Peanuts Travels: Mount Hallasan, Jeju, South Korea Peanuts Travels About Peanuts Travels This blog shares my travel experiences esp in mountain trekking which I have developed a great interest since my 1st climb in Taiwan. Since then I have been trying to climb more mountains whenever I can. And to couple my climbs with leisure travelling to places of adventure. The freedom of doing what you want and where you want, is the true meaning of travelling. Wednesday, February 10, 2010 Mount Hallasan, Jeju, South Korea Just About Mt Hallasan Mt Hallasan summit, crater Mt Hallasan, being an extinct volcano, is the highest mountain in South Korea. Located right in the centre of Jeju Island, standing at a height of 1950m. Mt Hallasan was designated as a National Park on 24 March 1970 and as an area under the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in December 2002. There are 4 trails to trek at Mt Hallasan, namely Eorimok Trail, Yeongsil Trail, Seongpanak Trail, and Gwaneumsa Trail.

Only 2 trails will lead to the summit which is a crater named Baeknokdam. All the trails start at different locations with some locations having inter-city bus service stopping at these start points. For the Seongpanak Trail, taking the road 1131 to the east will bring you to the start point. Gwaneumsa Trail, it will be road 1117 to the north. Eorimok and Yeongsil Trail, it will be the road 1139 to the west of Mt Hallasan. Mt Hallasan offers different spectacular scenery for each individual season. In winter, snow will cover the trail from the start point all the way to the summit. Our trek to Mt Hallasan was at the beginning of the winter months in early December 2009, and snow was already present even at the start point at an altitude of just 600m. The climb to the summit takes about 4~5hrs, depending which trail to take. Some prefer to take different routes for the ascent and descend. For us, we returned the same we came as our rental car was parked at the Seongpanak entrance.

Gimpo Airport, Flight to Jeju Getting There We took a night flight from Singapore and arrived at Incheon International airport the next morning at 6:30am. The entire airport looked deserted with very few planes on the tarmac. Temperature was cold at 0 degree Celsius on the outside. After clearing immigration and getting our bags, we made out way to the underground airport express train (AREX) to the Gimpo domestic airport. This AREX is a new train line linked to Gimpo airport and some stations in between. Plans are in placed to have this AREX extend all the way to the heart of Seoul. But as of now, to get to central Seoul using trains, you will need to change to a local subway at Gimpo airport which is linked to Seoul city. Of course there are always the buses and taxis at Incheon airport. Taxis will cost much more and so bus will be a better option for budget travelers. When we reached Gimpo airport, we immediately checked in our luggage and went for some Dunkin Donuts. Flights between Gimpo and Jeju are very frequent, almost in hourly interval.

We boarded our flight at 10:25am and landed in the warmer Jeju Island around 12 noon. Once we entered the arrival halls, we made our way to our pre-booked rental car. English is still a problem for Koreans even serving in the tourism industry. But of course those that could speak very fluent will be those staffs stationed at the airport information counter. After so sign language and finger pointing here and there. We got the car number and proceeded to the outside car park to get our car. The rental car park lot is an actual airport car park. I had to pay for the parking fee when I tried to leave the car park area. I paid about 2000 won as the parking fee for the rental car. Our rental car in Jeju Driving on the right side was uncomfortable and stressful initially. But after some practice, I got the hang of it and the entire driving experience in Jeju wasn’t too bad. Jeju is considered to be a less traffic island, so the number of cars in the road is less. We took the scenic west bound route as recommended by the KTO (Korea tourism office) guidebook which plies along the coast.

The average speed on the island is about 50km/h, esp. in the town area and you can only hit 70km/h on those bigger highways. The car has a GPS but it is in Korean and we spent quite a considerable amount of time trying to use it. In the end, we gave up and rely just on the maps that we got from the Singapore KTO for our 3 days self drive in Jeju. Outside the Kitchen Oh Cafe As we were driving along the west coast of Jeju, we were on the lookout for a place to have lunch. Surviving just on those donuts at Gimpo airport wasn’t enough. Many shops have signs in Korean which we didn’t understand. Of course we could just go in and point to their menu. But restaurants outside of the city area have little customers and we were not sure if they were really open for business. Then we came across a unique restaurant by the sea with the name “Kitchen Oh”. That sounded English and we just made a quick U-turn into the restaurant car park. Pork Cutlet, yum yum The restaurant has a few customers at that time and we were assured that they were open for business.

The restaurant served Japanese food which is out favorite and we ordered tonkatsu (pork cutlet). We really took a long break at the restaurant, admiring the décor and the nice photographs the owner took and hanged on the walls. It was more like a simple boutique restaurant and after our meal; we took a walk down a flight of stone stairs all the way to the sea. It was cold with the strong winds and we didn’t stay too long before heading back to our car and continued our journey. Finding our hotel wasn’t easy. We had booked our accommodation at the KAL hotel all the way in the south, near the Seogwipo City. We did some sightseeing along the west coast and by 7pm, we were still somewhere in the south-west area and it was already dark. In winter, daylight is short, sunrise is about 630am, and sunset is about 6pm. By 7pm, it was already pitch dark. We managed to reach our hotel at 8:30pm after spotted out hotel as we were driving along the south coast line. It was a tired day then because we did not catch any sleep on our 6hr flight from Singapore.

So we just settle our dinner at the hotel café and off to sleep in preparation for the next day hike to Mt Hallasan. Seongpanak Car Park The next morning, we were late. The alarm that we set was still Singapore time, which is one hr later than Korea local time. We quickly changed into our hiking gear, drowned down a cup of install noodles, grabbed our prepared food and jumped into our car. Outside temperature was still cold, but much better than the temperature in Seoul. We hit the road and drove towards highway 1131, which leads all the way to Jeju-si in the north. This road also leads to our start point for the hike which is the Seongpanak Trail entrance. Once our car started to ascend higher on the mountain road, we could see cold accumulating at the sides of the road. Happy we were that we would be seeing snow for our climb. At 8am, we reached the car park of the Seongpanak entrance. There is a shop that sells some snacks and hiking stuffs. Didn’t go into the shop as we are eager to start the climb because we were an hour late.

To ascent the summit, you must reach the Azalea Field Shelter by 12noon, and by 1:30pm, all visitors must leave the summit area. Start of Seongpanak Trail Trail near the start point At the trail entrance, we bought entrance tickets (400won each) and paid for our parking (1000 won). The trail started off with a combination of rocks and snow. Grip on our hiking shoes were good enough at that point. But we do see many Korean hikers having a variety of shoes and type. Some has mini crampons attached to their hiking boots. And some just had their sports shoes. I wonder did they slip and fall down. For us, it was still okay at the beginning, but we climbed higher and the snow on the trail thickened, there were times we did some acrobat stunts to keep ourselves for falling. The trail was well marked and ropes were on both sides. Getting lost is of very slim chance and I would like to say the national park authorities really did a good job allowing visitor to appreciate the nature of Mt Hallasan and ensuring visitors’ safety.

Signboard on the 12noon timeline The above is the signboard saying that we must reach the Azalea shelter by 12noon if we want to ascent the summit. Snow covered forest grounds For the 1st 2 hours, we hiked through forest of tall fir trees, with their leaves still in greens while the forest floor is covered with snow. At around 11:15am, we left the fir forest and entered into a wide opening and had an unblocked view of the summit. Another further walk of 15mins and we reached the Azalea shelter (Jindallabat shelter). There seemed to be some shop at the Jindallabat shelter, but we didn’t want to waste time to shop around or rest at the shelter. We carried on up the stairs towards the summit. Reached the clearing near Jindallabat Shelter Stairs leading to the summit From this point onwards, we had an uninterrupted view of the entire Jeju Island, including the surrounding ocean. The feeling was like climbing Mt Fuji, a volcano-like landscape where you are exposed to the elements of strong winds and cloudless skies. Clear view of Jeju island Me, taking a breather Ice flakes anyone ?

There were ice flakes attached to the wooden fence at the side of the stairs. The direction of the ice flakes pointing in the direction where strong cold winds blew the night below. After 1hr30mins, we reached the crowded summit, overlooking the crater below us. At the summit There were hordes of hikers at the summit as well, celebrating their climb over their hot coffee and lunch. As everyone needs to start their descend from the summit at 1:30pm, everyone was busy trying to capture every moment with their cameras and video-cam. There was a park ranger station at the summit, shouting out loud in Korean periodically at us. Even though we didn’t understand Korean, I guessed that he was reminding us to start out descent at 1:30pm. The national park has strict rules that all hikers must leave the park by the end of the day. Camping overnight or hiking in the night is prohibited. Maybe this is the way they keep the park safe and prevent hikers lost in the mountains. Baekonkdam summit crater The summit marker After queuing for our turns for quite a while, we finally got out turn to take a picture with the summit wooden pole marker.

After which, we found ourselves a nice spot to enjoy our long awaiting hot drink and snacks. Most of the hikers that start from the Seongpanak Trail will descend by the Gwaneumsa Trail. For us we took the same trail as our car was parked at out start point. The descend was less crowded and most of the time we have the entire trail to ourselves. As the trail was covered in snow at higher altitude, we took cautious steps while making our way down. Again we did some acrobatic stunts trying to maintain our balance. We took our own sweet time on our descend and reached the car park around 4:30pm. Throughout the entire climb, the sun was never above our heads, it just traverse across the sky from the 10am angle to the 4pm angle, giving the surroundings a warm sunset view. At the car park, we saw taxis dropping hikers and I thought they are going to do the climb illegally. In the end these hikers were just folks that descended using the Gwaneumsa trail and took a taxi to bring them back to the Seongpanak entrance to get their cars.

It was still very cold at 2 degrees celsius and we just jump into our car, started the engine to warm ourselves up before driving downhill back to Seogwipo-si where our hotel was. It was 6:30pm and before we turned into our hotel, we stopped at a local Korean restaurant and ordered some local dishes. It was well? Quite spicy and in big proportions that I considered over ordered. Not my liking, but guess we were just too hungry to reject anything edible. The rest of the stay in Korea is covered in another blog post. Jeju, Seoul Nov 2009 Personally I would rate this climb an easy but yet most enjoyable one. Making the ascend and descend all in one’s day trek, and able to sleep comfortably in our hotel to rest ourselves. The total ascend may be 1400m in just 4hrs, but it is not that tough because the trail is stretched over a 10km distance which gives hikers a gradual and consistent ascend, making it less tiring for hikers to enjoy the scenery and not panting all the way up to the summit.

Trekking Trail Information on Mt Hallasan Seongpanak à Summit (Dongneung, East Ridge), 9.6km, 4hrs30mins one way. Gwaneumsa Trail à Summit (Dongneung, East Ridge), 8.7km, 5hrs one way Eorimok Trail à Witsaeoreum Shelter, 3.7km, 1hr30mins one way. Yeongsil Trail à Witsaeoreum Shelter, 4.7km, 2hr one way. Note: Only Seongpanak and Gwaneumsa trail is opened to the public to reach the summit. Korea - Geography and Maps | Goway Travel Korea South Korea inhabits the southern half of the mountainous Korean Peninsula and shares its only border with North Korea, the population stands at 51,141,000 people. The geography of South Korea can be divided into four general regions: Eastern Region: this region is characterised by high mountain ranges and coastal plains. Western Region: this region is made up of coastal plains, river basins and hills. Southwestern Region: this region is made up of mountains and valleys.

Southeastern Region: this region is dominated by the broad basin of the Nakdong River. The three major mountain ranges in South Korea are the Taebaek Mountains, the Sobaek Range and the Jiri Massif. Despite having many mountains, there are no active volcanoes in South Korea and there have been no strong earthquakes. South Korea also encompasses 3,000 islands which are predominantly small and uninhabited. The largest island is Jeju and is the site of South Korea’s highest point, Hallasan. Hallasan is an extinct volcano that reaches 1,950m (6,398ft). After the Second World War and the Korean War, much of the remaining Korean forests were cut down. However, since the 1970s, comprehensive reforestation projects have been underway and forest cover reached its peak in 1980 at 65% as opposed to only 35% in 1945. Korea Travel Information At Goway we believe that a well-informed traveller is a safer traveller. With this in mind, we have compiled an easy to navigate travel information section dedicated to Korea.

Learn about the history and culture of Korea, the must-try food and drink , and what to pack in your suitcase. Read about Korea's nature and wildlife , weather and geography, along with 'Country Quickfacts' compiled by our travel experts. Our globetrotting tips , as well as our visa and health information will help ensure you're properly prepared for a safe and enjoyable trip. The only way you could possibly learn more is by embarking on your journey and discovering Korea for yourself. Start exploring… book one of our Korea tours today! Extend Your Trip After your Korea tour, consider taking the time to visit other destinations. Goway offers exciting China vacation packages, India tours and Thailand vacation packages plus a comprehensive selection of vacation packages in many other Asian countries. Book your Korea tour with Goway! ASIA by Goway is an exclusive division that specializes in planning and organizing Korea tours , vacations and experiences. Choose from a simple city stopover , a independent travel module , and much more. We want to be your first choice when next you go globetrotting to Korea . Trip Finder The magazine for world travellers. Get your FREE subscription today.

The Country of South Korea - Geographic Information Population: 48,636,068 (July 2010 estimate) Capital: Seoul Land Area: 38,502 square miles (99,720 sq km) Coastline: 1,499 miles (2,413 km) Highest Point: Halla-san at 6,398 feet (1,950 m) South Korea is a country that is located in eastern Asia on the southern part of the Korean Peninsula . It is officially called the Republic of Korea and its capital and largest city is Seoul . Most recently, South Korea has been in the news due to growing conflicts between it and its northern neighbor, North Korea . The two went to war in the 1950s and there have been years of hostilities between the two nations but on November 23, 2010, North Korea attacked South Korea. History of South Korea South Korea has a long history that dates back to ancient times. There is a myth that it was founded in 2333 B.C.E by the god-king Tangun.

Since its founding however, the area of present-day South Korea was invaded several times by neighboring areas and thus, its early history was dominated by China and Japan . continue reading below our video Timeline of the Korean War In 1910, after weakening Chinese power over the area, Japan began colonial rule over the Korea which lasted 35 years. At the end of World War II in 1945, Japan surrendered to the Allies which resulted in the end of the country's control over Korea. At that time, Korea was divided into North and South Korea at the 38th parallel and the Soviet Union and the United States began to influence the areas. On August 15, 1948, the Republic of Korea (South Korea) was officially founded and on September 9, 1948 the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( North Korea ) was established. Two years later on June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea and began the Korean War . Shortly after its beginning, a coalition led by the U.S. and the United Nations worked to end the war and armistice negotiations began in 1951.

In that same year, the Chinese entered the conflict in support of North Korea. Peace negotiations ended on July 27, 1953 at Panmunjom and formed the Demilitarized Zone . According to the U.S. Department of State, an Armistice Agreement was then signed by the Korean People's Army, the Chinese People's Volunteers and the United Nations Command which was led by the U.S. South Korea never signed the agreement and to this day a peace treaty between North and South Korea has never officially been signed. Since the Korean War , South Korea experienced a period of domestic instability which resulted in a change it is government leadership. In the 1970s, Major General Park Chung-hee took control after a military coup and during his time in power, the country experienced economic growth and development but there were few political freedoms. In 1979, Park was assassinated and domestic instability continued through the 1980s. In 1987, Roh Tae-woo became president and he was in office until 1992, at which time Kim Young-sam took power.

Since the early 1990s, the country became more stable politically and has grown socially and economically. Government of South Korea Today South Korea's government is considered a republic with an executive branch consisting of a chief of state and a head of government. These positions are filled by the president and prime minister, respectively. South Korea also has a unicameral National Assembly and a judicial branch with a Supreme Court and Constitutional Court. The country is divided into nine provinces and seven metropolitan or special cities (i.e. cities controlled directly by the federal government) for local administration. Economics and Land Use in South Korea Recently, South Korea's economy has begun to boom considerably and it is currently considered a high-tech industrialized economy. Its capital, Seoul, is a megacity and it is home to some of the world's largest international companies like Samsung and Hyundai. Seoul alone generates over 20% of South Korea's gross domestic product. The largest industries in South Korea are electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding and steel production. Agriculture also plays a role in the country's economy and the chief agricultural products are rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit, cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs and fish.

Geography and Climate of South Korea Geographically, South Korea is located on the southern part of the Korean Peninsula below the 38th parallel of latitude . It has coastlines along the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea. South Korea's topography consists mainly of hills and mountains but there are large coastal plains in the western and southern parts of the country. The highest point in South Korea is Halla-san, an extinct volcano, which rises to 6,398 feet (1,950 m). It is located on South Korea's Jeju Island, which is located south of the mainland. The climate of South Korea is considered temperate and rainfall is heavier in the summer than in the winter due to the presence of the East Asian Monsoon. Winters are cold to very cold depending upon altitude and summers are hot and humid. To learn more and to get a quick overview of South Korea, read my article called, " Ten Important Things to Know about the Country of South Korea " and visit the Geography and Maps section of this website. References Central Intelligence Agency . (24 November 2010). CIA - The World Factbook - South Korea. Retrieved from: Infoplease.com. (n.d.).

Korea, South: History, Geography, Government, and Culture- Infoplease.com. Retrieved from: United States Department of State. (28 May 2010). South Korea. Retrieved from: Wikipedia.com. (8 December 2010). South Korea - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: Facts about South Korea | Destination Articles | Kobayashi Travel Service Home Facts about South Korea Are you planning to visit South Korea. If yes then you are truly privileged. It is famous for its distinctive culture and heritage. Read on to acquaint yourself about some interesting facts of this fascinating country. Facts about South Korea Korea has 6,228 km of coastline and nearly 3,000 islands located mainly in the Yellow Sea and Korea Strait. Only a few of them lie off the East Sea. Its total area is 38,462.49 square miles. Its terrain is mostly rugged and mountainous with little arable land. Hallasan, an extinct volcano at a height of 1950 meters is the highest point in South Korea. It is also known as 'Hermit Kingdom' and 'Land of the Morning Calm'.

South Korea has a Continental climate with hot, humid summers and dry, cold winters. The major cities of South Korea are Seoul, Pusan, Taegu, Inchan and Kwangju. Its largest and capital city is Seoul, which is the world's second-largest metropolitan city. Their national anthem is 'Aegukka' (The Song of Love of Country) which was adopted on August 15,1948. Confucianism, shamanism (traditional spirit worship), Christianity, Buddhism and Chondokyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way) are the religions followed in South Korea. Korean is the main language and English is widely taught in schools. The Korean language is related to the Mongolian and Japanese languages. A large number of Chinese cognates exist in the Korean language. Around 1,300 Chinese characters are used in modern Korean.It has a population of over 49 million people by current estimates. It is one of the world's leading economies and has a large and sophisticated technological base. It has the 13th-largest economy in the world and the third- largest in Asia. It has the seventh largest fishing industry in the world.

It is known as one of the Four Asian Tiger economies. It has 63 daily newspapers. Facts about South Korean culture The eldest in the house is considered the most wise, and therefore makes most of the important decisions. When you enter a South Korean home, the first thing you do is remove your shoes. When the first night of the new year comes everybody hides their shoes. This is because there is a belief that a ghost will come down and try on everyone's shoes. If the ghost finds a pair it likes it will take it. It is thought that the owner of the shoes will then have bad luck for the whole year. Korean architecture is influenced by China. The martial art 'Tae kwon do' originated in Korea. Facts about South Korean History South Korea has a history of over 5000 years. In Korean mythology there is a story about how the Korean nation was born. The story is that a god named Hwanung came from heaven and transformed a bear into a woman. He married her and she gave birth to a son, Tangun, the founder of Korea.

Tangun created the first capital of the Korean nation in 2333 B.C and called it Joseon - 'Land of the Morning Calm'. Prehistoric remains found throughout Korea indicate that early in the history of the Korean Peninsula the inhabitants used sophisticated technologies. These people believed that all objects had spirits (also called animism). They also believed that some people had the power to communicate with these spirits, which is also known as shamanism. Farming at this time included cultivating rice. This was around 3,500 years ago at the start of the Bronze Age. Many farm tools have been found from this period. In 1910, Korea became a Japanese colony. Korea was under Japanese rule for 35 years. North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950 with goal of unifying the Koreas under communist rule, The United Nations intervened in the war and there was a ceasefire in 1953. The border between South and North Korea remains one of the heaviest militarized zones in the world. Efforts are going on for their peaceful reunification googleitt.com info About the Author Sign Up for Specials and Updates!

By joining you will have access to: Monthly newsletters Did You Know?: Part 2 ‹ Spotlight Korea As of 2011, the population of South Korea is approximately 49 million people. 7 million Koreans live abroad, 2.3 million of which are in the United States. South Korea has the world’s 14th largest economy. The country has progressed from basic industries such as cement, fertilizers, and industrial chemicals, to producing automobiles, electronics, iron, steel, shipbuilding and now to computer and technological products. Hallasan, an extinct volcano nearly 6400 feet tall, is the highest point in South Korea. Korea’s emphasis on education has raised the country’s literacy rate to 99%. Korea developed the first digital textbook in the world, which will be distributed for free to every primary and secondary school nationwide by 2013. Aegukka (The Song of Love of Country) was adopted as the national anthem on August 15, 1948.

Korea has the world’s highest estimated national IQ, with leading rankings in mathematics, science, problem solving, and reading, as declared by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) Korea has the most sophisticated IT infrastructure in the world and is renowned for information technology, with leading brand names such as Samsung and LG. South Korea Map, Map of South Korea Korea Holiday Calendar History of South Korea The early history of Korea began as Chosun or Gojoseon, founded by Dangun Wanggeom, from around 2333 BC, and lasting until China's Han Dynasty brought it down. The region was ruled by several smaller states thereafter, and the states of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla formed the Three Kingdoms of Korea, which formed Unified Silla around 676, controlling the southern part of the Korean peninsula. Silla was a Buddhist civilization, thriving until conquered by Goryeo in 935. The northern state, Balhae, expanded its territory to the north until conquered by Khitan, and united with Goryeo in 936.

The Mongol Empire arrived in the 13th century, and when it collapsed in 1392 the Joseon Dynasty took over Korea. Japan invaded the country around 1592, but Ming China helped fortify Korea and the Japanese failed. The Joseon fought off the Manchu in the early 1600s, and China helped again to secure the Korean peninsula, beginning the country's era of seclusion and isolation. Japan occupied Korea from around 1910 to 1945, and when the Japanese surrendered, the Soviets occupied the north of Korea while the United States took control of the south of Korea. The Soviet Union and the United States faced conflict during the Cold War, which influenced their governance of their respective regions of Korea. The countries were divided into North Korea and South Korea in 1948. Kim Il-sung gained control of the north, while Syngman Rhee became the first president of the Republic of Korea in the south. North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, and the Korean War ensued. Both the Soviet Union and China supported the North Korean regime, while the UN backed South Korea.

The agreement that defined the boundary between North and South Korea was arranged in 1953, but never signed by South Korea, and no peace treaty has been signed. Neighboring Countries : South Korea shares a land border with North Korea, and is located on the Korean Peninsula across the Yellow Sea from China and the Sea of Japan (East Sea) Japan. Major Cities Daejeon Geography : South Korea is situated in the southern Korean Peninsula in East Asia, along the Sea of Japan (East Sea), Korea Strait, Yellow Sea, and East China Sea. The territory includes about 3,000 islands along its west and south coasts. The largest island in South Korea is called Jeju-do (Jeju Island), and is located 100 kilometers (60 miles) to the south of the mainland. The highest point in South Korea is an extinct volcano called Hallasan on Jeju-do, which stands 1,950 meters (6,398 feet) above sea level. Much of South Korea is mountainous, especially the northwest, including Taebaek Mountains, Sobaek Mountains, and the Jiri Massif.

The lowlands are primarily in the west, including the Han River plains and basins of the Geum River and Nakdong River. Along its edges are coastal plains, with rolling hills and mountains and valleys in the west. The longest river in South Korea is Nakdong, while other important rivers are the Han River, Geum River, Imjin, Bukhan, and Somjin. Points of Interest : South Korea has many attractions and destinations for travelers, from its culture-packed cities to its beautiful natural sites. The capital, Seoul, is a bright and bustling metropolis that's over 600 years old, with 5 important palaces, like Gyeongbok-gung which originated in the Joseon Dynasty but has been destroyed and restored. Seoul also has many temples and shrines, including those at Mount Inwang, as well as museums and theme parks. Seoul's Lotte World is a massive indoor amusement park, while Everland Resort is a Disneyland-esque park with a small zoo, home to a Liger. Busan, the second largest city in the country, is a port city located along the southern coast. The city features many religious sites including Beomeosa and Yonggunsa Temples.

There are other attractions like an aquarium, Jagalchi Fish Market, and scenic sites like beaches and hiking trails. South Korea's largest Jeju island, is a popular honeymoon destination for its reputation as the Island of the Gods. A volcanic island, Jeju features lava columns and lava tubes, or caves formed from lava streams. Manjanggul Lava tube is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. Other scenic destinations are the 20 national parks in South Korea, Suncheon Bay Eco Park, and the Boseong Tea Fields. Transportation : South Korea is home to several major international airports, including two in Seoul, Gimpo and Incheon International Airport, Busan's Gimhae Airport, and other airports in Cheongju, Daegu, Jeju, and Muan. These airports offer service to many international and domestic destinations, with frequent flights to other Asian cities. Since borders between North and South Korea are not passable, travel by train, car, or bus is not typically possible from mainland Asia. Boats, however, are available, especially into Busan Port, which has service to Japan, and Incheon, which transports to China. High-speed trains are available across the country, especially between major cities like Seoul and Busan.

Buses are a popular way to travel between cities and within them, while major cities including Seoul and Busan have public transportation systems that include subways and light rails. ACOD~20131122 Physical Features - All About seoul All About seoul Bibliography Physical features of Seoul Most South Koreans live in the city because of migration from the countryside. According to the 2005 census, Seoul's population is of 9.8 million people. The Seoul National Capital Area has 24.5 million people making it the world's second largest city area. South Korea occupies the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, which can extend to 1,100 km from the Asian mainland. This peninsula is surrounded by the Yellow Sea to the west, and Sea of Japan to the east. The southern tip lies on the Korea Strait and the East China Sea. Seoul's terrain is mainly mountainous however, not plowable. Lowlands situated near the west and southeast only make 30% of all the land area. South Korea can be divided into 4 different regions: 1. An Eastern region with high mountain ranges and slim coastal plains 2.

A Western region with vast coastal plains, river basins, and hills 3. A Southwestern region with mountains and valleys 4. A Southeastern region with the broad basin of the Nakdong River. There are about 3 thousand islands that lie in the western and southern coasts, however mostly small and uninhabitated. The country's largest island is Jeju-do, located about 100 km off the southern coast of South Korea, the area being 1845 square km. Jeju-do also contains South Korea's highest point; Hallasan, an extinct volcano. Seoul has 20 national parks and popular nature areas such as Boseong Tea Fields and Suncheon Bay Ecological Park. Seoul's rivers include Naktong, Pukhan, Han, and Kum. The mountains include Halla-san, Kyebang-san and Hambaek-san. The longitude and latitude of Seoul is 37 Degrees North, and 128 Degrees East. Create a free website Hallasan Volcano - Hiking Jeju - ASocialNomad July 6, 2016 ) We’re on the island of Jeju off the south coast of Korea.

It may be the favoured honeymoon destination of Korean couples, but we’re here to climb Hallasan Volcano. Jeju is compared often to a combination of Disneyland and Hawaii, but we haven’t found it remotely like either. Jeju is home to the largest national park in Korea, and it’s also the highest, as here you’ll find Korea’s tallest mountain – Mount Hallasan topping out at 1950 metres and a number of extinct volcanoes, including the very picturesque Seongsan Ilchubong, which we visited yesterday. The sunrise is supposed to be spectacular and so too are the views from the air, but we missed both and were just vaguely disappointed at the 3,300 KRW bus ride to the 2,000 KRW entrance fee to the 20 minute hike up to the top just to walk down again. No wandering around the cone, just a saunter back down steps to see the famed Jeju women divers and watch a lone Octopus be caught, displayed and put on sale. What it looks like from the air… Today promises to be better. Today we are hiking Hallasan.

There are two routes to the top of the mountain, Gwaneumsa which is 8.6 kilomtres and Seongpanak which we’re taking at 9.7km. We’re taking the Seongpanak route, because the entrance to the trail has a bus stop and Gwaneumsa doesn’t. This National Park is free, which is a welcome relief after those pesky Chinese ones what threw us well over budget, and the website of both the Korean Tourist Board and the National Park itself are very clear that you MUST be at a certain check point by 12:30 in this shoulder season, and off the summit by 14:00. The trail is closed summit-bound at the final rest stop, some 2.7km from the summit at 12:30, so we set the alarm for 06:00. I haven’t tried that hard to understand the bus system on Jeju. We have to get on the bus, which goes up the 5.16 road, which is also the 1136 road. Good eh?

It turns out (when we give up and ask the bus driver) that we actually need the 780- 5.16 which was clear as mud from everything that we’d researched, but the trip is reminiscent of the road to Shangri-La and it’s clear that the speed bumps mean GO FASTER to bus drivers on Jeju Island. It’s chilly as we arrive at the entrance to the trail – which is incredibly well signposted. You couldn’t miss it at all. And we set off. The parking lot is pretty quiet and there were only four others on the bus that we took who got off here. Perhaps all those hiking robots were here when the trail opened at 0530. The trail here is a mix. There’s some boardwalk. There’s some wooden stairs. There’s rocks. And then there’s puked up pyroclastic flow. This is hardened nasty spiky painful lava. Yup, this is no walk up a dried streambed. This is a hike up a lava flow. The signs tell us how much altitude we’re gaining. We started in the parking lot at 750 metres and the summit is at 1970 metres.

Over 9.7 kilometres. The first 4 or so kilometres are “easy”. The next 2.9 km are “normal”. I wonder if that means normal for me or normal for a hiking robot???. And then the last 2.7km, the push to the summit is “difficult”. My last question stands. NORMAL The boardwalk is a welcome relief. This hike is giving not just my calves and thighs a work out, but the soles of my feet and my ankles too. I’m convinced I’ll sprain or break an ankle even before we get to the top. That’s if the lava doesn’t pierce a hole in the soles of my shoes. That said. It’s a very pleasant environment. Most of the hike is within the treeline and there’s cover from the sun, although it’s not supposed to be completely clear today, there’s a lot of cloud cover. We top up our water from the “potable water” about two thirds of the way up.

We use the hut at the final station for a break and a biscuit – there is hot water and there are noodles for sale (take all your garbage with you) here and most people have taken off their shoes to rest, but we decide to lunch at the summit. This is the point that you have to have reached by 1230. And we’ll need to be off the summit by 1400. The hike is estimated to be 4.5 – 5 hours one way. Our round trip ends up taking us 8 hours and 5 minutes, which included a side tour to the Saraoreum Canyon and about 30 minutes of rest break. The last 200 metres of altitude is hard work. The tree cover has gone and the clouds have disappeared. They’re now below us. It’s pretty warm now. Any steps are uneven, not secure and the rocks are the same. Occasionally there are rope by the trail to haul yourself up on, but that just seems to make it harder. I’m not quite crawling up some of this like I did on the Great Wall of China , but it’s a tough last push. But it’s worth it.

There are perhaps 60 people at the summit, but it doesn’t seem overly crowded. There’s the hint of autumn in some of the trees in the crater and the crowd is generally quiet. A quick lunch and then we make haste to get out of the sun and back down to the treeline. My feet have not yet forgiven me (nearly two weeks later as I write this). If I thought that that uneven, pointed, solid volcano vomit was hard to walk on going uphill, then try walking down hill on it. This is where the hiking robots come into their own. I reckon that they go so fast, so that their feet don’t even touch the lava. That’s why it doesn’t hurt them. Just the clack clack of their walking poles as they zoom past. During the rebuilding of Korea after the Korean War, the culture of “ppalli, ppalli” or “Hurry, Hurry” was used to drive the early finishing of building projects and so on. That “hurry, hurry” attitude is still embraced by today’s Koreans. No more so than the hikers.

We only pass one couple of the way down (we passed perhaps 5 groups on the way up), yet we’re overtaken by 4 or 5, literally yomping down the mountain. We take quite a few stops on the way down. Mostly as I embrace my inner Asian hiker and just stop in the middle of the trail, unable to see the next step or convince the soles of my feet that jumping down 30 centimetres is a good idea. The hike in total was 21km. About 13 miles. Obviously 50% of it was up. Up from 750 m to 1970m. Generally these days we probably walk 4-5 miles (up to 8km) a day anyways. But this was a hard hike. Especially on the way back down, every step had to be thought about. And it hurt. It actually still hurts the soles of my feet. It was a magnificent hike. Because it was so different. And I’d recommend it to anyone, but you’ll need thick soled shoes, plenty of time, a decent amount of water, strong ankles and a high pain threshold.

Question: Extinct volcano Hallasan is the highest point in which Asian country?
Answer: South Korea