Truth be said, Korea is not the greatest country for endless driving and rough camping. Most certainly not after the vastness and emptiness of South America that we had grown so used to. Korea is too densely populated, its road mostly consisting of (multiple-lane) highways.
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But, 70% of the country consists of mountains, and since Koreans love hiking, this is the place to find an abundance of (well-marked) hiking trails. To get a feel for these mountains, our Korean friends suggested us to hike in their most beautiful park: Seoraksan National Park, in northwest Korea.
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Hiking in Seoraksan National Park
So that’s what we did. Initially, hesitantly, one day. We were blown away by the views, the trails and the connections made so easily with fellow hikers. We returned to the Land Cruiser, reconsidered our options, bought a good backpack for Coen, packed our stuff, and set off for a 3-day hike.
We were blown-away, once more. Our muscles ached, our shoulders hurt, we felt our knees. The trails are steep, naturally made of stone or where the mountain walls are too vertical, they constructed staircases that seemingly ascend or descend forever.
But the pain didn’t matter. We loved hiking every single minute here. The views are astounding, with jagged stone peaks protruding from mountain slopes covered in forests. Clear streams run along trails and rivers cut through gorges. Camping isn’t allowed here but the park has shelters, which include picnic tables and cooking areas.
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I had already bought the book, the Baegdu-Daegan Trail (find the beautiful, colorful and inspiring book here, a new edition will be published in autumn 2017), and after this trial hike we studied it with deeper interest.
We’ve decided to simply start at the beginning of the 735-kilometer trail that runs from the south (Jirisan National Park) to the Demilitarized Zone in the north.
We’ll walk it in sections, having just finished section 1 (4 days through Jirisan National Park) and are about to start the next two.
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How far we’ll get? Who knows. It doesn’t matter.
For now we feel this is the perfect way to enjoy Korea in the most thorough way we think is possible: to breath in its clean air in the forested mountains, to connect with hikers and villagers along the way, to take in historical, religious, and cultural sites that lie along its trails.
And to feel the freedom of hiking with all you need simply carried on your back.
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Wow~~ I’m Korean.. Welcome to Korea. I saw you where Hwajinpo beach.(I thought that envy you and awesome~) I hope that you make a lot of memory in Korea. Have a nice times.
Hi Lee-Jeongsu, thanks for your note. Good to hear from you! We are surely making lots of great memories in your beautiful country!
I”m chaewan. I’going back to home after two day walking. It was so impressive to see your couple. It is definitely very hard work to walk Baekdudaegan. I’ll keep watchong your site and you can call me whenever you need help. Be safe and god bless you all the time.
Hey Chaewan, good to hear from you. Thanks for sharing that cup of coffee with us over a chat at the trail. We’re in Gimcheon, taking a break as it’s getting too hot to hike. Except to continue the BD second half of August. Hope to run into you again and share another coffee!
He Karin Marijke en Coen,
Ik ben Nick, uit N Holland, woon sinds 20 jaar in Nelson NieuwZeeland. Ik woon en werk daar 6maanden per jaar, de andere 6 reis en vooral hike ik de wereld over. Al een prachtige lijst met thru hikes voltooid, maar.. more to come.
Heb met veel plezier jullie blogs gelezen, jullie hebben wat ervaringen gehad die mij nog te wachten staan.
Ik plan over ongeveer 2weken, per 3 September naar Kyrgyzstan te gaan en daar voor de maand september te zijn, daarna wellicht naar Korea voor BaekduDaegan in October.
Ontmoeten / en of ervaringen en informatie uitwisselen lijkt me heel erg leuk.
Groetjes
Nick
Altijd leuk landgenoten te ontmoeten, en zeker om meer te horen over thru-hiking! Laten we contact houden via https://www.facebook.com/karinmarijke. Moeten even kijken of dat lukt in Kyrgyzstan, wij zitten dan een beetje aan een tight schedule omdat we de 15e het land uit moeten zijn, Tadjikistan in. Dus of we zijn nog 3 sep net in Bishkek maar waarschijnlijk al onderweg zuidwaarts. Laat even horen als je arriveert, kunnen we dan verder kijken.