How to Choose a Mountain to Hike in Korea

"Go hiking in Korea" covers an enormous range — from a 30-minute walk on Jeju to a full-day climb in a national park. Korea Tourism Organization's official English-language listings currently cover 65 mountains and hiking areas nationwide, and looking at where they are and how high they go is a useful starting point for picking one that fits your trip.

Where they're concentrated

By province, the 65 listings break down as: Jeju 13, Seoul 9, Gyeongbuk 9, Gangwon 7, Gyeonggi 5, Busan 4, Chungnam 4, Jeonnam 3, Chungbuk 3, Jeonbuk 3, Gyeongnam 2, Ulsan 2, Incheon 1. Jeju's strong showing reflects both its volcanic terrain and its role as a hiking-focused destination in its own right; Seoul's 9 listings are worth noting for travelers without a rental car, since several are reachable directly by subway.

Not every mountain in Korea means a serious climb

Elevation is listed for 32 of the 65 entries (the rest describe the trail or area without stating a summit height). Among those that do, the range is wide. On the low end: Yeongsil Trail inside Hallasan National Park on Jeju sits around 30m of relative elevation gain and is a short, scenic walk rather than a climb; Suwolbong Peak, also on Jeju, is about 77m; Jeombongsan Mountain's Gombaeryeong Pass is around 100m. On the higher end within this list: Daeyasan Mountain reaches about 931m, with Chungnyeongsan (879m), Gubyeongsan (876m), and Gwanggyosan (852m) close behind. In Seoul itself, several listed hills — like Bonghwasan at 160m and Achasan at 295m — are genuinely easy, city-accessible walks with skyline views, not full mountain expeditions.

How to actually pick one

• Short on time or without a car? Start with Seoul's listed hills (Achasan, Bonghwasan and others) — most are reachable by subway and can be done in half a day.
• Want a real climb without a multi-day commitment? Look at the entries in the 800–930m range noted above; these need proper footwear and several hours but don't demand technical mountaineering experience.
• On Jeju already? The island's 13 listings range from short, easy trails near the coast to Hallasan itself — check the specific listing's description, since "mountain" on Jeju covers everything from a 30-minute oreum walk to South Korea's tallest peak.
• Traveling in autumn? Gyeongbuk and Gangwon's mountain areas are also popular foliage destinations — worth checking When to Go if fall colors are part of the plan.

Browse the full, current list — with location, official description, and photos where available — on Chukjemoa's Mountains page. As with all TourAPI-sourced listings, not every entry includes every detail (elevation, trail length, and difficulty are reported unevenly across sources), so where information isn't listed, it isn't guessed.