Korea does autumn better than it does any other season, and Seoraksan is where it does it best. The park sits in the north east where the mountains meet the sea, with granite ridges, deep valleys and a temple in a bowl at the bottom, and in the middle of October the colour comes down off the high ground to the valley floor over about a fortnight. The entire country knows this. Half of Seoul comes to look at it. The trick is being there before they are.
What is at the main entrance
A cable car to a ridge viewpoint, which does most of the work for most visitors.
Sinheungsa temple, with a very large bronze Buddha at the entrance to the valley.
Level valley paths, well made, which give you the walls of rock without a climb.
Ulsanbawi, the rock formation, reached by a steep staircase climb of a few hours return.
Biseondae, an easier walk up the valley to a rock platform and a stream.
Coach parks, which fill from about nine in the morning in season.
The timing
Mid October, broadly, moving by a week between years.
High ridges first, valley floor last, over about a fortnight.
Published forecast maps each autumn, city by city and park by park.
Seoraksan turns early, being high and in the north east.
A few days of peak at any given altitude.
Weekends are the busiest days of the Korean outdoor year.
Hiking honestly
The valley walks are level, well made and enough for most visitors.
Ulsanbawi is a staircase climb of a few hours return and genuinely tiring.
The ridge routes are all day undertakings with fixed ladders and chains in sections.
Park closing times are enforced on the longer trails and rangers turn people back.
Weather changes fast at altitude here, and October is cold on the ridges.
Proper footwear, water and a layer, even for the moderate walks.
Practical notes
Coaches from Seoul to Sokcho in about two and a half hours; book seats in October.
A local bus or taxi from Sokcho to the park entrance.
Entry fee to the park, modest, plus the cable car separately.
Cash is useful at the smaller places; cards work in Sokcho.
Accommodation in Sokcho books out on October weekends.
Seafood in Sokcho is the best reason to stay there rather than at the park.
Where this fits in a Korea trip
Two nights in the north east, in the middle two weeks of October, from Seoul.
For the full year and how the seasons compare here, our guide to the best time to visit Korea covers the ground.
For the other great Korean colour season, which runs south to north instead, our cherry blossom guide covers the spring.
And for what these same mountains are for two months later, our guide to skiing in Korea covers the winter.
The short version
Come in the middle two weeks of October, checking the published foliage forecast rather than assuming last year’s dates. Stay in Sokcho, twenty minutes from the gate, and be there when it opens. Do the mountain on a weekday and the coast on your weekend day, and swap them if the weather turns. Take the cable car and the valley paths if you want the scenery, and treat Ulsanbawi as a real climb rather than a walk. Eat the seafood in Sokcho.
