Mountain Treks: Woraksan National Park
If you are looking for a great place to view the beautiful autumn colors and not have to wade through the thick crowds that flood the parks this time of year; look no further than Woraksan National Park. Woraksan is located to the East of the city of Chunju in the Chungcheongbuk-do province in central Korea. The park is one of the least visited in Korea due to it’s geographic location that is far from any major Korean cities.
The parks rural location has actually made it one of two areas in Korea where goral antelopes were released into the wild. The second area was Soraksan National Park. ten of these antelope still are alive and well inside the park and are monitored with radio transmitters. So keep your eyes open if you intend to hit the trails here for these shy animals.
The best place to begin a hike on Woraksan is to drive or take a bus up the Songgye Valley and stop at the small city of Deokju. At Deokju you can enter the park. Head up the path following a stream running off the mountain. Along the path you can see the remains of an ancient stone fortress and the recreated fortress gate. This fortress dates all the way back to the 13th century and was used as a defensive perimeter against the invading Mongols. The fortress was later used again in 1592 during the first Japanese invasion of the peninsula. Though the fortress is mostly destroyed today the parts that remain are still interesting to look at and appreciate how old the construction is and the amount of history these walls have seen.
After you pass the fortress walls you will see Deokjusa Temple off to your left. Check it out if you like, but really nothing new to be seen at this recently constructed temple. Across from the temple on the right side of the path you will see the trail head that is the official start point to climb Woraksan mountain. Along the trail follow the Yeongbong peak signs that will take you to the 1097 meter summit of Woraksan mountain. The trail initially is very well maintained and includes many well built bridges and stairs to assist the novice hikers who want to only hike up to see the stone Buddha carving which is located about 30 minutes up the trail. The Buddha is also very old just like the fortress walls. However no one knows for sure how old. Some suspect the carving is from the Goryeo dynasty which ruled Korea from 935-1392AD while other believe the carving was constructed by the Shilla dynasty that ruled before 935AD. Either way the carving is extremely old and an impressive sight to see since it stands as high as a four story building and is elaborately carved. Definitely worth taking a rest stop at to view while climbing the mountain.
Past the Buddha carving the trail becomes much steeper and rockier. There are plenty of stairs and rock climbing to be done once you are past the Buddha carving which causes me to recommend a moderate level of personal fitness before attempting the hike.
After the first steep ascent after the carving and about 1.0 – 1.5 hours into your climb, you will reach a 960 meter peak that you may initially think is the summit of the mountain after the steep climb up more stairs. It is not. As you look to the south you will see the long trail and the mammoth rock formation that awaits you at the real 1097 meter summit of Woraksan.
The trail along the ridge line is actually pretty nice as you walk among a thick forest that eventually opens up at a ROK Army helipad where you get a great view of the Yeongbong peak where the summit of Woraksan is located. As you continue up the trail it becomes a little disheartening as you begin losing altitude and going down the mountain, plus you have to take a circular route to reach the trail that takes you to the summit of the mountain. When you finally reach the trail, it is basically just an endless stair climb to the top of the mountain. Expect your calf muscles to get quite a work out on this mountain.
However, when you reach the summit, the stair climbing pays off, as you are rewarded with a great view of the surrounding Chungcheongbuk-do country side. There is not one highrise building in site; just tress, hills, farm land, and the beautiful Chungju-ho lake. Better yet is the fact there is no huge crowd on the summit unlike other popular Korean mountains where you feel more like you are at a rock concert than on a mountain with the amount of people swarmed around you. Not on Woraksan, it was just me and a handful of other climbers just enjoying the spectacular view.
If you want to enjoy the view too, all you have to do is take a bus to the city of Chunju and from the Chunju bus station take one of the buses that regularly run to Woraksan National Park and get off at the Deokjusa stop. If you are driving from Chunju, take Highway 36 that skirts the south side of the Chunjuho Lake and take a right once you hit the insection with local road 597 that runs through the Songgye Valley to the Deokjusa trailhead. Bring plenty of water and warm jacket because it can get cold on the summit of the mountain. Expect to complete the hike up and back down the mountain in about 5-7 hours depending on your level of fitness. So get out of the city this weekend, get some fresh air, exercise, and maybe even see an antelope. You see a lot of strange things in the ville but an antelope is not one of them. You will need to go to Woraksan for that.
