Baegunsan (Gwangyang) – (백운산(광양))

Baegunsan (Gwangyang) – (백운산(광양)) was so close to our home, and such a high mountain, that it would have been a shame not to visit it. Still, with our busy schedule of training and adventures in all of Korea’s parks, we didn’t get to visit this mountain until the end of September 2016.

A close-up of the summit stele of Baegunsan. The stele uniform grey rock inscribed with black Chinese characters. The stele is affixed to a large flat surface of slightly paler, natural rock. The stele is slightly to the right of center, and beyond it, the ridge of the mountain runs north. It is mainly covered in forest, but here and there, rocks rupture through the greenery.

This is not the only Baegunsan. On the contrary; there are actually dozens of mountains of this same name in Korea. Indeed, there are three on our 120 summits list! The name Baegunsan translates to ‘white clouds mountain’. Such a name is befitting of many of Korea’s high mountains, as from the summits one often has a great view cloud-filled valleys.

This particular Baegunsan towers 1,222 meters over the south coast towns of Suncheon and Gwangyang. It’s situated just across the Seomjingang river from the imposing bulk of Jirisan, the highest mountain on the peninsula. Not only is it a significant summit in its own right (the second highest in the Jeolla provinces, after Jirisan), it is also well-known for having an abundance of rare plants!

A close-up image of a multicolored bunch of berries. They are growing on a rigid stem near to the ground. Several blades of grass cut this way and that across the frame. The berries range from dark green near the bottom to bright red near the top, with orange and yellow berries in between! — Like this specimen!

All of this promised great hiking and special scenery, so we knew we were going to have to make time for Baegunsan (Gwangyang)!

It was a warm autumn day that we chose for our hike, and it was a celebration of sorts! We had just completed our mountain mission: visiting each and every one of Korea’s national and provincial parks. Of course, our idea of celebrating the completion of a hiking mission was to do another hike! Enter Baegunsan.

Heading up, we were delighted by how healthy the forest seemed. There were so many different kinds of plants, all growing with such wild abandon that at times they covered the path! At times, we followed a snaking dirt single-track, winding our way upwards. Other times, all sight of the trail was lost in the greenery!

A calm image inviting contemplation. A narrow dirt trail runs diagonally through the frame. It is brown, and everything else in the image is green. There are green grasses growing nearest to the ground, green bushes growing slightly taller, and trees with green leaves rising highest. This image captures a peaceful forest scene. — On the trail…

A vertical image of a particularly bushy section of the Baegunsan hike. Here, tall grasses and leafy bushes crowd the trail at waist and even chest height, making it difficult to see the trail! In this image, Kent is leading the way through the forest. His back is to the camera, and his body is turned slightly to the side as he navigates the foliage. — Yes, still on the trail…

It didn’t take a special education in botany to see that there was something special about this forest. There was truly a mesmerizing variety of plant life. There were berries in every color, and mushrooms were growing everywhere, perfuming the air.

A photograph of some dazzlingly purple berries! There are dozens of them on the branches of this one bush. They are in fact so bright that the brown branches and green leaves appear slightly bleached. — Snozberries?

A vertical image of many hat shaped mushrooms growing in a crack in the bark of a tree. The outer bark, to either side, appears lighter in color and in some places, green with moss. The darker part in the middle forms an upside-down triangle shape. The tiny, tan mushrooms grow together in clusters, of which there are several on the trunk of this tree. — Mushroom, mushroom!

A little temple, Baegunsa, was located on the mountain slopes. We stopped to have a little look around at the colorful buildings.

This image features one of the colorful buildings of Baegunsa temple. Taken from a low angle, the building rises suddenly and surprisingly from a large boulder. The building is set against another large grey boulder, or perhaps a rocky cliff. Trees surround this little building, which seems smaller in comparison and thanks to the low angle. There is a lone tile placed on the rock in the bottom left corner of the image, painted brightly and whimsically. There is no indication of where it might belong.

Reaching the ridge, we emerged into a clearing. Some golden grasses grew long around a helipad. We could see the rocky peak of Baegunsan (Gwangyang) ahead!

An artistic image of long grasses growing on a flat part of the ridge. Right at this place, the trail opens up onto a helipad, leaving the forest behind. The grasses in this image are long, with frayed tips that wave in different directions in the wind. They are gold, contrasting with the green leaves of the bushes alongside the trail. Baegunsan is visible as a rise in the distance below a pale blue sky. — Baegunsan, seen from the ridge

It was hardly surprising to find a crowd of other hikers already assembled on it. We spotted their colorful attire from afar, then headed over to join them in their summit celebrations!

A panorama of the peak. To the left, vast views encompass Baegunsan's long southern ridge and the valley far below. On the right side of the frame, half a dozen hikers are assembled around the summit stele. Some are sitting on rocks, and others standing, while one gentleman in a red shirt poses with his arm draped over the summit stele.

Looking down now, from above, we could see that the first hints of fall in this southern forest. The tops of the trees below were turning yellow and orange. The people at the peak were opening up their packs and setting up picnics on the summit stones. This was our chance to pose with the summit stele!

In this selfie, the author and her husband are posed with the Baegunsan summit stele. In this lucky shot, there are no other hikers in the frame! Kent holds the camera and grins widely. Carrie stands further back, with one arm over the stele and her other hand resting against its side. She, too, is smiling brightly towards the camera.

It was hazy, the mist rendering neighboring Jirisan and the Seomjingang river below somewhat indistinct. Still, it was beautiful! And despite the lateness of the day – near noon at this point, there were hints of the special cloud sea that this mountain is named for.

After spending some time with the peak, we decided to continue northwards along the ridge to see what else we could see! There were flaming orange maple leaves, tumbles of moss-colored boulders and bright purple flowers.

This is a vertical photograph with Kent at the very center, climbing up some small rocks towards some larger ones. He has a large black plastic bag in one hand, and he is facing away from the camera. The rocks are mottled grey and green - moss growing on their surfaces. There is a cluster of purple flowers near the bottom left corner of the frame, and giant slate-colored boulders dominate the top of this image. There are trees growing here and there beside the path, giving the viewer the feeling of being in the forest. — Rocky climbs!

Here, a close-up of the purple flowers from the previous image. In this view, they are set in contrast to the dark grey rock. There are five blooms, two of which have petals that are slightly parted to reveal a slightly paler inside. The blooms are growing at the end of a long stem with large, flat leaves that jut out to either side at sharp angles. There is also a fern reaching in towards the flowers from the right. — Purple petals!

At times, the trail seemed like it belonged in a national park: it was very well-groomed, with staircases and signage everywhere! At other points, it was very nearly swallowed up by the forest. Elsewhere, rocky boulders would erupt out of nowhere, rising high over the forest.

A photograph of Kent, standing on a rocky outcrop above the forest and a sea of blue peaks stretching seemingly toward infinity. He is holding that black plastic bag, and looking down. He does not seem to be aware that he is being photograph, and indeed, seems deep in thought. — Kent, in contemplation

(Perhaps now is a good time for an explanation: See that bag Kent is carrying? It contains a huge bottle of pink rice wine. It was from Mungyeong Saejae Provincial Park, the final park of our original mountain mission! However, instead of drinking it, we’d decided to save it to share with a friend of ours, who – like Kent – is a connoisseur of maekgeolli. So, at this time, Kent was both delighted that I’d agreed to add on this peak somewhat spontaneously – and dismayed that it meant that he would be hiking around Baegunsan (Gwangyang) with a heavy black plastic bag full of untouched drink in tow – as evidenced by the photo above!)

Sinseondae was our next stop: a wide, rocky plateau topped by a wooden stele. There were views along the ridge, including back towards Baegunsan. There was also more evidence for the approach of fall.

A vertical photograph of Kent with the Sinseondae summit stele. He has one arm around the wooden stele and he is smiling, although he is also squinting tremendously in the bright sunlight. The wooden stele appears weathered, but it still bears the name of this location and an arrow points in the direction of North. — Sinseondae!

A portrait of fall foliage. Brilliantly orange Japanese maple leaves line the image on the bottom and right-hand sides. The orange color enhances their shapely 5-pointed shape. There are other trees beyond, framing a view of several hazy peaks and ridges.

Descending, we twisted down below the giant boulder of Sinseondae. The forest wrapped around us once more. We held tightly to our last minutes of hiking; slowing down to savor each step, knowing we’d reach the end soon and suddenly.

An image of the welcome sight of a bus stop at the end of the author's hike. A green roof stands over orange pillars, and there is a photograph of Baegunsan on the back wall. There are five orange seats in the bus stop, and a simple map of the bus route. — Nonsil, end of the line

We popped out onto a quiet, paved road for the last kilometer of our hike. This road led us down to Nonsil, a still and silent little hamlet. Maps on the wall of the lonesome bus shelter indicated this was the end of the line. I stretched, and Kent sat. We both felt happy and satisfied to have explored more of our neighborhood mountains!

A vertical photograph taken from Sinseondae. Stairs run steeply down towards a cluster of light grey boulders. More boulders dot the ridge that rises up towards the summit of Baegunsan. The large rocky summit seems to pierce the bright white sky above the green and yellow forest that slopes away to either side. — Looking back at Baegunsan

Know and Go! Baegunsan (Gwangyang)

Transportation

Despite its location near the south central coast of Korea, this Baegunsan is not terribly remote. It’s most easily accessed from Gwangyang, but trailheads surround the mountain on all sides. It is also possible to begin hikes near Gurye, north Suncheon and Hadong.

If you arrive at the Gwangyang Jungma (main) bus terminal, hop on bus 99, which will deliver you straight to the main trailhead. This will take about 90 minutes. You can halve that time, but quadruple the expense, by taking a taxi there instead. (We opted to take a taxi there to save time, and waited for the bus heading back after having spent all our cash.)

Alternatively, you might find it easier to first get to Suncheon, which has both buses and a KTX rail terminal. From Suncheon, you get to Baegunsan by way of two buses. First, take the 77 from either the bus terminal or the train station to north Gwangyang; and from there, transfer to the 21-3. This takes approximately the same amount of time, but is only worthwhile if you’re basing yourself in Suncheon (see below).

Other trail-heads are less well-served by public transit and might require your own wheels or some ingenuity to get to!

Hike & Run

There is a true wealth of hiking options on this mountain. No matter what your experience level or goals, there’s a hike for you on Baegunsan (Gwangyang)!

We opted for a shorter outing after a lot of transit and a late start. Our 10k trek started near Baegunsa temple, took in the summit and Sinseondae and then descended to Nonsil. But our little loop barely scratched the surface of the available options. This is a big mountain with multiple peaks, so if you have the time and/or ability, I’d recommend doing a point-to-point hike here. There are so many options: just look at this map!

A photograph of a trail map posted at one of Baegunsan's trailheads. In this massive map, it is easy to see the myriad of hiking options. This map alone lists 8 hiking courses, indicated by different colors! — Baegunsan trail map

Stay & Eat

As mentioned above, Gwangyang is the transportation hub for Baegunsan. There are certainly motels and restaurants here, but Gwangyang has a small-town vibe. It’s sprawling (and slightly confusing) and industrial. If you’re just here for the mountain, there’s definitely nothing wrong with basing yourself here.

But might I recommend nearby Suncheon as an alternative? I have to – I used to live there! Suncheon can properly be called a city. It has a population of 250,000, and some tourist attractions to boot! The Suncheon Bay gardens and wetland draw many visitors, as does Naganeupseong – a Joseon-dynasty fortress. Finally, if you’ve planned a weekend away in Suncheon, you might also want to check out Jogyesan: the nearby provincial park with its scenic temple-to-temple hike!

Other Notes

Baegunsan (Gwangyang) is on both mountain lists! It’s on the Korea Forest Service 100 noted mountains list, available here, and the Black Yak 100 mountains list, online here.

Kent and I climbed Baegunsan in September of 2016. We did a 10 kilometer hike that took us about 4 hours. This was at the close of our original mountain mission year.

Baegunsan stands a dramatic 1,222 meters above several river valleys. And it is by no means the only peak on this ridge: there is great scenery and hiking in virtually every direction from Baegunsan’s summit.

Searching for information about this mountain can be confusing, thanks to its name and multiple twins across the peninsula. Here is the Visit Korea write-up about this Baegunsan.

Want more of Korea’s marvelous mountains? Head back to the 120 summits main page!