Gangcheonsan (강천산)

Another early start – and another crazy day! My plan was for us to park under Chuwolsan, which would be our second mountain of the day. On the way there, we could check out the trailhead for Gangcheonsan (강천산), which was where we planned to start. This worked perfectly, and I was happy that everything seemed like it would work out.

A portrait of the author, hanging from the Gangcheonsan summit stele in the orange light of a November dawn.

What did not work perfectly was Kent’s stomach. He’d woken up feeling under the weather, and as soon as we got out of the car, he started to vomit. He walked a circle around me, puking on either side of the road. Horrified and concerned, I suggested we get back in the car and either take a nap or drive to the nearest pharmacy.

But Kent was remarkably okay! He said it was good toughness training, and urged me to start running with him. So, off we went to Gangcheonsan!

Despite the crazy start, the conditions were otherwise kind of perfect. This November night was mild and clear. The moon was a bright crescent, and the sky was full of sparkly stars overhead.

Our route began with an easy 3.5 kilometer road run from the foot of Chuwolsan to the nearest Gangcheonsan trailhead. The road wrapped around Damyang Lake, so it was scenic as well as utilitarian. The bottom of the dam was familiar territory that we remembered well from our bike trips in years prior.

We soon reached a trail, which started with a climb straight up. The moon looked like a lantern on Geumsong fortress, sitting just at the top of the hill above.

Reaching the top, a beautiful scene spread before us in the pale pre-dawn light. A huge fortress gate rose up between massive stone walls. It was too dark to take a picture, so I tried to hold the scene in my memory. We ran on to a second, equally awesome gate.

Truly inside Geumseongsanseong now, we studied a set of maps. We decided to run through the middle of the fort towards the north gate, where another trail would lead us onto a ridge, ultimately connecting with Gangcheonsan.

The trail through Geumseong was lovely, rolling and runnable, through bamboo groves and surprisingly green grassland, then up through a peaceful yellow forest as the light brightened. We whispered our admiration of the north gate, so as not to disturb the sleeping campers. It was so beautiful! I loved the traditional scenery and tranquility, and felt very happy.

A captivating photograph of Kent standing in awe of a massive, traditional gate. This is Bukmun, the north gate, of Geumseongsanseong!

As we set off down the curved half-moon ridge connecting us to our mountain destination, my happiness only increased. Our trail was on a perfectly runnable ridge, with pretty foliage all around. It seemed to me like this part of the country was still truly experiencing fall: it was warm and golden, rather than stark and frigid. I thoroughly enjoyed this most remote part of our run.

The trail leading through this fall forest is faint, just a slight tamping down of the leaves. One branch juts into the foreground, displaying its bright orange sugar maple leaves.

A red sun shone the first light of the day over the ridge opposite us. We arrived on Wangjabong, the summit of Gangcheonsan, just as the full sphere of the sun topped that distant ridge.

A summit selfie featuring both Kent and Carrie. They're standing in front of Gangcheonsan's summit stele.

Wangjabong was a lovely peak, not overly dramatic – but rather cozily tucked in the forest. There was a huge rock cairn, and several benches for resting on, including a couple with terrific views across the valley to the other side of the amphitheater and beyond.

A striking vertical photograph of a single bench, set in front of a dramatic view. The yellow orb of the sun is partially obscured by a nearby tree, but it gives the scene below a hazy peach tint. Dark shapes of mountains rise in the distance, seemingly out of thin air. — Take a seat and watch the landscape freshly illuminated for a brand new day.

We enjoyed the tippy top on our own, taking all the time we wanted to enjoy it. I fed Kent some ginger jellies and we snapped several pictures before starting our descent. We were bound for cloud bridge!

A vertical image depicting the steepness of the trails on Gangcheonsan! The viewer's eye is drawn to the white rope tied between the trunks of trees and their colorful leaves. It is difficult to spot Kent, the small figure in black far below and in the shadow. — Look how small Kent is on this steep slope!

The descent was extremely steep! We plunged way down into the valley, descending nearly 500 meters in less than a kilometer. We arrived at cloud bridge just as the first tourists were beginning to trickle in. The bridge was spectacular! Suspended high over the valley floor, it was painted red, as all cloud bridges here seem to be (Wolchulsan and Daedunsan spring to mind).

An image featuring Kent and the massive red 'cloud bridge' in the valley below Gangcheonsan. It's framed vertically, giving the viewer a sense of the towering height of the bridge.

We took our time walking across it. On the other side, we switched gears to climb steeply up again – this time on stairs rather than roped up switchbacks. There was an observation pavillion on top, where we couldn’t help but stop for amazing views of the bridge and back at Gangcheonsan’s peak.

Another dramatic image of Gangcheonsan's red cloud bridge, spanning a gap between two rocky cliffs. This is a beautiful photograph because the trees surrounding the bridge are so colorful in their fall foliage! — Views from above

In an additional image of the bridge, we see it from far above. This photo gives a sense of scale: it shows the span of the bridge and the gap below it, surrounded by rocky cliffs and colorful trees.

But there was still lots more to explore, so we proceeded. We ran up and down the rollercoaster ridge towards Gwangdeoksan (our second summit of that name this year – see the other here!). The trail in this area was less trodden and directly parallel to the one we’d taken to reach Gangcheonsan.

A vertical portrait of the author examining the slab-like summit stele on top of Gwangdeoksan. The views behind the peak also captivate: a distant ridge has an obvious trail winding above the colorful fall forest. — Another Gwangdeoksan!

We had incredible views, although the air quality was not ideal. On this long loop of the area, we got to enjoy more ridge running! Heading down from Gwangdeoksan, we crossed over a surprising road and past a big chillin’ area! Then we began to approach the dramatic rock walls of Geumseongsan, where we would complete our loop by running from the east gate to the north gate.

An artistic action shot of the lower half of Kent's body, one foot stepping down to the next stair. He's descending a ladder-like metal staircase painted in yellow, just below Gwangdeoksan. — Descent

This was another highlight of this run for me: I love running along a fortress wall! This one had all the drama of Namhansanseong in a wilderness setting. We clambered up a very exposed rocky peak beside the east gate (my heart in my throat), then ran along actually on top of the wall, with drop-offs to either side of varying heights.

A vertical image showing Kent traveling down a thin dirt trail on top of an ancient rock wall. This is Geumseongsanseong. — Walking the wall

The only unfortunate thing was that it was pretty packed with hikers by this point in the late morning. We dodged and weaved through the crowds as we retraced our steps back to the start. One hiker accidentally tripped Kent. Trooper that he is, he just carried on – although we later discovered that his knee was bleeding!

A vertical photograph of a Korean fortress gate. It's painted in the traditional Korean Buddhist colors, and framed by a very high stone wall. A stone path leads through the gate in the center of the image.

Back down at the base of Gangcheonsan, we ran back on the road alongside the lake at a nice, quick clip. It was time for a quick stop at our very own personal aid station! We were almost 5 hours (and 24k!) into our run. We dropped off our unnecessary warm gear and refilled on snacks and fluids. Soon we took off for the continuation of this epic adventure on Chuwolsan!

KNOW AND GO! GANGCHEONSAN

TRANSPORTATION

Gangcheonsan is about equidistant from Damyang and Sunchang, two lovely towns in the Jeolla provinces. Damyang, in Jeollanamdo, is a famously great tourist town with a beautiful bamboo forest and position on the Yongsan River. Sunchang is located in Jeollabukdo, just off the Seomjin River, and is mainly famous for its chili peppers. You can reach either town by intercity bus from most places: direct if you’re coming from a major urban center, but possibly requiring a transfer in Gwangju otherwise.

From Danyang, it’s a quick 30 minutes on bus 10-1 to trailheads on the southwestern side of the mountain. From Sunchang, take the bus bound for Jeongeup for 35 minutes to reach trailheads on the northeastern side of Gangcheonsan.

HIKE & RUN

The peak of Gangcheonsan is located more or less in the middle of a sprawling network of trails. The geography of the area forms a natural amphitheater, similar to Naejangsan or Seonunsan! Coming from the northeast, it’s a slightly shorter hike to the peak. But don’t miss out on all the good stuff on the Damyang side!

A simple trail map depicting the area around Geumseong fortress on the southwestern slopes of Gangcheonsan. — The good stuff like Geumseongsanseong!

I’d highly recommend taking in the views from the valley opposite Gangcheonsan as well, perhaps from Gwangdeoksan. A descent into the valley en route will double your ascent for the day – plus give you the chance to cross the dramatic suspension bridge spanning the two cliffs!

A more detailed trail map depicting the trails to Gangcheonsan and other nearby mountains and ridges! — Gangcheonsan is #11 on this map/ There’s also the cloud bridge at #15, Gwangdeoksan at #5 and Sanseongsan is #8!

Plus, if you want still more mountains, there’s always Chuwolsan…

STAY & EAT

The transit hubs for this mountain also represent the best places to stay and eat. I’ve stayed in both Damyang and Sunchang on numerous occasions. While I personally enjoy both (Sunchang, after all, is nearly the name twin of Suncheon, our former home base!), I will say that Damyang is better set up to accommodate tourists. Damyang is also closer to Gwangju, the major city in this part of Korea – which might be helpful to know for extended journeys.

OTHER NOTES

Gangcheonsan is an excellent adventure, representing some of the best inland hiking to be had in the Jeolla provinces. It’s also represented on the Korea Forest Service 100 noted mountains list, available here.

The summit of Gangcheonsan is on the lower end of the scale in Korea at 584 meters. However, this mountain is not to be underestimated: it’s got a long, jagged ridge and a plunging, central valley worth exploring.

Kent and I explored Gangcheonsan in November of 2018. We did an epic 32 kilometer run connecting Gangcheonsan to Chuwolsan!

Explore more on the 120 summits main page.

One final photograph of Gangcheonsan: here we can see a rock cairn, illuminated by sunlight, just in front of the summit stele, which is still in shadow.

Happy Gangcheonsan hiking!