Korean Trails

Looking north up the Hoi-dong Valley to the main southern entrance of Gariwang-san

Gariwang-san is the dominant peak of the Pyeongchang/ Jeongseon county borderlands, and one of the tallest of mainland South Korea outside of the Baekdu-daegan ridge line, standing just 10m shorter than those of western Odae-san National Park, some 50km to the north.

Surrounded by the densest area of +1000m peaks in the country, Gariwang-san's open summit offers sweeping views over some of South Korea's most dramatic landscape, yet her trails see less traffic than others of this size in Korea, largely due to the relative isolation of the area. Added to this, there is no major Buddhist temple or hermitage within Gariwang-san, surprising for such a commanding south-facing mountain, from which powerful gorge streams open into the lush Hoi-dong valley (above), presenting a pleasant geomantic scene.

The Juwang-jimaek ridgeline (yellow)

The three peaks of Gariwang-san: Sang-bong (1561m), Jung-bong (1433m) and Ha-bong (1380m) make up a 9km branch-ridge running south-east away from the Juwang-jimaek ridgeline at Ju-wang-san (1381m), also known as Jungwang-san.

The Juwang, or Jungwang-jimaek, runs parallel to the west of the Baekdu-daegan ridge line, and stretches south from Odae-san National Park for some 80km, feeding the Pyeongcheong-gang river (west) and the Odae-cheon stream into the Dong-gang river (east), before terminating in the town of Yeongwol, where the two rivers meet to become the greater Namhan-gang.

The southern continuation of the jimaek, the ridge to Gariwang-san, and its continuation to Jung-bong and Ha-bong, form a south-east facing horse-shoe ridge above the beautiful Hoidong-gyegok valley (above), the most accommodating entrance to the park.

Legendary Korean ridge hiker Fred Cho's Juwang-jimaek blog post, including maps (Korean Language).

Eoeun-gol gorge, Gariwang-san

My time on Gariwang-san was spent within thick wet-season cloud, which although not great for views, added weight to its streams and drama to a woodland which has been long revered for its beauty.

Gariwang-san's forest, much of which is primeval, is rich in diversity with a large variety of wildflowers, mosses and ferns below a thick understory and vibrant canopy.

The quality of the forest was officially recognized during the Joseon dynasty, when it was designated a site of preservation due to the abundance of species living here and in particular conditions favorable to the growth of high quality ginseng, which for centuries supported a small community of gatherers in the southern gorges until the war years of the mid 20th century.

The long-standing understanding of ecological preservation on the mountain has recently been tested, however, with the planning of ski slopes on Gariwang-san's eastern face as part of the 2018 Pyeongcheong Winter Olympics.

Despite ongoing local resistance, destruction for construction began in September, 2014. - see below.

Eoreum-donggul, The Ice Cave

The Korean Forest Service, 'Gariwang-san Recreational Forest' facilities entrance at Hoi-dong is at the north end of Provincial Road 424 in western Jeongseon county.

This is the start/end point to rewarding loop trails including all three peaks and the famous Eoeun-gol gorge, making it the logical trail head for most hikers.

Just before the entrance is the bus stop for Jeongseon, and a small number of minbak and pension accommodations - see below for details.

The Recreational Forest facilities are dotted through both sides of the Mihang-gol gorge for the 2km leading to the trail head. Accommodation options include a standard campsite, auto-campground and cabins sleeping two to dozens. See below for booking details.

The Recreational Forest ends at the meeting point of two streams. The road continues to follow the Mihang-gol upstream north-west from the cabins, toward its source on the southern slopes of Jungwang-san. Our trail to Gariwang-san follows Eoeun-gol stream, which heads north to its source on Gariwang-san's south face.

Step bridge over lower Eoeun-gol

Simani-gyo Bridge - Gariwang-san Summit. 5.35km, 1100m elevation gain. 2hr45min

Leaving the road, the Gariwang-san trail crosses Mihang Stream on Simani-gyo bridge, named for the Simani (Ginseng gatherers), who forged a tough existence in these hills until the mid 20th century. Across the bridge the trail passes beside the last cabins to a wooden step bridge across Eoeun-gol stream (left).

Eoeun-gol 어은골 - The Place Where Fish Hide (어 - fish 은 - hide)

A large rock near the mouth of the Eoeun-gol is said to resemble an Imugi 이무기; a giant mythical snake who wished to transform into a dragon, but failed, and is trapped in the watery depths of Eoeun-gol. The fish in this stream are terrified of the Imugi, and hide in terror amongst the rocky nooks and crevices of the gorge.

Upper Eoeun-gol

Across the foot-bridge and to the left of the trail is the small cave 'Cheonil-gul' (천일굴), '1000 Days Cave', named for the belief that eternal enlightenment can be attained after 1000 days of silent solitude within the cave. It is said that many have come here to undergo this pursuit. The last known hermit to reside here was a woman in her 30's, who in the early 1990's spent three years in the cave, after which she simply disappeared. Her whereabouts are now unknown.

The trail traces Eoeun-gol north into the mountain for some 3km, generally flanking the stream, but with a few unbridged fords to deal with. For much of the year these are rock-hops, but the rocks are heavy with moss and slippery. In high water a couple are quite tricky, and you'll be doing well to keep your feet dry.

Highland Forest

Shortly before leaving the upper gorge, the trail passes a terraced area, which I believe to be the location of the Simani ginseng gatherers village, which once housed 10 small dwellings.

The trail meets an imdo (forest road) 1.7km short of the summit. This old path is a mix of grass, dirt and gravel surface which winds 76km around the entire mountain between the heights of 850 -1000m. This has become a fairly popular mountain bike trail, and would also make for a good hike or trail run - there are a number of access points to the mountain road, I believe the easiest would be from Sukam-ri on NH59.

The Highland Trail above Mihang-samgeori

The trail meets the ridge at the Mihang-samgeori, 미항삼거리, three-way intersection at 1440m/absl.

The western ridge trail heads 3km to meet the Jungwang-jimaek ridge at Jungwang-san, while Gariwang-san's summit is signposted as 1km to the east, I believe it is actually closer to 2km.

At this height the forest is still thick and lush, but lowers dramatically from the helipad 500 metres short of the summit, becoming dominated by chest high shrub and wild grasses.

Construction of the Olympic downhill ski run, Ha-bong summit, September, 2014.

- photograph courtesy of Jo Myeong-hwan

Following Pyeongchang's winning bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics the eastern face of Ha-bong was chosen for the construction of a downhill ski-run to be used for the event. Despite there being 17 ski resorts in Korea, 9 of which are in Gangwon province, there are no existing facilities with enough vertical drop to host the long downhill races, events which will involve only three days of skiing.

A lone protester in Seoul

- photo Jo Myeong-hwan

Protests continued however, with activists bringing attention to precedents set by past host nations; the withdrawal of Denver in 1976 due to environmental concerns - having ALREADY been awarded the games, and the Japanese decision to build no new facilities for the Nagano games of 1998. Small demonstrations were held in Seoul and in pockets of Korea, but national interest was never fully captured and as mentioned above clearing of the forest began in September 2014.

Obviously the Olympic Games are a big deal and constructing a suitable ski-field could be seen as necessary, but I wonder why a more suitable candidate slope couldn't be found in Gangwon-do, where a number of large peaks were, without any question, cleared during the past century, some of which remain so.

Gariwang-san represents pure wilderness, and is one of the few great mountains in this country which retains large tracts of primeval forest. No amount of replanting can replace it, it doesn't work that way. It's a tragedy that in this modern, industrial, educated, overpopulated and small country that a virgin forest is not considered an absolute treasure.

Gariwang-san '3 days vs 500 years' video

Janggu-mogi Trail head, NH59

Eastern Trailheads

There are two trail-heads heading to the ridge from NH59 which runs north-south between Jeongseon and Jinbu towns.

Janggu-mogi

The Janggu-mogi trail head is 20.5km north of Jeongseon, 21.5km south of Jinbu and 900m north of the Solbat Garden Hyugeso on NH59. Here the Janggu-mogi-gol gorge opens into the Odae-cheon gorge, which the road traces. This is the major trail head of the eastern mountain. The trail heads 4km up the gorge to the main ridge, 200m east of Sangbong summit. There is parking space for 2 or 3 vehicles on the wide verge at the trail entrance.