Seoraksan National Park: Korea’s Best Hikes
Seoraksan National Park
Seoraksan National Park is located in Gangwon-do, the mountainous province of Korea, in the northeast. This area of the country is famous for incredible nature and many locations within day-trip distance of Seoul. It is the second-largest national park in the country, next only to Jirisan National Park in the south. This designation allows it to have a robust network of hiking trails, waterfalls, Buddhist temples, and pristine mountain vistas. Honestly, the park is absolutely massive, and a through-hike takes 10-12 hours. Thankfully, the three most important trails all start at the main entrance just 15 minutes outside of the center of Sokcho.
Getting to Seoraksan National Park
Tour buses take about 2 hours and 30 minutes from Seoul to Sokcho, and the park is easily accessible by bus or taxi. There is also a planned KTX connection in 2028, cutting the journey to just 1 hour and 40 minutes. While getting there without a car is definitely possible, we recommend driving if you can. This allows you to get a few hours’ head start on the crowds and witness the park virtually empty. If you come early in the morning, you can get a parking spot right at the entrance, avoiding hours of waiting for the bus and fighting droves of tourists.
When to visit Seoraksan National Park
The two things to consider when coming to Seoraksan National Park are the season and the crowds. Seoraksan is one of Korea’s most visited parks, both for international and domestic tourists. The busy season is during summer from July to August, and in October when the autumn foliage arrives. During these times, the crowds can get truly unmanageable, and travel times can be greatly delayed getting into the park. We chose to visit in spring, just after cherry blossom season, and the crowd was significantly reduced. Unless fall foliage is important to you, late May offers the best mix of great temperature, no rain, low crowds, and green trees.
Visiting Sokcho
Seoraksan National Park is just outside of Sokcho on the east coast, only 30km away from the DMZ. Sokcho is an awesome city in its own right, with plenty more to offer than just the national park. Nestled between the sea and mountains, Sokcho has lots of beach activities, as well as a famous night market and a unique, laid-back vibe only found in this area of the country. I highly recommend taking a weekend trip, spending Saturday in Sokcho, and getting an early start in Seoraksan on Sunday.
Ulsanbawi
As soon as you arrive in Sokcho, the beautiful mountains are the first thing you’ll see. The city is only a few kilometers from some of the most beautiful peaks in the country. At the center of it all is Ulsanbawi, a striking rock formation easily visible from the city. A kind local told us the fascinating lore of the rock and why it is so different from the surrounding range.
According to legend, the Jade Emperor called upon the rocks of Korea to create Geumgangsan, the largest mountain in Korea, located on the border of China and North Korea. Uslanbawi–literally meaning Ulsan Rock–travelled from Ulsan in the south, but was late to become part of Geumgangsan. Travelling back to Ulsan, it became tired and rested in the Taebaek mountain range. I, for one, am glad it wasn’t selected, as it is truly one of the prettiest and most unique peaks in Korea.
Hiking Ulsanbawi
The trail to Ulsanbawi is one of the most famous hikes in Korea. This is a relatively short but quite brutal hike, taking between 4-6 hours. Starting at Singhungsa Temple, it’s about a 6km round trip. The first few kilometers are an easy paved path up a gentle slope. On the way, we passed by lovely rivers and several great viewpoints of the valley. About 2km into the trail is Heundeulbawi, a small temple area that was exploding with cherry blossoms when we arrived. While it isn’t the main attraction, this area was a great place to rest and enjoy the peaceful quiet of the isolated mountains.
The last kilometer is where things get tough. From Heundeulbawi, it’s about 600m of steep climbing up to the base of the rocks. It was hard, but a small rock outcrop on the way provided us with our first truly breathtaking view of the mountains, and we knew it would be worth it. The last 400m is an incredibly steep climb up stairs bolted straight into the side of the rocks. This is what makes the trail a 4/5 difficulty according to the park. Honestly, it was a bit nerve-racking as Yemisi and I are both scared of heights.
Finally arriving at the top, you’re treated to one of the best views in all of Korea. I’ve never seen a mountain like this anywhere in the world, it’s so dramatic that I can hardly put it into words. On a clear day, you can easily see straight to the ocean on one side, and the stunning Taebaek mountain range behind. There aren’t many places to go, so you don’t need a lot of time at the top. The difficulty is similar to Bukhansan, and it’s absolutely worth it even if you have to take it slow.
Thankfully, since we visited early in the morning during the off-season, we had the entire peak to ourselves. We only saw about 10 people on the way up the trail, which is a super rare opportunity in Korea. After resting from the monstrous climb, we headed back down, which was just as incredible.
Cable Car
If you don’t have the time or the ability to climb up Ulsanbawi, there is a high-speed cable car that offers an amazing view of the park. Operating times may vary, but on the day we arrived the car started at 9am. Tickets start selling fast, so on a slow day you may have to come back later to get your time. Be careful though, we’ve heard on the busiest days they can completely sell out for the day by noon. Thankfully we only had to wait an hour after we bought ours at 10am.
The cable car ride is very fast, offering some stunning views above the valley as you fly to the top. There are several viewing areas overlooking the backside of Ulsanbawi, and the temple below in the valley. I wished there was a bit more to do and see at the cable car, because it is the only accessible place for people with low mobility to see the mountains from the top. Still, it’s worth it for the view from the cable car alone.
Gwongeumseong Fortress
If you want to do more than just see the cable car station you have two options: hike up to Gwongeumseong Fortress, or hike down to Allakam Temple. Almost everyone using the cable car takes the 10 minute easy walk up to the fortress. This is a great opportunity if you don’t have the time or mobility to hike the mountains but want to see a beautiful view.
You may be wondering “Where is the fortress? This just looks like rocks”. We’ll, this isn’t a real fortress, but rather the location they believe a fortress to have possibly been in the 13th century. The area is very enjoyable and worth visiting, even if there are no buildings still standing. It is an unusual rocky area, that kind of felt like a desert bluff. You can scramble up the rocks to get some incredible vista views over the mountains and towards the ocean, but it requires careful footing. Sadly, you can’t see Ulsanbawi from here, but it’s still a very unique place to visit.
There is also Allakam Temple below the cable car station. However it is incredibly small, and not worth the visit. There isn’t a view, and only one very small building. Unless you somehow manage to not see Sinheungsa Temple, it’s not necessary.
Biryeong Falls
For our last adventure of the day, we wanted to hike to Biryeong Falls. This trail is quite a bit shorter than Ulsanbawi, and is described at “family friendly and easy” by the park signage. We think it is more intermediate. The trail starts off flat and easy meandering through the woods. About half way it turns into a non-stop stair climb for the rest of the trail, with a decent elevation gain. But we had already committed, so even though we were so tired from the first hike, we pushed through.
On the way up, you’ll see many stunning views. The trail followed a stream which was flowing quickly when we visited in spring. There are aesthetic bridges, pools, and small waterfalls all the way up the trail. It is a completely different atmosphere that Ulsanbawi. The major attraction is a beautiful suspension bridge over the largest portion of Yukdam Falls. I wasn’t expecting it to be so amazing, especially since it is a much smaller trail.
When we finally arrived at Biryeong Falls, we were beat. Sadly, I must report that the falls are honestly very underwhelming, which we had heard beforehand. There is also a viewing platform even further up, but after talking with other visitors, we decided that the extra hike was too brutal and not worth it since we’d already seen good views. There were people relaxing with their feet in the stream and enjoying some snacks which looked so refreshing. Even though the falls weren’t amazing, the hike was absolutely worth it. I guess sometimes it really is about the journey, not the destination.
Sinheungsa Temple
To end our day, we wanted to explore Sinheungsa Temple. It’s impossible to miss the temple, as it is right next to the cable car, and you have to walk through it to get to the Ulsanbawi trailhead. There are two areas of the temple: the front section with a large Buddha, and the back section with prayer halls.
We’ve seen a lot of Buddha statues, so it’s hard to impress us. It was unique to see one like this in Korea, as they are usually stone and not bronze. It’s also nice how accessible it is, requiring just a short walk from the parking lot. Since it was around the time of Buddha’s birthday, there were colorful lanterns around the statue enhancing the atmosphere.
The back half of the temple is very beautiful. Located between three valleys, the area is lush with greenery and flowering bushes. Once again, the lanterns for Buddha’s birthday made for an amazing picture as they colored the sunlight around us. It’s not a particularly notable temple, but certainly worth visiting since it’s so accessible. You can also do temple stays here, which would be a lovely place to slow down and introspect.
Final Thoughts
Seoraksan National Park might be the ultimate day of nature and adventure in Korea. We are so glad we took a full day to explore the park. Being close enough to Seoul for a day trip, there’s really no reason not to come out and experience the beauty for yourself.
