Hiking in Korea for Beginners: Tips & Recommendations

Are you planning on experiencing a hike while in South Korea? This is your ultimate beginners guide for hiking in Seoul.

After living in South Korea and taking a few hiking trips across South Korea, we would like to share some of the best tips for hiking in Seoul. 

Before we get into it all, there is something important that you have to know before coming to South Korea. Koreans have a huge hiking culture. We are pretty sure that anywhere you go you will see older people (아저씨, 아줌마) dressed in full hiking gear ready for their next adventures. Just in Seoul there are at least 5 mountains that you can go hiking. 

We have even heard lots of stories about how Koreans spend thousands and thousands of dollars on clothes, equipment, and so on to have the perfect hiking experience. Therefore, this is the perfect place to start your hiking adventure.

Top Tips for Hiking in Korea

Tip 1: Make sure you plan your route beforehand

Before you start on your hike one important thing is to make sure you have your route kinda understood before arriving at the start of the hike.

Websites like Naver are super helpful as it will show you the most important routes that you can take during your hiking trip. You can also find on Naver information about what other hikers have done on that hiking trail. 

Tip 2: Trail Route Hiking in Seoul

Once you have arrived at your starting point in the hike trail, we highly recommend you take a picture of the hiking trail as soon as you come about it. These will normally be found at the beginning of trails and it’s extremely helpful to get around when you are up in the mountain. 

We always take a look at the hiking route and take a picture to make sure that the other plans that we had made earlier are correct and we can move forward with our hiking trail.

Tip 3: Air Pollution in Seoul

One thing to make sure to check is the air pollution during the week and the day of the hike. Unfortunately in South Korea there is always a wave of air pollution that could affect your hiking. Sometimes levels are too high and it will be uncomfortable to hike. 

Tip 4: Items to take with you

Some things to take with you are medicine, lanterns, and light clothing. Continue reading our blog post for more items. 

Tip 5: What not to do hiking in Seoul

Try to not eat a lot DURING the hike. Save most of the food for your final rest or when you are at the peak so you don’t have an uncomfortable walk. 

If it’s your first time hiking we recommend you to take walks of 15-20 minutes and rest for around 5 minutes before you continue your hike. 

We also would say for you to finish your hike around 1 to 2 hours before the actual sunset as the sun sets earlier in the mountain and can make it quite difficult descending in the dark and especially if you are not an experienced hiker.

Last tip is to take the descent seriously. It might seem easy but it can be damaging for your knees if you descend quickly and carelessly.

Tip 6: Food

Koreans usually take kimbap, ramyeon, and makgeolli but we recommend you to bring any kind of food that can be easily prepared such as sandwiches, nuts or fruits. 

Chocolate is also a great calorie supplement. When you exercise through mountaineering you end up burning more calories per hour than other exercises and chocolate is a great snack to be eating. Boiled eggs are also a great food to take during your hike. It can sustain your body’s balance after such a high-intensity exercise. 

If you forget to bring food, don’t fret. It is very common to see informal vendors at the start of the hiking trails. They usually sell a variety of foods and drinks, including Makgeolli. It is very traditional among older hikers to bring these kinds of alcoholic drinks and to do a small picnic on the peak of the mountain.

Tip 7: Dress correctly

This is incredibly important and it can affect your hiking experience. In the past, we made the small mistake of wearing shorts and sporting shoes for a hiking trail that was more demanding than what we expected. We recommend you to check the trail level of difficulty and bring hiking shoes, pants, and a wooden stick to make the experience more comfortable. Hiking is among the most important outdoor activities in Korea so do not worry in case you do not have the correct clothes or equipment. It is pretty easy to find shops in the city and around the hiking trails where you will find everything that you need for the adventure.

Bring extra clothes or even a raincoat. You never know how the weather can turn out therefore we totally recommend you bring additional clothing.

Tip 8: Go early 

We highly highly recommend that you wake up early and start your trail as soon as there is some light. As mentioned before, there is a huge hiking culture in Korea and because of this hiking trails will always be packed with people. We usually like to start walking on the trail from 6-7am to get a head start and try to be at the peak a bit before lunch. 

Tip 9: Restrooms

Restrooms are normally only available at the beginning of the mountain or at the bottom of the mountain. Take all the bathroom breaks that you can at the bottom. 

Tip 10: Bring cash 

Once you reach the peak you’ll find men selling delicious snacks such as popsicles, or other korean snacks. And after having a tremendous hike that popsicle will be calling your name. They are usually around 2,000KRW, a price that is a bit more than the convenience store but it is absolutely worth it.

Tip 11: Buddhist temples

Along the hike you will find Buddhist temples in Korea, even some of the oldest temples in South Korea, therefore be always mindful and respectful. Some of these temples even offer temple stay and it is such an alternative experience to have in South Korea.  

For more information about temple stay click on the link below:
https://eng.templestay.com/

Do you feel ready for your next hiking adventure? Comment and let us know what other hiking content you would like to know more about here in South Korea.