South Korea

Seoraksan National Park

Edward Kopka

28 Oct 2025 • 6 min read

While staying in Seoul, we took the opportunity to visit Seoraksan National Park. This park is located near the eastern coast of the Korean peninsula, in the north of the country, part of the Taebaek Mountain range. A friend of my brother's had recommended this place to us and we were keen to go out and spend some time in nature. Because we planned this as a day trip we had to wake up early to catch a 6:00 AM bus to Sokcho, that trip took a bit over 2 hours, and then we transferred to a local bus, riding it for 30 minutes or so to the national park gate.

Our main destination at the park was Ulsanbawi Rock, a prominent rocky feature situated at the top of a mountain. The weather in South Korea was freezing at that time of year and I was still feeling a little sick with a light cold. I was honestly not sure I would survive the hike, but I am glad I did as the views were fantastic. We stopped outside the park gate for breakfast, and a quick herbal tea with honey to help my throat, before heading in.

The first half of the hike was along the valley floor through scenery that was characterized by the brown branches of deciduous trees and the dark green of evergreen trees. There was no snow when we visited, even though it was cold enough for it, the mountains instead were covered in a patchwork of muted browns and greens. For the second half of the hike we climbed steeply, climbing steps made from rocks situated in the slope to eventually entire stair cases made from metal and built right onto the rocky boulders.

We only spent a few minutes at the top, at the Ulsanbawi Rocks, as the wind was intense; but we did visit each of the three lookouts and took plenty of pictures. Thankfully we were blessed with good weather and only a partly cloudy sky. There were moments where the sun broke through the clouds and lit up the rocks, giving them a beautiful golden colour.

On the way back we stopped by a Buddhist temple built into a cave and the Seoraksan Sinheungsa Temple back in the main valley. Not long after, we arrived back at the restaurant area, near the park entrance. There we found a place that served some delicious garlic bread and some tea. By this point it was 2:30 PM and, as I was still feeling sick, I decided to rest for the next two hours in this cafe while my brother went on another quick hike. We left the park at around 5:00 PM, taking the local bus back to Sokcho and then the regional bus back to Seoul.

This bear statue welcomed us into the national park.

The mountains we saw when we first entered the park. I was struck by how much these mountains looked like the paintings I saw in the Korean Museum.

Photos on the path for the first section where the trail followed a river up the valley.

The first look at Ulsanbawi Rock as seen from the valley floor. Here I am using max zoom to capture the geological feature visible on the horizon.

The trail began to climb the mountain with stony steps to lead the way.

We stopped at a lookout halfway up the mountain that already had a fantastic view of the valley.

Looking up, Ulsanbawi rocks seemed to loom above us. I took the above panorama with my camera pointing up at greater than a 45 degree angle.

The trail continued up the steep slope in a series of never ending steps. At the base of the rocks the trail continued upward with metal staircases.

As I climbed the metal staircase, I had a fantastic view that was absolutely glowing with the filtered light of the sun.

These images show case the shear cliffs of Ulsanbawi Rocks as seen from the staircase. The left image shows the view looking forward, the right shows the view looking back.

One of my favourite pictures from the hike. Here I had climbed high enough to see part of the summit of the rocky ridge.

The view from the first lookout spot near the summit. Here the view is looking back down into the main valley of Seoraksan National Park where we had begun our walk.

This rock looks a bit like a small bird perched on the edge of a cliff.

Ulsanbawi Rocks as seen from the highest lookout. I like this photo as it truly shows the immense scale of this geological feature by comparing it to the people standing at the third lookout seen in the foreground.

From the highest lookout we could see to the north east and even make out Sokcho and the ocean through the haze.

A full panorama of the north eastern view.

The rocks taken in portrait mode to better capture the vertical scale of the scene.

Ulsanbawi summit and the highest lookout as seen from the lower lookout.

Ulsanbawi Rock as seen from the lower (third) lookout.

We returned back down the mountain and to the wide flat path by the river.

We walked though this temple complex situated in the valley. I loved how the afternoon sun was lighting up the mountains in the background.

Despite feeling sick I am so glad that I was able to complete this hike. This park is a beautiful part of nature and my only regret is that I didn't have more time, and energy, to explore more of it. If I ever get the opportunity I will definitely want to visit this place again, perhaps at a different time of year when the scenery is transformed by a new season.

Thanks for reading – Edward

Written 28th of February 2025

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