Korea is filled with many great mountains and valleys that I have had the good fortune of having the time to hike and explore during my time in Korea. Often hikes in Korea are known for either having spectacular scenery, rugged rock outcroppings, large mountains, flowing creeks, crashing waterfalls, or historic & cultural areas. There are a few walks though that combine all these things into one hike and the Osaek Valley in Gangwon province is one of these places.

The Osaek Valley is located on the southern edge of Soraksan National Park and includes the small town of Osaek which is nothing more then a collection of hotels and restaurants for tourists to use while visiting this area of the park:

The restaurants here specialize in cooking up freshwater fish. So if you like fish there is plenty of it to be found in one of Osaek’s many restaurants to fuel you up before heading off on one of the long hikes that originate from this area:

My wife and I stayed at the Hyundai Hotel in Osaek and the husband and wife team that run the small hotel were extremely nice and inviting and operated a good, clean hotel. The husband also offers people staying at the hotel a ride to the start of whatever trailhead visitors plan on hiking from.

So the next morning he drove my wife and I up to the top of Hangeryong Pass to hike the most popular walk in the Oseak area from the high slopes of Hangeryong Pass through the Osaek Valley and back to Osaek:

The entire valley is towered over by the highest peaks of Mt. Sorak and is filled with many great waterfalls and mineral water springs. The first of many waterfalls in this area can be accessed from the trailhead in less then one kilometer:

The walk to Yongso Waterfall is an easy one and right from the start of this hike my wife and I began to see wildlife, which if you have ever been to Korea is welcome sight because there are not much wildlife left to enjoy in the country:

After a few minutes we reached the waterfall; the Yongso Waterfall is not a very large, but it was definitely quick moving with lots of water flowing down this scenic waterfall:

A short walk down the trail from Yongso Waterfall the trail has a branch up a valley simply labeled the Valley of 12 Waterfalls. I don’t know if there was 12 waterfalls or not because it was difficult to count because of the thick brush that engulfed the steep trail. However, I was able to take pictures of the few waterfalls I could see:

The trail ended with a nice lookout over this beautifully flowing waterfall:

From the lookout my wife and I then began to walk back down the steep valley we had walked up to get back to the main trail. Once back on the main trail, we began to hike through some of the rocky outcroppings that were evident just about everywhere you looked:

There was a point where the trail actually passed through this little opening in the rocks:

For my wife getting through this opening was quite easy because of how short she is, but I’m six foot, three inches tall so it was no easy thing to do for me, but I got through. The valley then began to open up a little more and was heavily wooded once we got through the rock outcroppings:

The trail follows a beautiful creek down the valley that has a number of smaller creeks from each side of the valley draining into it:

The water is perfectly fine to drink and depending on which section of the trail you are on the different springs draining into the main creek actually have different tastes due to the different mineral content in the water:

These springs were allegedly discovered by a Buddhist monk during the Shilla Dynasty 1500 years ago. and these waters quickly became famous for the healing properties. Some of the spring water is high in iron and carbonic acid which is good for people with stomach problems and anemia. When you taste the water from this spring you can taste the iron in it and the carbonic acid almost gives it a soda like texture.

Hot springs in the valley are high in sulfur, chloric acid, calcium, and magnesium plus the water temperature in the springs can vary from 30 to 42 degrees Celsius. These springs are supposed to be really good for skin ailments. Legends say that water nymphs used to bathe in these waters and gave them their medicinal properties. When my wife and I hiked through this valley it was easy to picture why people would think water nymphs once lived here with such spectacular natural scenery:

The walk down the valley only gets more and more spectacular the further down the valley we went:

The Osaek Valley is a really amazing hike and not that strenuous since it is about five kilometers in length. However, make sure you bring a good pair of hiking boots because the trail can get quite rough at times. The trail ends at Seongguk-sa Temple which is located just outside of Osaek. The temple gives visitors a nice place to relax and take a break from the valleys natural beauty and appreciate its cultural history instead.

Getting to the valley is easy and admission to the valley is quite cheap.  The relatively remote area of Osaek shouldn’t discourage people from visiting because if you want to escape the crowds that flock to main park area of Soraksan National Park this is the place to go.  You can find admission and transportation options to the valley by visiting the official Korean Tourism Site.

Next Posting: Seongguk-sa Temple

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