Mountain park · Gwangju, South Jeolla
Mudeungsan
무등산국립공원
Gwangju's mountain, with columns of volcanic rock along the ridge.
Mudeungsan rises straight out of Gwangju and is the city's weekend walk. The ridge carries three groups of columnar joints — Ipseokdae, Seoseokdae and Gwangseokdae — stone pillars formed as lava cooled, which earned the park UNESCO Global Geopark status in 2018.
The true summit is inside a military area and closed most of the year, but the ridge below it is open and the views are the same.
Photograph by gary4now, licensed under CC BY 3.0. 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 Gwangju Songjeong, about 1h 40m, then city bus. The park starts at the edge of the city.
Bus
Express coach to Gwangju, around 3h 30m.
Car
About three and a half hours, though once in Gwangju the city buses are easier than parking.
Wildlife & plants
Animals
Wild boar and roe deer close to a metropolitan city, which tells you how well the mountain is protected. The upper slopes are a restricted military area, which has kept them undisturbed.
Trees & flowers
Old broadleaf forest with a large natural stand of nutmeg yew. The columnar joints themselves carry specialised lichen and moss communities, part of why the park is a UNESCO Global Geopark.
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.
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The country's most photographed autumn maples, in early November.
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A thousand-metre fir forest and two of Korea's most important temples.
Palgongsan
Korea's newest national park, and the stone Buddha everyone climbs to.