Taeanhaean National Park (태안해안국립공원) is truly a unique coastal park. For one thing, I think we found the largest stretch of flat land in the whole country! We struggled to find a high observation point. But, luckily we did find one – it was a very small mountain indeed, but still a mountain! This was our briefest national park visit by far, but we had a great time on this (mini) mountain mission.
After a long daisy-chain of buses across the country, we arrived in the city of Taean with two minutes to spare before the last bus of the day left for Mallipo Beach. We’d chosen Mallipo Beach as our destination because, among the many coastal areas comprising this park, it seemed the most accessible using public transit. We were the only passengers on a big bus, driving a straight, flat road towards the sea. We arrived at a lively little beach town, all sandy streets and floaty toys in the shops. People were setting off fireworks on the beach, and, somewhere, a band was playing. We walked around a little before settling in for the night.
The next morning, we were up bright and early. We didn’t have a solid plan because we weren’t sure of our options – the information online was once again a little scant in regards to this maritime park. So we just started running north on the beach, originally thinking we’d just run to another beach town that might have a bus. But we found signs about the Taean Haebyeongil – a seaside walking (running!) course that included a tiny climb to an observation platform on a hill! Yes! This was just what we wanted.
I loved the feeling of running on the sand: the soft texture of the grains beneath my feet and the challenge of pushing off with force. To the right, we ran past lots of sleepy restaurants, cafes and bars; closed up in the morning calm. To the left, the tide was retreating; pulling back in little rippling waves to leave a wide stretch of dark, wet sand. We’d only gone a kilometer or two when the course led us off the beach and into a forest. We began to climb, very gently and on very soft, sandy earth.
Soon, we were standing on Guksabong. We had a view over the pine forest we’d just run through down to the beach we’d just run on. The seascape was shrouded in mist beyond the shore. It was a beautiful scene that really captured the west coast. Behind us on the little peak was a small gazebo, a couple of benches and an unbelievable amount of litter. Normally I find this incredibly distressing when I’m just wearing a running vest and don’t have any means to fix the problem. But luckily, I had stashed the big cloth bag that previously carried our bus snacks in my vest, and we put it to use gathering the trash. After our cleanup, and several more minutes gazing out to sea, we ran back down to the beach.
Back on the beach, we took advantage of our solitude to fully stretch. We also kicked off our shoes so our toes could touch the water. We were back at the bus terminal before 8 am, which meant we had enough time for another adventure!
Know and Go! Taeanhaean National Park
Transportation
Like its coastal counterparts Dadohaehaesang and Hallyeohaesang, Taeanhaean National Park is made up of several distinct coastal areas. This national park protects 72 islands, a large swath of the sea, and 26 beaches along the west coast. In addition to the seashore, there are swamps, sand dunes and pine forests under protection nearby.
If you have your own vehicle, you will also have your choice of beaches! Roads connect the beaches to one another, and to Taean, the nearest city. Coming on public transit, your best bet is to connect onto one of the public buses that ply the coast. We thought the bus heading straight to Mallipo Beach seemed like the simplest option, but with research and/or the use of a taxi, you will only be limited by your imagination.
Hike & Run
It was incredibly difficult to find out any information about the hiking in Taeanhaean National Park in advance. Which is why we were so delighted to discover the Taean Haebyeongil – a series seashore walkways! While these walkways, apparently spanning 88 km of beach and forest, are wonderful, it’s still difficult to find out any information. Searches confirm they exist, but I’ve yet to come across a good page with maps and descriptions of the whole network. It does seem like you can access the trail easily from various beaches (indeed, the trail often runs along the beach and through small towns), so finding food and somewhere to sleep wouldn’t likely be a problem. So, depending on the time you have available, you could take the adventurous route of getting yourself to the coast and seeing what happens from there. Or, for a shorter and easier-to-plan adventure, choose one of Taean’s many attractive beaches and go for hike in that area.
For us, we were excited to see a sign pointing the way to another beach, just under 20 km north of Guksabong. But, without any information about public transit in that area, and with a jam-packed schedule of adventures for the day, we opted to just swing back the way we’d come. We’d like to go back and explore more of the Taean Haebyeongil and its beaches.
Stay & Eat
For many, staying and eating in Taeanhaean National Park will be one of the highlights, if not the main event! Stretched out along the beaches of the west coast, there are great options for taking it easy. Hotels and motels are everywhere, alongside restaurants, convenience stores and cafes. As always, people not partial to seafood might want to bring a bag of snacks. While marts are plentiful, I didn’t notice any supermarkets, at least where we were in Mallipo Beach. However, some of the accommodation options, especially pensions, feature little kitchenettes, with gas range stove-tops and sinks. Camping with your own stove and foodstuff is also an option at many of the beaches along this coast.
Other Notes
Kent and I visited this park in late August 2016. This was the 17th national park we visited during our mountain mission year. We did a short, 4.7 km out-and-back run.
Guksabong, the peak we visited, was a mere 125m but commanded great views over the beach. I don’t know if it is the highest peak in the park or not, but it seemed to be the highest peak in the Mallipo Beach area.
As always, I used the Korea National Park Service website to research this park, but be aware that the hiking courses section is actually limited to a description of the different beaches. The distances measured in this section are driving distances for cars. The KNPS site in this case is best utilized for comparing the features of different beaches.
Explore more mountains with me: this is the list of national parks!