Choongbuk Guesan Huiyangsan Hike in Korea- Euntimaeul Village Course

1.     Date and Time : Oct 9, 2018 10:00~16:00 (6 and half an hours including one hour break).

2.     Location :  Yeongpung-myeon, Guesan-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do Province and Gaeun-eup, Mungyeong-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province in Korea.

3. Distance and Course : About 9.8km. Course is to start at Euntimaeul Parking Lot => Huiyang Water Fall => Seongtoe Junction (Fort Caste) => Huiyangsan Summit (999m Altitude) => Back to the Euntimaeul Parking Lot through the Same Ascending Course. Please refer to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNWzMn_p4w8&t=36s.

4.     Access :

There is several ways to connect “Seoul Express Bus Terminal (”connecting at subway lines No. 3, 7 and 9) where you should get on Intercity bus line bound for Guesan Inter City Bus Terminal, non-stop and taking two hours. When you get off at the Guesan Terminal, you should walk to Guesan local bus terminal taking about 3 minutes for about 217m distance and get on local Bus bound for Yeonpung and get off at Yeonpung Bus Stop taking 1 hour and 4 minutes for 23 bus stop passing. Please change to local bus bound for Jincheon and get off at Euntimaeul Bus Stop taking 13 minutes for 2 times bus stop. You could walk to Euntimaeul taking 2 minutes for 129m. Please refer more details to the “Transportation from Seoul Express Bus Terminal to Euntimaeul”. You could simply take reverse course on your way back home. I could estimate total transportation is about 3 hour and 30 minutes for one way which comes total 7 hours for round trip. But you would reduce this transportation time to 5 hours for round trip in case you use private car or rent car which you could save two hours for the transportation. 

5.     Overall Remarks.

Huiyangsan Mountain (999m Altitude) is bordered between Gaeun-eup, Mungyeong-si (city) and Yeonpung-myeon, Guesan-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do Province. It is a mystic rocky peak which rises high in the middle of Baekdu Daegan Mountain Stream between Songnisan (Mt.) and Mungyeongsaejae.
People used to compare Huiyangsan to "a figure of a knight in armor coming ahead on a horse." It is also said that Great Buddhist Priest Jijeung observed geographical features in the midst of Huiyangsan and admired that 'as this mountain is hanging down like a folding screen, it looks like a phoenix of which wings are flying into the clouds. As water of valleys looks like a belt of 100 layers, it looks like a figure that the waist of a dragon is prostrating on a stone.' While the range of Baekdu Daegan Mountain System which erected Taebaeksan (Mt.) bends to the west here, and forms the steepest geographical features around this area. Among them, the most beautiful mountain is Huiyangsan.
Views from the top are thrilling and beautiful. First, the branches of Daeyasan (Mt.) and Songnisan (Mt.) rise steep like wild waves beyond Bongamyonggok (Valley) where Bongamsa (Temple) is located. And Jangseongbong (Peak), Akuibong (Peak), and Gunjasan (Mt.) connecting Baekdu Daegan Mountain System stand like a folding screen to the west. As the north view from the top is covered up by the oak forest, only a part of Sirubong (Peak) is shown. The northeast view, however, is endlessly displayed The range of Baekhwasan (Mt.), Undalsan (Mt.) and Juheulsan (Mt.) is very beautiful as blossoms of lotus flowers.

6.     Detailed Course Information

There were more people visiting to Huiyangsan Mountain that day than I expected before came to Euntimaeul Parking Lot since it was Hangul Day, National Holiday. I first of all checked Huiyangsan Hiking Course Map at parking lot and trying to take choice which course I would take and choose suitable course to me taking into account distance and hardness or difficulty. There are two possible course which many people take a choice between Valley course, longer distance and easier with no risky and cliff course, shorter distance and harder with risky. It was raining yesterday and harder and difficult to climb the cliff with wet rope, nearly 100 m cliff. I started to walk on paved road 2 to 3 minutes and saw very beautiful old pine trees along with colorful cosmos flowers and felt this Euntimaeul Village is clean and fresh, no polluted. As I kept going up on the road for about 5 minutes from the parking lot and met first landmark stating as 4.4km to Huiyangsan Mountain Summit. I continued to walk on the paved road and found many apple trees at left and right which started to turn red deeper. I remembered this area, Guesan is one of famous apple production area in Korea. As I walked on this road for about 5 minutes more, I reached second junction and took a left turn at the junction. I thought in my mind this junction should be last junction at Euntimaeul Village. I walked on the same road for about 15 minutes and reached third junction stating as 3.6km to summit at left which mean I walked 800m from the parking lot. I started to walk through slopped steep and rocky road for about half an hour and found Huiyang Water Fall which was not easily introduced and hard to find without any guide information like sign board or arrow mark and tried to find just with human walking trace. Anyhow I succeeded to find the water fall and kept it to camera. I kept struggling son hard steep sloped rocky valley road for one and half an hour and reached junction on ridge stating as 1km to the Summit. I took right direction following junction arrow and carried on the narrow oak and bamboo forest for half an hour and finally touched down Huiyangsan Mountain Summit Monument stating as 999m Altitude and briefly looking around. But I could not look around view of Surround Mountains because of near around trees. I decided to descend quickly and look around mountains somewhere proper place where I could see clear surrounding mountains, without interference of trees around. I walked down for about half an hour and found a good location where I could see not only around view of surrounding mountains but also good summit picture and kept the picture at camera as you see. As I walked through the same steep slopped rocky valley road or some time crossing over valley stream for two hours and 30 minutes and met land mark stating as 800m to Euntimaeul Parking Lot. I continued to downhill for about a quarter minutes and return three way junction (Third one) again and finally back to Parking Lot after about 2 hours and half an hour from the Summit. 

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