When our original 4th of July plans were canceled due to weather, we scrambled to find a last minute getaway. The problem: it was the beginning of rainy season and the weather report for pretty much all of Korea indicated high wind and torrential rain. Everywhere except the Northeast corner of Korea, home to Seoraksan, one of Korea’s most beautiful national parks.
Seoraksan National Park has been on our to-do list for a long time, however, we have put off visiting because we wanted to hike along one of the ridge trails and stay overnight at a mountaintop shelter. The level of time, planning, and motivation required to visit often meant that whenever the opportunity arose, we chose other, closer, less involved, locations that didn’t require long drives and multiple days of backpacking. That Seoraksan National Park was the only place in all of Korea with blue skies and sunshine felt like some sort of cosmic sign.
We didn’t end up backpacking, but instead considered our extended weekend trip something of a trial run, a way to get a feel for the park and determine if it was a place we saw ourselves returning for more intensive hikes. After a day of driving we arrived mid-afternoon, stopped at the visitor center to take cheesy photos, changed into our hiking shoes, and set off on one of the easier valley trails to Biryong Falls.
