Mountain park · Gangwon
Chiaksan
치악산국립공원
Steep, quiet and hard work — a hiker's mountain near Wonju.
Chiaksan has a reputation among Korean walkers for being relentless: the climb to Birobong at 1,288m gains height quickly and does not let up. Guryongsa temple sits at the foot of the usual approach.
It is far less visited than the Gangwon parks further east, which is part of the appeal.
Photograph by Lcarrion88, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for this page.
Getting there from Seoul
Door-to-door estimates for a normal day; they stretch on a holiday weekend. Check the timetable before you rely on a last bus back.
Train
KTX to Wonju (Manjong) in about 50 minutes — the fastest park approach from Seoul — then a local bus to Guryongsa.
Bus
Express coach to Wonju, around 1h 30m.
Car
About an hour and a half. The closest big mountain park to the capital after Bukhansan.
Wildlife & plants
Animals
Wild boar, roe deer, marten, and a well-known population of flying squirrels. Woodpeckers are common in the old valley forest.
Trees & flowers
Dense broadleaf and pine forest, with a famous grove of old pine near Guryongsa. The park's steep valleys hold ferns and mosses that stay green late.
Korea’s wildlife is shy and mostly nocturnal — you’re far more likely to see tracks than animals. Wild boar are the one to know about: keep your distance, don’t run, and never get between a sow and her young.
More parks
Dadohaehaesang
The largest national park in Korea — an archipelago of hundreds of islands.
Deogyusan
A long, gentle ridge at 1,600m — and the easiest big summit in the country.
Gayasan
Haeinsa temple, and the 80,000 woodblocks of the Tripitaka Koreana.