Hiking has been a long hobby of mine, I love being outdoors and active. As a child my parents would often take us on day hikes in Maryland's state parks, on camping/hiking trips in neighboring states, send us off to nature programs at the state parks and even took us to a week long outdoor adventure school in the Pochono Mountains. I've carried this love of the outdoors and hiking into adulthood and multiple countries. Hiking in Korea was a way for me to connect with other individuals, both Korean and other expats with a shared interest and motivated me to explore parts of the country I might have otherwise overlooked. Through the hiking in Korea series, we'll be taking a look at a number of the hikes around Korea.
Located in the center of the Sobaek Mountain range and bordering Chungbuk and Gyeongsbuk provinces sits Songnisan National Park and one of my favorite spots to hike in Korea. Songnisan, whose name means "remote from the rest of the ordinary world" which refers to its somewhat isolated position in the center of Korea, is home to a number of natural treasures including the Jeongipumsong (a pine tree, that according to Korean legend was awarded the rank of minister by King Sejo) and to Beopjusa Temple, the head temple to the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism that houses a number of national treasures and cultural heritage items. Songnisan is about a 4 hour bus ride from Seoul and is worth pairing with a weekend in Daejeon, Korea’s 5th largest city, a transportation hub for the country, and not without its charms, you can check out my guide for Daejeon here. From Daejeon Express Bus Terminal, Songnisan is an hour and a half bus ride that costs about 8,000 won each direction (the last bus back to Daejeon leaves around 6pm) the bus terminal for Songnisan National Park is the last stop, so it's easy to sleep for the whole ride. The bus terminal is at the end of the main road in Songnisan and it’s a straight shot up the road past pajeon restaurants, shops selling hiking gear and nick knacks and a few hotels.
I’ve heard many people say that if you’ve seen one temple you’ve seen them all, while the architecture may be the same, each temple I have been to has had its own vibe
and unique features. I loved Beopjusa, as it was far less crowded than the other temples I’ve been too and it is very easy to get good pictures if like me you have an interest in photography and prefer your pictures not teeming with people. The whole vibe of Beopjusa is much more serene than most of the other temples I’ve been to and it has several cool features worth checking out. The first will be pretty obvious as soon as you enter the temple grounds and that’s the Golden Maitreya Statue of National Unification. Beopjusa is also home to National Treasure No. 5…which is the twin lion stone lantern, and several other cool features. Another thing I enjoyed about Beopjusa was the sense of calm and spirituality, it seemed less like a tourist attraction and more like a place to pray…however, there were lots of Koreans with selfie sticks on a guided tours.
There are several hikes from the Beopjusa area of Songnisan with varying stated lengths of time and difficulty on the park’s website. I’ve hiked the Munjangdae and Cheonwangbong routes (it’s possible to hit both these peaks in one hike as they’re linked by a ridge line). The hike to Munjangdae Rock from Beopjusa is slightly over 6km and has an estimated hike time of
4 hours and a higher intensity level. The first km of the hike is quite easy, you can either take a paved road or a dirt path and it’s a gentle uphill. The next part of the hike is not too badeither, as it is mostly on a dirt path although the elevation started to increase quite a bit and you start to encounter sections of stairs which are punctuated with tea houses serving makgoli and pajeon for a quick rest and refuel either on your way up to the peak or back down. The last 1km of this hike was quite challenging, it is a section of very steep uneven stone steps, while trekking poles aren’t needed for this hike they would definitely be helpful in this section. Once you emerge from this last uphill section you emerge into a very flat picnic area and rest area. The final .2km to the hike to Munjangdae mostly consists of metal stairs leading to the peak, which gives you sweeping views of Songnisan National Park.
The hike to up to Cheonwangbong and
back to Beopjusa is also around 6km, however it’s not nearly as steep And quite straight forward. Absent from the trail were the tea houses that I enjoyed along the hike up to Munjangdae, I hiked this route in the fall and the foliage was spectacular. The peak of Cheonwangbong is pretty small compared with many of the other peaks I’ve been on in Korea and elsewhere in the world. It connects to Munjangdae by way of Sinseondae and can be connected to a few other peaks as well for a really full day of hiking.
I’ve been lucky enough to hike a number of national parks in Korea, but Songnisan remains one of my top parks and hiking recommendations for Korea. Until our next installment, happy hiking!
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