Seoul Bukhansan Moutain Climb in Korea-Obong Peak Course - Hike

1.     Date and Time : April 10, 2018 11:00~17:00 (6 hiours including break).

2.     Location : Bukhansan Mountain in Seoul.

Distance and Course : About 9.75km. Course is Obong Information =>Yeoseongbong => Obong (683m Above Sea Level) =>Songchu Water Fall => Songamsa (Temple) => Obong Information. As introduced at KNPS (Korea National Park Support) linked at below, you may shorten time and distance to 2 hours and 10 minutes and 6.5 km respectively in case you return from Obong Peak to Obong Information, not move to Songchu Water Fall. http://english.knps.or.kr/Experience/ParkContent.aspx?SEQUEN=25&ParkDiv=01&HikDiv02=01&MenuNum=1&Submenu=Npp&Third=HikingCourses&Fourth=01 ,

3.     Access :

There are many different way to come to Obong Information by means of public transportation. But I suggest you may use Subway (Line No. 3 or 6) Line connecting to local Bus line (NO. 34) which you get off Bulkhwang Stations at Line 3 or 6 and exit Gate 8 and walk about 280m at exit direction where take Bus No. 34 at Bus Stop-Bulkhwang Stations and get off Songchu Station (KNPS Song Chu Valley-34 times Bus Stops). You are requested to move from there to Obong Information on foot, about 1.1km and twenty minutes walking referring to Walking Map attached. If you use private car or taxi for the transportation, you may simply put the destination as Songchu Obong Information where you can start to straight forward to move Obong Peak Climb. In order to move here and there by public transportation, It is very hard to pay public transportation by cash or credit card in Korea. Therefore you should buy T Money (electronic card) which you can electronically pay to subway station or most bus in Korea. You can buy the T Money at Convenient shop everywhere or subway station ticketing office and call them how much money card you want. They will give you corresponding amount T Money Card against your payment.      

4.      Overall Remarks.

I have mainly introduced Mountain Climb or Trail to readers in Korean after visiting somewhat widely known to the Korean so far and sometime even in English. But I recently realized I would better change this introduction style to foreigners in English so that they could understand Mountain and Trail in Korea and they may possibly try to visit these places in reference to my Blogger introduction. This Obong peak Couse can be classified as medium high level difficulty and generally well organized with proper safety system as long as you keep following Course guideline and safety instruction. This Course is generally divided with Hilly and rocky at right direction (Yeoseongbong) and Songchu Valley Course at left (Songchu Water Fall). There is possibility you may choose right to left or left to right. But I suggest you better take right Course first as an ascending and secondly left Couse as a descending since right Course is sharper and harder slope than left Course. It is the most high light at this Course that you should not miss the outstanding beautiful Obong Peak as well as Yeoseongbong Peak. You may surprisingly question how these rocks standing on top of bigger mother rock at bottom and not rolling down under harsh weather like strong storm or heavy rain. Nature is strange and mystery which human can easily understand or solve. Please see the Obong picture attached.

5.     Detailed Course Information

I headed to Obong Information where situated at Bukhansan Mountain direction and started to climb up the Yeoseongbong after the information. I met Wuldae Swamp Observation after 5 minutes walking from the start and turned to left at that junction and found land mark saying 1.8km to Yeoseongbong. I walked the hill on the round shaped stone stair and turned left at hill top as you see at the attached photo and met land mark saying 1.5km after about 10 minutes walking from previous land mark. I encountered very sharp wooden stair as soon as finished rocky hill climb after about 50 minutes from previous land mark as you see at the photo attached and eventually touched down Yeoseongbong Peak after 10 minutes walking so hard and sharp wooden stair. As you see at the Picture of Yeoseong rock, shape of granite has been changed and transformed to just look like female pubic area. It is strange how this transformation is making resemble to human body. I took a nice photo of Dobongsan situating far distance from Obong and found the picture is so nice like I took a photo at the Dobongsan Mountain, visual distance is too good to photo at remote area today. It is 1.2km to Obong from there at Yeoseongbong. I started to walk ridge road with comparably mild slope and met Obong Peak after about 70 minutes climb from the Yeoseongbong. It was a land mark at Obong Peak saying 5 km to Songchu Parking Lot 2. I saw a beautiful Jawunbong land scape at the direction to descending to Songchu Parking Lot 2 and started to move to Songchu Water Fall. You should meet bigger rock in front of heading down after about 10 minutes walking down from Obong as an obstacle as you see at photo. Please turn right and keep walking on the rocky and hilly road with safety hand rope as photo view. You could find land mark saying 800m to Songchu Water Fall after 40 minutes walking down from the bigger rock obstacle and reach the Water Fall after further 15 minutes descending from the land mark. You could meet Songchu Ranger Station where they should take care of disasters at Bukhansan like accident of mountain climber or mountain fire. You could see Songamsa Temple at left after 15 minutes walking down from the Ranger Station and still continue walking down about 16 minutes more and meet Songchu Village at left. You may find the same road which you used this morning from the Bus Stop at Songchu Station to Obong Information and just keep walking down to the same Bus Stop but opposite side lane and take same bus number 34 heading to Subway Station at Bulkhwang Station and back to your origination.