Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Mountains & peaks
부산
The trail starts right behind the apartment blocks of Haeundae New Town, and within minutes you reach slopes buried under huge boulders. At 634 m, Jangsan is the second-highest mountain in Busan, and the landforms left by volcanic activity…
Mountains & peaks
청송군
Stand in the courtyard of Daejeonsa Temple and you see a cluster of rock towers rising behind its roofs like fingers pointing at the sky. Juwangsan is only 720.6 m high, but cliffs, gorges and waterfalls carved out of hardened volcanic ash…
Mountains & peaks
산청군
Jirisan is a vast mountain spread across three provinces and five cities and counties: Hadong, Hamyang and Sancheong in South Gyeongsang, Gurye in South Jeolla and Namwon in North Jeolla. Its highest peak, Cheonwangbong, is second only to…
Mountains & peaks
진안군
Drive across the Jinan plain and two grey rock peaks stand up side by side like a pair of pricked ears. Their resemblance to a horse's ears gave the mountain its name, Maisan (馬耳山). Up close the rock looks like rough concrete studded with…
Mountains & peaks
남양주시
Rising in the middle of Namyangju, Cheonmasan stands 812 m according to its summit stone, making it one of the higher peaks you can reach from eastern Seoul by train. True to its name, which means "the mountain that touches the sky", it is…
Mountains & peaks
담양군
Rising over Damyangho Lake north of Damyang, Chuwolsan is only a little over 700 m high, but its sheer rock walls and dense pine forest make it feel far wilder than its height suggests. People come for Boriam, a small hermitage perched on…
Mountains & peaks
남양주시
Rising on the border of Sudong-myeon in Namyangju and Gapyeong County, Chungnyeongsan (879 m) has a story in its very name. Legend says that Yi Seong-gye, the future founder of the Joseon dynasty, came hunting here at the end of the Goryeo…
Mountains & peaks
원주시
A monk once saved a pheasant from a snake. That night the snake came for the monk and promised to spare him only if a bell rang on the mountain before dawn. The bell rang three times, and when the monk went to the temple he found the pheas…
Mountains & peaks
태백시
Rising on the border of Taebaek in Gangwon and Bonghwa in North Gyeongsang, Taebaeksan has long been called the sacred mountain of the Korean people. At 1,567 m it is not especially high, but its summit area still holds Cheonjedan, a stone…
Mountains & peaks
경주시
Tohamsan (745 m) is the mountain that holds Bulguksa Temple and Seokguram Grotto. The Silla kingdom revered it as Dongak, the "Eastern Peak" among five sacred mountains that guarded the realm. From the summit you look west over the Gyeongj…
Mountains & peaks
대구
Palgongsan is Daegu's guardian mountain, about 20 km northeast of the city centre, spreading across Daegu and several cities and counties of North Gyeongsang. A ridge of roughly 20 km runs east to west from the highest peak, Birobong (1,19…
Mountains & peaks
제주시
Hallasan is the shield volcano that forms the heart of Jeju Island, and at 1,947 metres its summit is the highest point in South Korea. Locals say "Jeju is Hallasan and Hallasan is Jeju", and the mountain is visible from almost anywhere on…
Mountains & peaks
합천군
Rising on the border of Hapcheon and Sancheong counties in South Gyeongsang, Hwangmaesan was for a long time hard to find even in hiking guides. It became known after being designated a county park in 1983, and today it stands with Gayasan…
Mountains & peaks
부산
Climb this 427 m peak in the middle of Busan and the lights of Gwangan Bridge, Haeundae and Seomyeon spread out below you. Hwangnyeongsan Mountain straddles four districts, Busanjin, Nam, Suyeong and Yeonje, and because you can drive almos…