If you visit Korea during Autumn, then you must visit this place because it is one of the most beautiful national parks in Korea! When we were planning for our trip, my brother and I were very determined to hike all the way up the easiest hiking course, Biryong Falls 비룡폭포 which takes an hour to complete. But you know, things don't always go the way we planned HAHAHA! 2 days before our Sokcho trip, my brother went to Dong Seoul Bus Terminal, 동서울터미널 to buy the bus ticket to Sokcho as it was during peak season. I read from an article somewhere that you can buy the bus ticket online and so I tried. The website doesn't provide English service but with my basic knowledge of Korean, I managed to check the timetable and number of seats left for the bus. However, the booking procedure required Identical Card Number of a Korean and local handphone number. So, we couldn't book the bus ticket online and I guess only Koreans can book the bus ticket online. But if you want to try, here's the link for the website.

Directions to Seoraksan National Park:
1. Take Subway Line 2 (green line) to Gangbyeon Station, 강변역.
2. Come out from Exit 4.
3. Walk across the road to Dong Seoul Bus Terminal, 동서울터미널.
4. Buy a ticket to Sokcho. There are a few types of buses available: Express (고속) - no stop between cities, Intercity (시외) - stop between cities and much slower, Jonghap (종합) - serve both express and intercity, Jik haeng (직행) - straight to destination.
5. Wait at the platforms listed on your ticket and show the bus drivers your ticket. They will let you know which one is the bus.
6. Get off at Sokcho Intercity Bus Terminal, 속초 시외 버스 터미널 or Sokcho Express Bus Terminal, 속초 고속 버스 터미널.
7. Find a local bus stop and take Bus 7 or 7-1. You will see many well-equipped hikers who are going to Seoraksan National Park in the bus so you can just follow them and get off at the stop where most of them get off.



Above is the timetable for the bus back to Seoul. When we arrived at Sokcho Express Bus Terminal, the first we did was buying the bus tickets for the bus back to Seoul. We did not go to Seoraksan National Park from the bus terminal, instead we went to The House Hostel to put our luggage first. The House Hostel is just a few minutes walk from the bus terminal. The owner of The House Hostel is a very nice person and the hostel is very clean and comfortable too. You can ask for more details by dropping the owner an email at yoohj73@hanmail.net or you can also take a look at their website by clicking here.












After that, we headed to Seoraksan National Park! And, it was super duper cold, the temperature was much lower than in Seoul! By the time we reached Seoraksan, it was about lunch time already and we were so hungry. So, we stopped by at a restaurant, hoping that the restaurant don't have the no sharing policy. The ahjumma was very very very nice and she can speak Chinese very well so it was easier to communicate. She even asked us not to order too much because the dishes are quite big. Frankly, it was very comforting to meet such open and warm hearted people.



There are many different hiking courses with different difficulty levels at Sokcho Seoraksan National Park. I mentioned that I wanted to hike Biryong Falls above right? Unfortunately, we don't have much time left as we only had 2 days 1 night at Sokcho. Plus, I don't have a proper hiking shoe so I was suffering from foot pain after walking for quite some time at Seoraksan National Park. T-T So, we decided to go to Sinheungsa Temple, 신흥사 and to take the cable car to the top of Gwongeumseong Fortress, 권금성.







Sinheungsa Temple, 신흥사































We spent around 1 and a half hours exploring Sinheungsa Temple because the temple is quite big. As the temple is quite big, apparently we spent quite some time looking for each other. Then, we rushed to take the cable car because we already bought the cable car tickets to go to the top of Gwongeumseong Fortress. You can only get there by taking cable car and it is the best way to see Mt. Seorak if you only have a limited time. However, it is very popular during peak seasons so remember to buy your cable car tickets earlier. The cable cars are quite big and they can accommodate up to 50 people. It takes only 5 minutes to reach the top of Gwongeumseong Fortress.