This is really rural Korea. We drove in the blue light of dawn past sleeping farms to a tiny temple. Seodaesan (서대산) towered above us, swathed in cloud.
A beautiful waterfall splashed down into a pond behind colorful temple buildings. Although its serenity was enticing, we quickly set out on our mission, promising to return after Seodaesan’s summit.
We did a steep climb up well-marked trails, signposted with massive silver slabs every few hundred meters. As we went, I thought about how unfair it is that we can’t visit every mountain in the glory of springtime. Although Seodaesan would be captivating in any season, it was especially delightful today: with bursts of pastel blooms dotting the hillsides and perfuming the trail. The softest, greenest of green buds were erupting from the branches of the trees alongside the blooms.
It was a lovely morning, and I just felt delighted all the way up! It was a short climb, just about two kilometers. When we wound our way around one peak and emerged onto Seodaesan’s summit ridge, we were very surprised by what we saw!
There was a huge tower topped by a spherical ball, just like the one we always admire on Garisan. Best of all, we could go inside! There was a little shelter with some benches and some informational plaques about the water cycle and the locations of these unique structures. So fun!
We also stopped to visit the beautiful peak. There is a small rectangular stone bearing the Seodaesan’s name and height, set in the middle of a natural stone pyramid. The morning light was also beautiful, warm and gold, with a warm mist rising up from sunny side of the slopes to meet a cool breeze coming up from our shady temple side.
We continued along the Seodaesan summit ridge aways before finding a thin trail heading down. The cloud bridge that had been promised on the maps was ancient and long closed, but an interesting sight nonetheless. This trail down was eroded and a bit tricky, making for slow going.
At the bottom, we found a fun, dulle-gil-style connector trail and ran back to the Gaedeoksa. There, we sat at the foot of Lower Seodae Falls, eating sandwiches out of our packs and feasting our senses on the utter tranquility.
KNOW AND GO! SEODAESAN
TRANSPORTATION
Seodaesan is almost at the very center of South Korea. It’s located in South Chungcheong province, southeast of Daejeon. Although Seodaesan is roughly between the towns Geumsan and Okcheon, it’s much easier to reach from the latter.
Okcheon is accessible by bus or train from elsewhere on the peninsula. From Okcheon, a combination of buses 26 and 920 will take you just about to Gaedeoksa temple, which is a highly recommendable start/end point!
Full disclosure: we did not ride public transit on this trip! Instead we rode in style in this white chariot, and posed for some spontaneous advertising(?) for the rental company!
HIKE & RUN
There are five main routes up or down Seodaesan, plus the ridge that connects them. Nicely labeled and easy to follow, this network makes it easy to customize your own adventure.
There are no super long routes but there is the potential for picking up another mission! Do you like observation towers? If so, there are several more mountains like this you can collect and enjoy!
Gaedeoksa is a lovely little temple near a picturesque waterfall! This was where we started and ended our run. It was an important part of what made our Seodaesan experience special, so I’d like to pass it on as a tip to you!
STAY & EAT
There are several pensions around the foot of the mountain, and there’s even a motel. There’s also a campsite, if that’s your thing! However, these options might be less convenient for you if you’re traveling public transit. You could also stay in Okcheon, or even Daejeon if traveling through.
Alas, we neither stayed nor ate in the local area, as we were bound for more mountains!
OTHER NOTES
Seodaesan is 904 meters and represented on the Korea Forest Service 100 summits list (see it here!). But it’s not all about height: check out Seodaesan’s observation tower and the waterfall at Gaedeoksa temple!
Our Seodaesan run took place in April of 2018. Later that same day, we scrambled up nearby-ish Gubyongsan!
Seodaesan is special, and I hope you’ll go and discover why for yourself. Many other mountains might also be calling your name over on the 120 summits main page.
