Our second summit of the day promised to be a short but sweet one. After Bulgapsan, we headed to Chukryeongsan (축령산)! This mountain’s setting was slightly bizarre: the peak was just above a recreation forest with no mapped trails, and seemingly only one – very remote – route of access.
I read a blog about Chukryeongsan to be sure we’d actually be able to do it. From this blog, I learned that the area was badly deforested after the war, but one guy decided to make it his life’s mission to replant trees on the mountain to make a park. These days, in addition to the short trail up to the summit, there is also a long trail along the ridge and multiple ‘healing trails’ through the forest below.
Short on time, as usual, we could only nab the summit – but at least we could do that! We drove through a thick fog in the valley to get from Bulgapsan to Churkyreongsan. Kent drove the car up a narrow road, past a village of cafes and pensions and a little reservoir. We were able to park at the end of the road where pavement gave way to gravel, just a few hundred meters from the Korea Forest Welfare Institute.
It was there that I started my GPS watch, and we began our super steep climb upwards. A signboard indicated that it was 600 meters to the peak, and nearly all of those meters were straight up! There were lots of wooden posts in the earth, making steps, and we hiked up them.
For a while, we were alongside the replanted forest, which was lovely in its symmetry and green pine-y-ness. Then we got to a ridge, which was more open and rocky. With only 600 meters of trail, we reached the peak in no time!
The summit of Chukryeongsan was super crowded with hikers, seemingly all in one big group! We took a few photos and spent time on the second story of the nice peak pavilion while we waited for the stele to become available. And we soon got our wish!
But as the large group departed, a duo remained behind. It was another couple, and they approached us. Turns out, it was the same man and woman we’d met earlier at Bulgapsan! It was really funny and neat that another pair were doing the exact same trip that we were! We took some photos with them before they moved on.
A few more grateful minutes with the peak, and then we too began the descent. There were now lots of people climbing upwards, many of them sweating and panting. I think if someone came to a recreation forest expecting a stroll in the woods, then was presented with a near-vertical climb of 600 meters, anyone might be a little surprised and sweaty. Meanwhile, we were laughing because this was by far the quickest, easiest peak on our 120 summits mission!
We returned to the forest center and spent a few minutes admiring the foliage before heading back down the road to the car. We walked hand-in-hand, as we’d done at Bulgapsan earlier: the slower pace allowing for some moments of reflection and romance. Sometimes it’s so nice not to be in a hurry, and to just have the time to be together!
I felt like today we were truly forest bathing: our main goal being to just enjoy the beauty of the mountains and each other’s company. It was just what I needed, and I felt refreshed. We drove downhill just a few hundred meters to where I’d noticed a woman selling sweet potatoes (my fave!). This is the life: peaks and treats!
KNOW AND GO! CHUKRYEONGSAN
TRANSPORTATION
Chukryeongsan is located midway between Gochang (of Bangjangsan fame!) and Jangseong (which has a train station).
Despite its proximity to these two towns, however, Chukryeongsan is fairly remote. It is only indirectly accessible by public transit.
Coming from Jangseong, you can take an hour-long ride on local bus 46 to reach a spot just south of the 253 highway. From there, it’s an easy walk on a road under the freeway (and past a few temples!) to reach the trailhead we used. Alternatively, you can take an hour-long ride on bus 11 to reach Moam village, just below Chukryeongsan Natural Recreation Forest, and access the peak after exploring some of the healing trails.
Gochang is equally close, but there are less options. The best option for busing is taking the local bus bound for Jeongdong and disembarking at Singi village. From there, a walk up the road will eventually connect to the longer Chukryeong ridge trail. You might feel silly heading north only to turn back around and go south on the trail, but this is the correct way!
For our trip, we had a rental car so that we could take in multiple mountains in a short period of time. We parked just below the forest center on the south side of Chukryeongsan.
HIKE & RUN
There’s an extremely short route up this peak from the southeast: it’s about half a kilometer directly up! For delayed gratification (and a longer nature immersion experience), climb from the north. That trail is about 4.5 kilometers one-way.
You can see both of the above routes on popular mapping apps like Naver and Kakao, but the healing forest trails are completely unmapped. You’ll have to go the natural recreation forest and discover them for yourself.
STAY & EAT
To my absolute delight, there were roasted sweet potatoes (my favorite food!) on offer at a little shop below the trailhead! Although there’s nothing indicated on the map here, there were other food options and a few cafes as well.
There are also a number of small minbaks and pensions scattered all around the mountain: you’ll find at least one option for your stay at whichever entrance you choose.
Of course, you’ll find more options for eats and sleeps if you base yourself in Gochang or Jangseong.
Other than grabbing some scrumptious sweet potatoes for the road, we neither stayed nor ate here. We were, after all, on a mission!
OTHER NOTES
Chukryeongsan is 621 meters high and is listed on the Black Yak 100 summits list: check it out here.
Chukryeongsan should get an award for the shortest hike we did on our 100 summits mission: this one was just 1.3 kilometers, and that’s round-trip!
Explore more mountains on the 120 summits main page! If you missed it, you must visit Bulgapsan! Not necessarily on the same day, as we did, but it’s another wonderful mini mountain!
Happy trails on Chukryeongsan or wherever today’s adventure takes you!