Korean Trails

Above Image made using Daum지도3DLab

The rugged islands are formed of massive granite cliffs soaring straight out of the sea; stand alone mountains running to a predominantly rocky seashore, with precious little arable land in between for their 1700 inhabitants.

A thin, sheltered straight seperates the two islands, along which ferries from Tongyeong pull into ports at Deokdong in Ha-do to the south, and at Saryang-myeon, the only town on the islands, on the main northern island Sang-do.

Both the islands have good highland trails, with peaks rising close to 400m - very respectable straight out of the sea. The quieter island, Ha-do, has a good circuit from Deokdong harbour along its high ridge to Chilhyeon-san (348m), but the truly impressive route is the traverse of the northern island, along what is known as the "jagged ridge trail" from Saryang-myeon to Jiri-san.

The name "Saryang" has a couple of possible origins. According to information found on the island it was thus named because of the large number of snakes found on Saryang-do, further info suggests it is because the coastline curves like a snake.

The other explanation comes from it sounding like the Korean word for love, "Sarang". Many people seem to think this is the most plausible meaning of the name, love island, that has been changed through the years to "Saryang" 

Although Jiri-san is the main summit, the rocky outcrop of Oknyeo-bong is the most celebrated peak of the short ridge, and holds a real influence over the lives of the people of Saryang-do, due to the tragic story of the orphan Oknyeo.

Long ago a young couple lived in poverty beneath the rocky cliffs of the eastern ridge. They barely had enough to survive, and upon giving birth to a baby girl, the mother perished of malnutrition. She was followed soon-after by her husband, who died of a broken heart.

Their daughter, Oknyeo, survived and was taken in by their neighbour, an unmarried man who brought the young girl up to believe he was her father.

By the age of 16, Oknyeo had grown to be a famous young beauty on the island. It was then she discovered that her caretaker was not her true father, as he began to make unwanted advances and propositions. Oknyeo was heartbroken to realise she was not looked upon as his daughter.

After a series of refusals, Oknyeo made a plan.

One night she told her step-father to wake the next morning before sunrise and put on his funeral clothes, with a straw mat covering his head. He was to eat grass like an animal and cry like a calf, then crawl on his hands and knees to the summit of the rocky peak (now Oknyeo-bong).

If he did this, she would give herself to him.

Not long after dawn Oknyeo's step-father arrived at the peak, crawling and bleating beneath his straw mat. Oknyeo's hope was gone, and the grief-stricken girl threw herself from the sharp rocks of the cliff to her death. The mosses below the peak now permanently grow red, forever stained by her blood.

The Oknyeo story has changed traditions on the island. According to local information, marriages do not take place on Saryang-do out of respect and fear for the unmarried beauty who was cheated out of a full life, instead couples are considered married after spending the night together. The fear is that the bitter young girl will seek revenge if a wedding is held here.

Different information says that if couples did marry on the island, the bride would not be carried in a carriage past Oknyeo-bong, but would be required to walk this stretch. Nowadays it is considered bad luck to be married in any location from where Oknyeo-bong can be seen, and this apparently extends to mainland areas.

The Trail - Saryang-myeon - 0.8km - Oknyeo-bong - 0.5km - Gama-bong - 0.6km - Bulmo-san - 0.3km - Wolam-san - 0.7km - Seongja-am - 1.1km - Jiri-san - 1.7km - Donji Village

The one bus leaves the harbour 7 times a day running around the island.

In the morning it runs clockwise at 6:50am, 7:45, 9:45 and 11:45

In the afternoon she runs counter-clockwise at 1:45, 3:45 and 5:35.

The afternoon buses leave Donji at the far west of the island, bound for the harbour, at 2:10, 4:10 and 6:10 - and they don't wait around long...

As the above statement by both the Mayor of Tongyeong and the Chief of Police suggests, it's a gnarly trail over the ridge, but certainly not ridiculously dangerous. The trail is rocky, and incredibly steep in places, but like most in Korea has a number of staircases, and guideropes in place over the trickiest sections.

I also kept an eye out, but saw no evidence to suggest that womenfolk were any more prone to accidents than men, on this mountain at least.

The three boulder peaks between Oknyeo-bong and Gama-bong have always been crossed by crude wooden ladders, or walked around altogether - construction was going on here when I walked, and through an online search I see that a series of sky suspension bridges have been opened between these mighty peaks, just like in too many of Korea's great rocky places - it's a bloody shame. 

With the recent addition of the "sky bridges" through this section, I imagine its a bit of a breeze walking to Gama-bong from Oknyeo-bong. If the Jongju trail is still open I recommend giving it a cautious crack, it was a real highlight for me.

Bulmo-san has a good open top, along which the trail turns south-west and past its neighbouring peak, Wolam-bong. From here is the option of heading down to Seongja-am, the island's major temple. Seongja-am is located in a flat pocket of the mountain where two shoulders, running southwest and southeast off the mountain, meet. The 700m loop trail running down to the temple follows these shoulders, and meets the ridge trail at the base of Jiri-san. Here a trail also runs northwest 1.3km off the ridge to the small coastal settlement of Naeji.

The ridge trail extends a further 600m west from the peak before splitting into the northern and southern approach tracks. 1.9km north to the small settlement of Geummok-gae, and 1.1km south down to Donji, the island's second "town" from where most hikers start/finish the hike.

Time: In normal Korean mountain conditions you wouldn't expect a 6km hike to take too long. Saryang-do is a bit different, it's tricky and slow, and on the rope sections you'll have to wait your turn if the trail is busy. It's also very beautiful, and a great place to spend a day, not a mountain for moving all that quickly. I'd say allow 3.5 hours minimum, and take note of exit trails if returning to the ferry becomes an issue.

I was up there over 6 hours, made a real day of it, slowly wandering along and taking in the ocean from rocky vantage points.

Bus 607 runs from Lotte Mart in Tongyeong out to Gauchi Harbour.

Buses leave Lotte Mart at 6am, 8:05, 10:05, 12:05, 14:00, 16:00 and take 45-50mins.

Bus 607 starts its route at Seoho Market 20mins earlier, with the exception of the 6am bus, which starts at Lotte.

Accommodation

Within town there are some clean looking minbaks above some of the stores on the main street. there are a large number of pensions along the south coast from Saryang-myeon - Donji, and also to the north in the Daehang beach area.