Seoraksan national park, South Korea

Third day in Korea began with us renting a car and starting our couple-weeks-long road trip from Seoraksan National Park (설악산국립궁원) in North-Eastern part of Korea. I had some expectations of great views that I had seen in Korean movies and series before but did not expect it to be as amazing as it was.

We were running late as it was my first time driving in Korea and had to take some breaks on the way. We arrived to Seoraksan around 3pm, paid the entrance fee, adults KRW2800 (about €2.2), and chose a hike that didn't seem long but had a lot to see.

It was called the hike of Towangseong Falls (토왕성 폭포) and it was about 6,6 km all together. Because of the elevation (around 475 m) it was a bit harder and took longer than expected. On the way up you can also see Biryong Falls and Yukdam Falls before the hardest and steepest climb, but beware of many stairs anyways.

Me and Jenni climbing

Me and Jenni climbing some more

These were the views that we saw at the end so the last almost 900 steps were compeletely worth it.

After the climb and descent we still wanted to quickly see the Sinheungsa (신흥사) temple and its surroundings. And even though our legs were already cramping and shaking and we were getting weak because of not carrying enough snacks with us, it was amazing to see the historical site as the temple's history goes all the way back to the year 652 to Silla Kingdom times.

In the above pictures you can also see the Great Unification Buddha Tongil Daebul that represents the wish of reunification of the now devided country.

As the sun started setting we ended our trip to Seoraksan and drove to a stay in YangYang surf beach. Highly recommend Seoraksan to anyone who enjoys nature. There are multiple longer choices for hikes as well as a cable car that takes you 700 meters up to the Gwongeumseong fortress.

All of the pictures on this post were taken by either me or my travel mates :)