Seoraksan National Park

A couple weeks ago, Blair and I ventured the 6 hour bus ride from Daegu to Sokcho for some fall foliage. Sokcho is a city located on the northeastern coast of Korea, not far from the North Korean border.  The city is known as a gateway to nearby Seoraksan National Park, where we spent most of our weekend.

Seoraksan is one of Korea’s most popular national parks and is listed as a tentative UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park is known for its stunning natural beauty, rare flora and fauna, and Buddhist temples. From the park’s main entrance there are many trails, with some peaks measuring over 1,200 meters above sea level, as well as access to a cable car.  We decided to hike the Biryong Falls and Ulsanbawi courses.

The Biryong Falls course is a short hike from the main entrance. “Biryong” literally means a flying dragon. It is believed that “long ago, the villagers suffered from a dire drought. The villagers found that a dragon had stopped the flow of the stream from the fall. They offered a maid as a sacrifice and the dragon disappeared into the sky, thus letting the stream flow once again."

The Biryong Falls Course.

The Ulsanbawi course is a longer hike and known as one of the park’s more difficult hikes. The top is 876m high, where you can enjoy panoramic views of Daecheongbong (the highest peak), Sokcho, and the East Sea. According to legend, Ulsanbawi comes from the city of Ulsan in southeastern Korea. It is said that on its way to the making of Kumgangsan, the rock fell in love with Seorak and decided to stay there for good.

The Ulsanbawi Course.

Seoraksan is a beautiful national park, the fall foliage made it even more enjoyable. The park has amazing scenery and plenty of great hiking opportunities.

The view of the East Sea in Sokcho.