National Parks of Korea: Deogyusan

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Eric Burks
  • 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  Editor's Note: This is the fourth article in a series highlighting national parks in the ROK.

Deogyusan National Park, which spans the central Jeollabuk-do and Gyeongsangnam-do provinces, was the first park I visited in the new year, and the eighth national park overall in my attempt to explore all 20 in the ROK.

The trip also marked my first visit to a provincial park, as I stopped to see Tapsa Temple on the way to Deogyusan. The temple, located in Mt. Maisan Provincial Park, is one of the most unique in the country. A man named Gapryong Lee, a retired scholar, single-handedly built numerous pagodas one stone at a time, according to the Korea Tourism Organization. Spanning a period of 30 years, beginning in 1885, he is said to have built 108 stone towers, of which 80 remain standing today.

To reach the provincial park, I took expressway 40 east to expressway 1 south, then expressway 25 south to expressway 20 east. Exit at the town of Jinan and take a right on national road 30. Follow the road a short distance into town and look for the signs for Mt. Maisan - when you reach the town there's a traffic circle, which you take almost the way around, taking a right just before you would be going the way you came on the national road. I didn't see a route number, but this road crosses back under the expressway and basically dead-ends in the parking lot of Mt. Maisan Provincial Park. Just look for the large sign with the happy Korean man holding what appear to be ginseng roots, and you're in the right place. From Songtan, the trip to the park took just under two and a half hours.

The entrance fee to Mt. Maisan Provincial Park was 1,000 Won. There was another ticket office for Tapsa Temple just a short distance up the trail, with a separate entrance fee of 2,000 Won. It's a relatively short hike to the temple complex - right around half an hour - even with a decent amount of recent snowfall on the path. A stairway leads you up between the peaks of Mt. Ammaibong and Mt. Sutmailbong, then you take a right at Eunsusa Temple and follow the path down to Tapsa.

The stone pagodas were an impressive feature of the temple, and the backdrop of the two mountains was very scenic. All in all, Tapsa is definitely the most unique temple I've visited so far in my travels around the country.

After exploring the temple complex, it was on to Deogyusan National Park. I followed the park road to the traffic circle and national road 30, then back on expressway 20 east. Just a few kilometers later, I took expressway 35 north and exited at the town of Anseong. I followed national road 19 to road 727, then followed the signs for Deogyusan.

When I reached the Anseong Hiking Support Center, I learned the hiking course I had planned to take was closed due to the amount of recent snowfall, so I explored the immediate area that was accessible - a small stream and valley. I was also informed at the hiking support center that some other parts of the park remained open - including a central area that included the Muju ski resort. At the resort, I could take a cable car to Seolcheonbong Peak.

After a short hike around the Anseong area, I took national road 19 north, then took a right on national road 49, then followed the signs to Muju resort. Unfortunately, the cable car to Seolcheonbong Peak stops taking visitors up the mountain at 5 p.m., so I didn't make it up the mountain. However, it was still a nice drive, and the ski resort seemed like a good place for a future visit.

Retracing my route back to national road 19, I headed north until the intersection with expressway 35. I continued north on 35 to Daejeon, then took expressway 1 north to Songtan. The return trip was a little less than two hours, and the overall distance covered for the day was just over 500 kilometers. Expressway tolls added up 11,600 Won, bringing the total trip cost to 14,600 Won, not including gasoline.

Following this trip, I learned that the main page of the Korea National Parks Service Web site - http://english.knps.or.kr/ - does have a weather information tab with a temperature forecast for each park and a general weather description. However, during the winter when conditions can quickly change, it's a good idea to call the hiking or visitor center you plan to visit when you're en-route. On the KNPS site, each park has phone numbers listed for these centers under the "Facilities" tab. So far, all of the parks I've visited have had at least one person at the center that speaks a little English, and should be able to tell you whether the park is open or closed ... at least at the moment.

For additional information on the National Parks of Korea, visit http://english.knps.or.kr/Knp/AboutNP.aspx?MenuNum=1&Submenu=AboutNP.