Wolchulsan National Park
South Korea is a nation of hikers. On the trails old, young, hip, dowdy, they love to hike. It’s no wonder: Korea is mountainous, but the population is concentrated on relatively small plains. The mountains beckon.
During my current stay in South Korea I’ve hiked in five of South Korea’s twenty-two national parks. I guess I fit into the category old and dowdy, so I’m right at home.
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| Interactive map |
I used public transport to reach every trailhead. Trains were easy to figure out because Korail, the Korean rail system, has a somewhat usable Web site. Buses were a different matter, requiring quite a bit of research each day both online and in situ. [In a another post, How I Got to Five Korean National Parks by Public Transport, I document how I got to the parks in some detail.]
I started my visit to South Korea in Seoul. On my first full day I hiked several miles of the ancient Seoul city walls.
From that vantage point, I could see Bukhansan National Park to the north of central Seoul. I would visit that park towards the end of my time in South Korea.
First, though, I wanted to go right to the end of a rail line, a habit of mine. I took the KTX bullet train to Mokpo in the far southwest of the country. From there I visited Wolchulsan National Park.
Wolchulsan National Park
In Mokpo I boarded a country bus that took me within walking distance of the east entrance to the park. Seven hours later I walked out of the west entrance to the park towards a country bus that took me back to Mokpo. In between, I experienced the most gorgeous and strenuous hike so far in this trip.
I lost count of the peaks I climbed. Mercifully, they were connected by ridge trails.
Over the course of the day, I climbed a total of over 4,000 feet. I had (good) aches for a few days after.
From Mokpo I switched my base to Gwangju, a little further north. This simplified the number of connections I would need to visit the next two parks.
Naejangsan National Park
A short rail journey and a country bus got me to the edge of the national park.
I was still happily aching from the previous day’s hike, so the sight of a cable car was just too tempting. I took it much of the way up the mountain. There were still climbs and ridge trails, so I got my workout.
I walked down and back to the bus stop, an unused return cable car ticket in my pocket.
Mudeungsan National Park
While I was in the city of Gwangju, I wanted to take a peek at Mudeungsan National Park. This park is on the west side of the city and has enough trails to keep you busy for days.
I took a city bus from downtown to the park, where I clambered around hillside forested trails for a couple hours.
As the the timetable implies, this is one easy national park to reach.
Gyeongju National Park
But I was also surrounded by national park. In this case, a historical area going back over 2,000 years. It’s a UNESCO world Heritage site, so I had to pay attention.
There are hundreds of burial mounds in the area: in the city, and the surrounding countryside.
In less reverent moments my thoughts floated to Tellytubbyland or Jayne Mansfield.
Next day my hike up Mount Namsam was punctuated by ancient artifacts.
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| This pagoda dates from the 9th century, or earlier. |
After seeing other culturally important sites, it was time to hop on a bullet train back up to Seoul.
Bukhansan National Park
At Seoul Station I shoved my backpack into a locker and supplied my fingerprint to ensure subsequent retrieval of the aforementioned backpack.
I then headed for subway line 1.
45 minutes later, I was in easy walking distance of my trailhead. My mission was to reach the highest point in the park on Dobongsan Mountain.
Half-way up I paused at a temple.
The trail became increasingly “technical.” I was glad I had my monkey work gloves, as I was sometimes clambering over rocks on all fours, or pulling myself up using a rope.
It was joyful.
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