Hiking in South Korea: Jirisan vs Seoraksan

I did some hiking during my stay in South Korea, whether it is only a short hike in some trails, nevertheless, all of the trails are clearly made, easier for people especially Korean elders to do their favorite activities, trekking and hiking.

Two special mountains that I managed to hike were Jirisan and Seoraksan. San means mountain in Korean, same as Chinese.

In this article, I will try to compare these two mountains giving you insights the difference.

Also Read: Travel Guide to Seoul

Why Jirisan and Seoraksan?

Jirisan (1,915 m) is the highest mountain in mainland, second after Hallasan (1,950 m) which is located in Jeju Island.

I missed Jeju Island or else I’m gonna hike Hallasan as well. Seoraksan (1,708 m) is the most beautiful popular mountain in South Korea.

Location?

Jirisan National Park spans three provinces which are Jeollanam-do, Jeollabuk-do, Gyeongsangnam-do.

Seoraksan National Lies across multiple regions in Gangwon-do Province including Sokcho, Yangyang, and Inje.

Hiking Course?

Both mountains has many hiking courses starting from the easy one, or strenuous hiking.

It’s your choice to do which course. Some courses need to be guided. I did short courses for both mountain. For Jirisan I started through Jungsan-ni entrance, nearest big city is Jinju.

For Seoraksan, I did one day easy hike, starting from Sokcho. Click here for complete courses of Jirisan and here for Seoraksan.

Also Read: Fun Things to Do in Daegu, South Korea

Duration?

Well, it depends on which courses, what I did is short courses, so I started at 2 p.m. from the shelter and reach Jangteomok Shelter which is 4.6 kilometers away from the basecamp.

I reached the shelter around 5.30 p.m. Please note the last entry is 2 p.m. unless you stay for a night in the shelter.

For Seoraksan, I spent a day walking around the area, I did short hiking to Ulsanbawi Rock then heading to Biseondae Cliff but unfortunately it was closed.

What is your overall experience?

Based on my hike, for Jirisan hike via Jungsan-ni, it was easy, the path was clearly seen, clear directions to the peak, rocky stairs.

If you follow the direction to Jangteomok, the path is right on the side of river, so along the hike I passed lots of bridges and saw river on my side.

The shelter was clean, equipped with room heater, also there is a room for cooking but you have to bring your own cooking utensils.

On the next morning it took me around one hour to Cheonwanbong Peak, and I went down through the different trail to see Beopgyesa Temple-Rotary Shelter-Basecamp.

For Seoraksan, easy hike as well, but beware of the stairs to Ulsanbawi Rocks cause it is very steep.

At that time the wind was so strong and might be dangerous so be careful, I had to hold on tight the fence or the wind gonna swept me away.

Near the entrance there is a big Buddha statue and also a temple named Sinheungsa.

The highlight of Seoraksan is actually taking cable car to Gwongeumseong Fortress, too bad the wind was too strong so it was closed.

Also Read: Visiting Hahoe Folk Village in South Korea

Tips?

Choose the right time, from my experience I missed alot of things especially in Seoraksan because it was early winter, the wind was strong, some sites were closed, so time is really important.

Picture Time!

  • Jirisan
Jirisan trail hiking south korea blog
The trail in Jirisan
jangteomok shelter jirisan hiking blog
Jangteomok Shelter Jirisan
sunrise jirisan hiking south korea blog
Sunrise in Jirisan
hiking south korea blog jirisan
People gathering at the peak
hiking south korea blog
View from the top of Jirisan
top of jirisan blog
Mandatory selfie on the top of Jirisan
  • Seoraksan
seoraksan hiking south korea blog
The landscape around Seoraksan
hiking seoraksan blog
Big Buddha statue in Seoraksan
ulsanbawai rock south korea hiking blog
Ulsanbawi Rock
seoraksan south korea blog
Freezing on the top of Ulsanbawi Rock

 

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Comments

6 responses to “Hiking in South Korea: Jirisan vs Seoraksan”

  1. Adi Swandono Avatar

    waw.. menarik sekali Vel..

  2. Cumilebay MazToro Avatar

    Cakep banget … suka liat matahari terbit nya :-0

  3. Salman Faris Avatar

    Oh my God, the Elder of Korea do it better than us ya, some thing funny hehehe

  4. neus estrany riera Avatar
    neus estrany riera

    For both hikings, did you reach the summit? It is possible to hike the summits in one day? I would like to do it without overnight in the hut.

    1. Velysia Zhang Avatar

      Hello, for Jirisan if you start in the morning you can probably do it in a day. While for Seoraksan there’s a cable car taking you to the highest part I guess. I didn’t get to the summit in Seoraksan cause it was closed that day.

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