far…
Bukhansan National Park is located in the northern suburbs of Seoul. The highest peak, Baegunbong (or Baegundae, 836m), is an enormous granite summit that provides excellent views of the surrounding area in the right conditions. The route to the top gets quite adventurous as you walk steeply up the smooth granite summit, inevitably queuing with many others on the narrow and precipitous sections if you do it on a weekend or holiday (as I did). But despite the crowds it was an excellent walk. (more…)
Jirisan National Park in southern South Korea is the closest thing to wilderness in the country, and is home of the mainland’s tallest peak, Cheonwangbong (1915m). The wide open views are pretty grand, although not as spectacular as some of the more rocky mountain ranges. Our ascent from Baekmudong was up a very pleasant valley. Unseasonable snow overnight added to the aesthetics as we gained the higher elevations. (more…)
Seoraksan National Park is reputed to be the most beautiful part of South Korea, and with good reason. I was lucky to time my first trip to the park with peak Autumn colours, so I got the full experience. Despite having walked for hours already, the scenery in the latter third of the walk was so fantastic that I bounded down the mountain like a manic mountain goat, feeling no tiredness due to the scenery-fuelled adrenaline in my system. Keep wading through my many photos to see this section, and also a few photos at the end of the Buddhist temple Sinheungsa. (more…)
Our first time in Seoraksan National Park was one of our enduring hiking highlights. This time we did what is supposedly the best and hardest walk in the park—Dinosaur Ridge 공룡능선—so named for the jagged peaks along its spine (looking like a Stegosaurus I guess). It was bound to be a classic walk with stupendous scenery lifted right out of a Daoist painting, especially in Autumn / Fall, whatever the conditions…
Dobongsan (740m) is a peak at the northern end of Bukhansan National Park, and is an alternative climb to the park’s highest peak, Baegundae. The scenery is similar – which is to say excellent – although slightly less spectacular. It’s probably quieter though, and I enjoyed the partial circuit via Podae Ridge. There are the usual granite outcrops, attractive forest (in the right season), and a couple of temples to visit along the way. (more…)
Gwanaksan (632m) is a mountain on the southern border of Seoul, and the northern border of Gyeonggido. There’s the usual granite outcrops, pleasant forest, a temple near the start (Gwaneumsa) and one almost on top (Yeonjudae), and of course city views for miles. It’s not as spectacular as Bukhansan to the north, but the finish along a rocky river bed was very pleasant, and added good variety. One of the Yeonjudae Temple buildings is perched on the very edge of the mountain and makes for an impressive photo – scroll down for that. (more…)
The Gwaneumsa Track is reputedly the most scenic route to the summit of Hallasan (1947m), South Korea’s tallest mountain. The forest on the lower half of the walk is very atmospheric, and was probably more so on our descent through mist. The views really open out after about 1400m of elevation, topped off by a generally small crater lake at Hallasan’s summit. (more…)
When visiting my wife’s family in Incheon in October 2017 we did a couple of suburban hikes, which are possible in many Korean cities because they often have many small and sometimes not so small mountains within the city boundaries. What they completely lack in remoteness they gain in often extensive views of Korea’s impressively dense cityscapes. Gyeyangsan (395m) is one of these walks. (more…)
This walk up Jebibong Peak in Woraksan National Park was a plan B for us, but unded up being a real gem. For just moderate effort in less than half a day you get spectacular views of Chungju-ho Lake, the largest in South Korea, surrounded by mountains, cliffs and lush forest. (more…)
The walk around the fortress city of Namhansanseong 남한산성 is a very nice combination of natural scenery and historic architecture. The complex was built on a mountain (approx 480m high) south of Seoul in the 1600s as an emergency capital. The view of Seoul from the West Gate is excellent, and if you time it like we did, then you can watch the sun set behind the city. The 555m Lotte World Tower is an obvious highlight of that sprawling cityscape.
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Obongsan (Five Peaks Mountain) is a diminutive mountain (in other words a hill) in southern Incheon, very close to my Mother-in-law’s place. We use it for exercise when we visit. A convenient and pleasant way to get outdoors and keep fit if you happen to live in the area. (more…)
The Island of Jeju is dominated by South Korea’s tallest mountain, Hallasan, and I presume this offers the best walking on the Island. Nevertheless, there is a trail called Jeju Ole that circumnavigates the island, and is broken up into a series of sections. We (my wife Sophia and a few family members) walked a short portion of section 10, around the extinct volcano of Songaksan. It’s an easy walk and doesn’t require any hiking gear. The scenery was nice enough, including views along the coast in both directions, and to small islands which form the southernmost points in South Korea. (more…)
Sorae-san is a decent sized hill (299m) on the border of Incheon and Gyeonggido. The walk up is like any other forested hill in Korea, but views from the summit are surprisingly good. On a clear day you can see all the way to Bukhansan in the north, over Incheon to the coast, and east towards Gwanaksan. (more…)
Bukhansan National Park sits on the northern edge of Seoul, and offers some of South Korea’s most dramatic scenery, all accessible by public transport. The route to the spectacular high point of Baegundae Peak (836m) over Uisangbong Peak (502m) is probably the best in the park. Returning through Oryudong Valley adds variety, including a couple of temples and various traditional buildings. Expect granite cliffs, beautiful valleys, fortress gates and Buddhist temples. (more…)
There were two walks just a short stroll away from where we stayed on Jeju Island when holidaying there in 2017, so we paid the combined entrance fee to the short coastal walk and nearby temple/cave walk, perhaps not expecting all that much, but they turned out to be very much worth it. The rocks and cliffs of the Yeongmori Coast section made for great coastal scenery, and the Buddhist temple Sanbangsa is situated in an impressive spot below sheer cliffs on the 395m mountain Sanbangsan, with a cave and views a short but steep walk further up the mountain. (more…)