Mt. Seoraksan

This past weekend, Jenn and I got the chance to hike Mt. Seoraksan. We went with a couple of friends as well. We were very excited, because the Fall scenery at Mt. Seoraksan is supposed to be some of the best that you can see in South Korea. 

How we got there from Daegu:

- There are many options to get to Seoraksan. This is how we did it.

- We took a KTX to Seoul Friday night. 

- Saturday morning, we took a bus from the Seoul Express Bus Terminal (It's a subway stop) at 6:00 AM to Sokcho. We had already bought tickets in advance by asking one of our Korean co-workers to help us translate the website.

- The ride took 2 and half hours and once at Sokcho Express Bus terminal, we crossed the street outside, turned right, found the nearest bus stop, and took Bus 7 to Mt. Seoraksan. Get off at the last stop (or when all the other hikers do). This took about 20 minutes. 

- We got back the same way as well. Although this time, we took a taxi from Mt. Seoraksan back to Sokcho Express Bus terminal. (Cost about 12,000 Won). We had also bought our return tickets in advance as well. Note: Our bus back to Seoul left at 8 PM, but it's really easy to change the departure time to something earlier if you need to.

What we thought of Mt.Seoraksan:

- It rained on and off all day.

- This didn't ruin the experience for us at all. The rain actually made some parts of the mountain look really moody. With the fog peeking over the mountain tops, it definitely made for some cool pictures.

- I wouldn't say this was a tough hike. Of course, this depends on the route you take. We went to Bisondea rock, and then a cave. The hike to the rock was about 3 kilometers of which most of it was paved. There is a big Buddha statue on the way there, and a couple of bathrooms/restaurants along the way. In short, if you get hungry or have to use the bathroom, don't worry. 

- The hike to the cave was about 0.6 kilometers from Bisondae rock. This took about 35 minutes. This was more like the hiking that we are used to in S.Korea. It was all rocks, steep, slippery, and dangerous. Tiring, exciting, and frustrating at the same time.

- The Fall foliage was simply amazing. So many colors, and I felt that the rain emphasized the colors. It made them deeper and pop out more. If you were thinking about checking out Mt.Seoraksan because of this, I can say with confidence that you will not be disappointed. 

- Oh, and despite the rain, there were still a large number of people there. And they had Ponchos for 3 dollars. So we hardly got wet. Except for our shoes. That was terrible. Wet feet suck.

All credit for the awesome photos goes to our friend. Thank you!!!