Seorak Mountain Autumn Escapade

November 7, 2010                                         

Last November 4-5, before we even got hold of our Level 1 한국어 Exam results, we were given a nice treat by our university’s Institute for International Education (IIE) – a 2-day field trip to 설악산  (Seorak Mountain) located in the northeastern tip of South Korea, roughly 3-4 hours away from Seoul.

 Jepoi at Seorak Mountain (설악산)

The Autumn Colors of Sorak Mountain

It was the start of the last month of autumn so the mountains have already turned into different shades of red. I remember a friend told me that fall is his favorite season because it reminds him of impermanence. True, indeed, the falling
leaves at Seorak Mountain seemed to remind all of us that there is really nothing permanent in this world. Add to that was the already poignant feeling that we all had because one of our closest classmates was leaving us for good.

Anyway, Seoraksan is in Gangwon Province. It is the highest peak of the Taebaek Mountain Range (태백산맥), which is just a few kilometers away from North Korea, and actually the 3rd highest in the country. The nearest city would be Sokcho. There were many people when we arrived, as expected since it is a national park and famous for its autumn colors and magnificent rocky peaks. There were also some streams along the way as we trekked the not so difficult trail. These, I believe, would swell during rainy seasons and freeze during winter.

It was so cold so we didn’t push harder into the wilderness of Seorak. I’m sure we missed a lot of sites. They say, even in the middle of the Spring Season, the snow on top of  Seorak Mountains would not melt for a long time keeping the rocks in a state of white.

TIPS

Direction:

From Sokcho or Sokcho Express Bus Terminal, take the city bus no. 7 or 7-1 and get off at the entrance of Mt. Seorak. That would be 30 minutes. A taxi can be an option which would cut the travel time by half.

Best Season to go:

Summer to early Fall if you want to dip in the streams, though I am not sure if it’s allowed in a national park.

Late Fall for the picturesque autumn colors. A bit chilly though.

Winter if you can bear the cold for a nice winter wonderland.

Early Spring for the snow peaked mountains and middle of Spring for the flowers.

  

Click the IMAGES to enlarge.

 Ira from Indonesia, Doing from China, Jepoi from the Philippines and Freddy from Taiwan

 Me at the gate of Seoraksan National Park

 

 My classmates. 

 Pushing farther. 

 Me at the foothill.

Jepoi at the gate. 

Our class. 

 Me and a bronze Buddha. 

 Still in the paved roads.

 The stream. 

 Passing by the rocky stream. 

 Me

 Rocky peaks

 The Korean Wilderness

 The Korean Wilderness

 Another stream.

 The bridge above a dry shallow stream. 

 Bronze statue of Buddha.

 

Me in front of the Buddha Statue

 We were already in the hotel. 

 The sunrise as seen from our hotel window. 

 A beach overlooking the Sea of Japan/East Sea. 

The hotel where we stayed.

 

 A shopping mall that looks like a cruise ship. Nice!

 Me ready to cruise! LOL

 So many symbols. Don't know what ideals this place is advocating. 

 A cliff. 

 Taken from the top of the cruise ship/shopping mall.

 The top deck. 

 

 The pools.

Suddenly, there was a native American Indian!  

 Another nice idea! 

The cruise ship.

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