After getting a good dose of cycling and an impromptu dance party on Udo Island, I figured I’d spend my 2nd day in Jeju climbing Korea’s tallest mountain: Mt. Hallasan. It’s actually not just a mountain— it’s an active volcano too! Fortunately for us, it hasn’t erupted in over 1,000 years and doesn’t spew lava so it’s safe to climb. Reaching the summit will give you the best view of the island which is why I wanted to take on the challenge. I’ve climbed Mt. Fuji in Japan which was quite the strenuous hike of 3,776 meters. Hallasan is still challenging, but is only 1,947 meters and has a lovely forest you can see on your way up. I found the hike to be pleasant and surprisingly relaxing.
Hallasan National Park is in the center of the main Jeju island and is quite easy to get to from any accommodation. It only took me around 45 mins via bus from my hostel. The mountain has four main trails, but only two will take you all the way to the top. I decided to start at the Seongpanak Trail then take the Gwaneumsa Trail down. This is the best way to see Hallasan as you can reach the summit and fully experience all the sights on the main trails within 8 – 10 hours. If you want a shorter hike, you can try Eorimok Trail or Yeongsil Trail which only take 2 hours. I did not hike them, but from looking at pictures that others have posted I can see that they have similar scenery to the beginning of the main trails. I never guessed that Korea would have such beautiful mountains, but I was surprised to see how jaw-dropping the views were the further I climbed:
I started climbing around 8:30am and bought a small bottle of Korean Sochu from a convenience store at the base so I could take little shots of it as I climbed up the mountain. Fortunately my hostel provided free breakfast so with 3 pieces of egg toast I knew I would have the energy to go all the way. I listened to all of my favorite music while walking through the forest and had a nice little reflection on life. Here I was in Korea again. I found out there’s way more to this country than K-pop, cosmetics, and partying in Seoul and Busan. These violet flora I kept seeing were absolutely beautiful. Before I knew it, I was walking up the stairs and could vaguely make out the peak. Of course it looked closer than it actually was, but it was still within my sight. This was honestly much more peaceful than my Fuji hike because there weren’t nearly as many people. I could focus on the views and climb with ease in anticipation of climbing my first active volcano.
Seeing this beautiful crater lake Baengnokdam (백록담/白鹿潭) was my reward:
I was so happy to not only have climbed Japan’s tallest mountain, but now Korea’s too!! I actually enjoyed this more than Fuji due to it being shorter and having the crater lake at the top. Not to mention that there were far less people. I would recommend climbing both if you are a nature enthusiast traveling through Asia. The feeling of looking down at the island once you’ve reached the top is one of pure victory. I enjoyed experiencing snow on a sub-tropical island even if I was unprepared for it too.
Here is a video of us climbing towards the top:
After snapping a bunch of pictures, I started my descent on the Gwaneumsa Trail. I was still freezing, but fortunately the further I climbed down the faster my body temperature returned to normal. I was high on adrenaline and knew food was waiting for me at the bottom too, so that was my main motivation!
The Gwaneumsa Trail was initially a bit steep to climb down, but provided me with some gorgeous mountain views. There was also a sign warning us to steer clear of wild boars. Who would have guessed they were native to Korea!! I found that getting down took less time than I expected, so I completed the climb in around 8 hours. Not bad for my first big climb of the year. I celebrated with some Korean seafood pancakes by a place near the trail entrance. I tried to use a map to figure out the bus schedule, but unfortunately I didn’t have any service and was informed that buses are really infrequent here. Despite the language barrier, the store owners were kind enough to call a taxi for me that wasn’t very expensive. I was very thankful for my experience and also that the weather stayed nice!
After my hike I decided to try a hot spring in Jeju, because why not? Tapdong Seawater Sauna (which is now sadly closed) was closest to my hotel so I decided to walk there. Two things about it really amazed me. The first was that you could go swimming in certain baths. Usually at Japanese onsen, swimming is forbidden. However, Jeju has a huge female diving community, so I could see where this makes sense. The second was that Korean people brought water with them into the sauna. That is also not allowed in Japan, but with the super hot temperature I could see why people did it. The culture here was a lot more laid back which I really enjoyed. The concierge jokingly called me an alcoholic because I was still carrying soju around with me, but I laughed and said it’s because I just climbed Hallasan and I was on vacation. It was hard to believe that this was only my second day!!
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