Seoraksan hike info

Seoraksan is the third-highest mountain in South Korea, after Hallasan and Jirisan, with Daecheongbong at 1,708 m. What sets it apart is rock rather than height: pale granite spires line up like saw teeth, and valleys drop straight toward the East Sea. From the beach at Sokcho you can see the coastline and the ridge in one frame.

Autumn colour starts at the summit and creeps downhill. The high ridges usually redden in the first week of October, and the lower valleys turn after mid-month. Early snow is not unusual, and some years the summit is dusted by late October. Ulsanbawi, the big rock cluster, comes with a legend that it was walking from Ulsan to the Diamond Mountains, arrived late, and simply sat down where it is. Standing under its peaks, you half believe it.

There are two main ways in. From Seorak-dong on the Sokcho side, most people do easy day outings to Sinheungsa, the Heundeulbawi rock, Ulsanbawi and the Gwongeumseong cable car. From Osaek on the Yangyang side begins the steep, direct line up to Daecheongbong. Either way, expect the summit to run 5-10 C colder than the trailhead because of wind.

From Seoul (BUS)

From Busan, Daegu and elsewhere (BUS)

To the trailhead (LOC)