Biseulsan Mountain

Rising to 1,084 m where Daegu's Dalseong County meets Cheongdo and Changnyeong, Biseulsan turns pink with azaleas along its summit ridge in spring, and on its slopes lies a huge block stream, a river of boulders. Near the top, Daegyeonsa, the temple where the monk Iryeon once lived, has been rebuilt.

The name and the landscape

The name, written with the characters for the bipa and seul zithers, is said to come from the summit rocks, which look like an immortal playing a geomungo; old records also call it Posan, "the mountain covered in trees". It was designated a county park on 22 February 1986 and is one of the Korea Forest Service's 100 famous mountains.

The highest peak, Cheonwangbong (1,084 m), is flanked by Johwabong (1,058 m), Gwangibong (989 m) and Daegyeonbong along a north–south ridge. Above about 800 m the ground flattens out: a once gently rolling landscape was uplifted and cut by rivers, leaving level tops above steep slopes.

What to see

• Dalseong Biseulsan block stream: boulders 1–2 m across piled into a flow 2 km long, 80 m wide and 5 m thick, the largest block stream in Korea and a designated Natural Monument.
• Azalea fields: in spring the summit ridge is covered with azaleas and an azalea festival is held.
• Daegyeonsa: said to have been founded under King Heondeok of Silla; Iryeon, author of the Samguk yusa, is said to have lived here for 22 years from 1227. Abolished in 1917, it was reduced to its site and a three-storey pagoda until buildings including a relic hall were completed in March 2014, bringing it back after about a century. It is one of the few temples above 1,000 m.
• Yugasa and Yongyeonsa: counted among Biseulsan's three main temples; Yugasa is known as a place where Iryeon stayed.
• Biseulsan Natural Recreation Forest: forest cabins, an auto-camping ground and a forest healing centre, with the Biseulsan Ice Festival built around an ice hill every January.

Good to know

• The Biseulsan Ice Festival began in 1998 with an ice hill built in a valley of the recreation forest's campsite. It features an ice wall 200 m long, 20 m wide and 2–5 m thick, ice caves, igloos and sledging, and drew around 150,000 visitors during the 2016 festival.
• Daegyeonsa enshrines a relic of the Buddha donated in 2013 by Kurukude Temple in Sri Lanka, which is why it is a jeongmyeol bogung, a hall with relics in place of a statue.
• In February 2020, droppings of the long-tailed goral, a Natural Monument, were found on Biseulsan; yellow-throated martens and leopard cats also live here.
• The Biseulsan Dullegil, a long circuit around the mountain, has 11 sections linking Daegu, Cheongdo and Changnyeong.

Tripto tips

• Trails: Yugasa to the recreation forest is 6.8 km, about 4 hours; Yongyeonsa to the recreation forest is 11.4 km, about 5 hours 40 minutes.
• Fire-prevention closures: some trails may be closed 2 March–30 April and 1 November–15 December; check before you go.
• Visiting: the mountain is free and always open. Park information: 053-614-5481. The recreation forest is closed on Tuesdays (053-659-4400).
• Getting there: direct buses run from Daegu Seobu intercity bus terminal towards Hyeonpung. By car, take national route 5 or the Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway.
• When to go: azaleas in spring, silver grass and autumn colour in autumn, the ice festival in January. Start early on spring blossom weekends.