In my travel plans for South Korea I included some modern cities, some history and some nature. Seoraksan National Park was part of the nature component of my travels through the country. The park offers plenty of hiking and hosts the third-highest mountain in the country (the peak of Daecheongbong stands at 1708 m), so I arrived with big plans of summiting that peak.
I stayed just outside the park entrance and in the early morning had a quick breakfast and ran to the gates. I paid my way inside and my first stop was at tourist information for a hiking map. The woman at the counter took out a map, used a marker to cross out 95% of the park’s area, and told me that those areas were closed. The remainder of the park would not open to tourists until the following month, with three places open for visiting, and none of those located more than 3.5 km from the entrance.
With some heavily curtailed plans I decided to start by visiting the top of Ulsan Bawi, a granite cliff that would provide some views down over the park, although at 873 m above sea level it was a fraction of what I had initially planned. There were a lot of domestic tourists, many kitted out with perfectly matched outfits, sturdy-looking shoes and boots, and many carrying hiking poles. There were also plenty of family groups seated at the many food options near the park entrance or shopping at the many souvenir stands. As I continued my climb I passed two locations with additional restaurants, and they were full sit-down restaurants rather than food stands. All of this was located along a hike of roughly 3 km.
Checked Off The List 