Mountain ridges in Seoraksan National Park seen from the Bongjeongam viewpoint, with trail information boards in the foreground
Bongjeongam, Seoraksan · Nov 2024

Practical Korea · checked by a local

Korea, checked
before you go

Transport, bookings, hiking and festivals, explained from the official Korean sources. Every guide shows the date I checked it.

Plan your trip How I check things
Haedong Yonggungsa, a temple on the rocks above the sea in Busan, under a sky of small clouds
Busan · Haedong Yonggungsa
The main hall and nine-story pagoda of Woljeongsa temple in Odaesan
Odaesan · Woljeongsa
Wind turbines along a mountain ridge near Sky Ranch in Pyeongchang
Pyeongchang · Sky Ranch
A red-brick building in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, under a blue sky
Seoul · Seongsu-dong
A lit wooden pavilion with willow trees reflected in a still pond inside a Seoul palace at dusk
Seoul · A palace at dusk
Wooden stairs and a green trail sign pointing to Daedongmun Gate and the shelter on a Bukhansan trail
Seoul · Bukhansan trail

Start here

A yellow currency exchange kiosk on a street in Seongsu-dong, Seoul
01Plan your tripGetting around, paying with a foreign card, booking without Korean.Open guides →
 Willow trees and tall grass on the bank of the Han River in Seoul on a sunny day
02SeoulNamsan, Seongsu, the Han River, palaces and food, by neighborhood.Open guides →
 A red maple tree on a trail in Seoraksan in November
03Hiking & foliageTrails, reservations, closing times and when the leaves peak.Open guides →
 Rows of colorful lotus lanterns hanging inside Geumgang Cave in Seoraksan
04Festivals & eventsDates, tickets, crowds and how to get there.Open guides →

Guide sets

SetNamsan & nearby
  1. N Seoul Tower: History, Hours, Tickets, How to Get There
  2. Namsan Cable Car: Fares, Hours, How to Get There
  3. Namsan Night Festival 2026: Dates, Booking for Foreigners
All Namsan guides →
A sign in a Seoul subway station showing the walk from the exit to Seoul Forest SetPaying for Seoul transport
  1. T-money vs Climate Card vs WOWPASS: Which to Get
  2. Can You Tap a Contactless Card on Seoul Transit?
  3. T-money in Apple Wallet with a Foreign Card
  4. Seoul Transport Cost for 3, 5 or 7 Days
All transit-card guides →

Who writes this

A temple complex in a rocky valley below Bongjeongam in Seoraksan, seen from the trail
On the trail to Bongjeongam · Nov 2024

About the guide

Hi, I’m SeoulAslan

I’m from Korea. I lived in Vietnam for six years and in Thailand for a year, so I know what it feels like to arrive somewhere and find that the useful information is in a language you can’t read.

I hike about twice a month. When a guide comes from my own walk, I say so. When it doesn’t, it’s based on official Korean sources.

  • From Korea
  • 6 years in Vietnam, 1 in Thailand
  • Hikes about twice a month
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Planning a trip to Korea and stuck on something? Ask me here. I live in Korea, so I look your question up the way a local would: in Korean and English, on the official sites (Korail, VISITKOREA, the ticket and venue pages themselves), with the latest prices and rules.

If it's something other travelers will run into too, I write the answer up as a post and mark it Reader Question. That's how Incheon to Busan and Back to Seoul: Which Pass? started: a traveler messaged me about exactly that trip.

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