A WORD TO KNOW
진달래 jindallae
Korean azalea
Pale pink flowers on bare branches, before the leaves come out. The guide finds them on Bukhansan’s ridges, at Myeongjisan and across Muhaksan.
SPRING IN KOREA · FROM IPCHUN TO IPHA
Mountains in pink.
Each spring, azaleas climb Korea’s ridges and cherry blossom lines the valley roads, some of them a subway ride from Seoul. Here is what blooms, where, and what to check before you go.
Photo: ⓒ한국관광콘텐츠랩-라이브스튜디오01 / THREE WORDS FOR SPRING
Learn the flowers. Find them on the map.
A WORD TO KNOW
철쭉 cheoljjuk
Royal azalea
Larger, later flowers among fresh leaves, often in whole fields: the guide names royal azalea groves on Gajisan, a natural monument, and on Hwangmaesan’s high plateau and Sobaeksan’s ridges.
A WORD TO KNOW
벚꽃 beotkkot
Cherry blossom
White and pink along roads and streams below the mountains: the Donghaksa road at Gyeryongsan, Dorimcheon at Gwanaksan, Sudeoksa at Deoksungsan.
02 / NO CAR NEEDED
Blossom, by subway.
Three Seoul mountains with trails from city transport, in the Forest Service guide’s own words.
Seoul · 632.2 m
Gwanaksan
Cherry blossom along Dorimcheon
Gwanaksan (632.2 m): Seoul’s rocky weekend mountain, with the cliff hermitage Yeonjudae on top, reached from subway stations.
Seoul · 740.2 m
Dobongsan
Double cherry blossom at Sinseondae
Dobongsan (740.2 m), Seoul: granite peaks and clear valleys in Bukhansan National Park, reached straight from the subway.
Seoul · 835.6 m
Bukhansan
Azaleas on the ridges
Bukhansan (835.6 m), Seoul: granite domes around Baegundae in a national park inside the capital, reached by subway and bus.
03 / WHERE THE GUIDE SEES FLOWERS
30 mountains in bloom.
Each line is the Korea Forest Service’s spring note for one of its 100 famous mountains. Heights are summit altitudes, not climbs.
Seoul
Daegu
Gwangju
Gyeonggi
Gangwon
- Garisan1,050.9 mAzaleas line both sides of the ridge path
- Gyebangsan1,579.1 mDogtooth violets, yews and royal azaleas
- Gongjaksan887.4 mRoyal azaleas on the summit
- Daeamsan1,312.6 mWildflowers only after mid-May
- Deokhangsan1,072.9 mSpring flowers in late snow
- Dutasan1,357 mSpicebush flowers on the Beteul Rock path
- Baekdeoksan1,350.1 mHepatica and wild violets
North Chungcheong
South Chungcheong
North Jeolla
South Jeolla
North Gyeongsang
South Gyeongsang
04 / NATIONAL PARKS IN SPRING
Royal azaleas up high.
Sources
- Korea Forest Service, 꼭 한번 가 볼 우리 100대 명산: spring notes and summit heights, linked from each mountain page.
- Korea National Park Service: park introductions and the trail closure list.
- Korea.kr, spring wildfire closures in national parks (10 February 2022).