Hiking Ulsanbawi Rock – and Sokcho

I passed up our scarce Yosemite reservations to come to Korea - but not an opportunity to sleep on the ground last night... just like camping! It is the old, traditional Korean way of sleeping except the “pad” we were given is a thin down comforter - I miss my comfy camping pad! After my sleep last night, my watch told me that my health metrics were out of whack - and I suspect the hard floor to be the culprit. “Consider yoga or taking a rest day,” my watch suggested. “Oh I like that idea,” Chris agreed. Ummm … that’s not what is on today’s itinerary!

 

Today’s plan was a sunrise hike and at 5:30am there were already five cars lined up to enter the parking lot. (We drove the short distance from the hotel to save time.) The parking fee must vary depending on the time you go because last night it was ₩6,000 and this morning the attendant collected ₩10,000.

 

We are headed up 2860 feet to the Seoraksan National Park’s icon Ulsanbawi Rock, a unique rock formation composed of six granite peaks. Six miles roundtrip from the park entrance, the hike is rated a “difficult” hike mostly because of the 800+ metal stairs. I’d say the hike is 100% worth the effort and do-able for the average determined person willing to go at their own pace.

 

Spoiler alert- this was our clearest view of the day.

 

Even though the cloud cover protected us from any direct sun, Chris grumbled about the heat. “I hope we have no more hikes on this trip - at least no more going outside. That’s not allowed.” Silly Chris! “Nope nothing like that. No more temples and no more hikes,” replied the tour guide.

 

About half-way up timewise and 2/3rds distance-wise is Gyejoam Temple. After that you don’t have much further to go but it’s a lot steeper and primarily metal stairs.

 

When you get to Gyejoam Temple, don’t pass by “rocking” rock. We laughed at ourselves when we found out we were pushing it the wrong way. Chris claimed we were just trying to save it from the hundreds of thousands of people trying to push it off.

 

Heundeulbawi “rocking” rock sits precariously near the edge of a large boulder inviting all who pass by to try to push it off.

 

These granite steps don't count in the 800+ stairs along the way and aren't the hard part.

 

Still not the hard part.

 

This is it! Hot, tired, and out of breath - you’re almost at the top!

 

The top of Ulsanbawi Rock has three different, connecting viewpoints.

 

It is difficult to imagine the majestic mountains and sweeping vistas normally to be seen from this viewpoint.

 

On a clear day, this view is your reward for the steep hike.

 

The phone was cruel and said that the current visibility was 13 miles. We waited patiently for 1-1/2 hours at the tippy top, hopeful for a break in the fog. Finally, with a heavy heart, we decided it was time to call it quits and move on with our day. Chris said I just have to come back with Jeremy.

 

While we missed the unforgettable views, there were numerous positives to our adventure! We got a fantastic workout, we saw a lot of beauty, we met friendly Koreans, and we helped save wobble rock. It could’ve been worse … it could’ve been raining!

 

These friendly Koreans from Seoul were the first ones to speak to us on our trip. (Koreans are nice but reserved.)  They offered us candy, spoke a bit of broken English, and wanted a picture of us all doing “Korean hearts” gestures. Their sweetness warmed my heart and was our hike’s highlight.

 

After being treated so kindly by our newfound summit friends, I decided it was time I learn a word of Korean.  Hello is “annyeonghaseyo”.  I asked Vivian if there was a shorter version, like “hi”.  Yes, but I need to use the formal phrase with strangers.  That’s a mouthful and I panic every time it is my turn to say it!

 

Seoraksan is notorious for having variable weather. Rain and cloud cover are common, even when other parts of the country are bathed in sunshine. Supposedly the park is beautiful year-round. October is the park’s busiest month - so much so that the trails can be unpleasantly crowded. For us (in August) there were no crowds.

 

Right after we left the park we found this random little coffee store off the main street in a traditional-looking village.  Domun, in a converted hanok, serves the best vanilla iced latte I’ve ever had!

 

For the next part of the day, we have a short 20-minute drive to Sokcho, our stop for the night.  The port city of Sokcho is quite convenient for its close proximity to Seoraksan National Park and is one of the most popular beach destinations in Korea.

 

Just for kicks we headed to Abai Village, a unique area with a high concentration of North Korean refugees.  It is known for its stuffed squid sundae, a twist on the traditional Korean blood sausage.  For only ₩500 you can take a cute ferry over to the village.

 

The getbea ferry to Abai Village is operated with a cable pulley system.  

You can grab a hook and help the ferryman get the boat across!

 

There actually isn't much to see or do in the small Abai Village - except eat.

It was lunchtime so we were looking to find some of the notorious squid sundae.  Shortly after Chris joked we could pick a place by the long line, we stumbled on a long line. Perfect! Especially since nobody was eating at any of the other places.

 

For lunch we picked the only place with a line.  Dancheon has 10,000 reviews on the naver app.

 

Chris’ body doesn’t take well to sitting crisscross on the floor. For lunch we shared the squid sundae (₩15,000) and cold buckwheat noodles (₩10,000).

 

Sokcho Jungang (Central) Market, also known as Sokcho Tourist and Fishery Market, is a fun and great way to explore Sokcho’s street food Culture. The market’s streets are lined with vendors offering an array of mouth-watering treats.  (If you don’t make it to Abai Village, there’s plenty of squid sundae at the market.) 

 

One of several entrances to Sokcho Central Market

On a Sunday evening, the market was fairly busy!

Every single person at the market was carrying one of two things:  either a box of “dak gangjeong” sweet and sour fried chicken or a bagged chunk of Sulppang bread.  Going with our theory to try anything that has a long line, we quickly jumped into the first queue we saw, even though we didn’t know what we were lining up for – because the serving counter was empty.  A sign said that it takes 30 minutes to make 8 pieces of the unknown treasure.  Finally we saw what we were waiting for – a massive chunk of some sort of bread.  It was the size of my head!  Since we were at the back of a very long line, we decided to try something else.

 

There were crazy long lines for this interesting fluffy, sweet treat called Sulppang bread.  Hopefully we find it somewhere else on our trip because these cute little boys excited to say hello to me said the bread is “very, very good!”

 

For dinner we hunted out the white and black box that everyone else was carrying around: Manseok Dakgangjeong’s boneless sweet and sour chicken. 

Note: there is no line for the chicken because there are stacks of boxes all packaged up and ready to go.  "It's good after it's cooled down" read a sign in English.

 

For ₩21,000 ($16) we had a large (~3 portion) serving of the best chicken we’ve tasted in Korea!

 

As the day was ending, we walked to Yeonggeumjeong, a traditional style pavilion located near Sokcho’s downtown area.

 

I didn’t have any expectations for Sokcho and was pleasantly surprised.  I preferred the vibe here over our only other city, Suwon.  Our hotel was very nice and in a great location.  We paid only ₩68,000 ($52) to stay at Sea Cruise Hotel.

 

The view of "Sokcho Lake" from our hotel balcony on the 11th floor.

 

Repeatedly today I found myself thinking how much Jeremy will love it here in Korea!