The 광청종주 hiking course is named after the two neighboring mountains, 광교산 and 청계산, that connect the townships of Suwon and Yangjae in Seoul, South Korea . These mountains although frequently hiked individually, rarely do people complete the whole 26km 광청종주 course. But these days this trail has become quite popular among the trail running community in Seoul.
26km+ in one day can seem daunting, but it was the 2,450M elevation gain that made this an intense day. Wanting a day to clear my head, I did this trail run solo and included a fun middle stop at a cute cafe, turning this day into a 31km and 9hr 20min adventure. I took it slow, no personal records were set today but I had a fantastic time.
Gwanggyusan: The first 16km
Starting by taking a bus from Seoul to the Gwanggyu Park (광교공원) its a 3km hike to the first of six peaks on Gwanggyusan. Each of these peaks are spread out with gaps of 2 to 4kms making it a very rewarding trip as there are places to stop, take photos and create new short distance goals. I felt it was easier to stay motivated and not feel overwhelmed by the remaining distance when I could consider the hike in bite sizes pieces with each peak.
The hike starts out low with some road and flat path trails. After a couple hundred meters it turns into a proper trail. The weather was perfect at 28C/82F with clear skies. The first two peaks came and went quite quickly, I stopped only to take a couple quick photos before continuing on. I was able to reach the first peak (448.0m) in about 35 minutes and the second about 30 minutes later.
Views of Suwon 
Peak #1: 형제봉 
Peak #2: 비로봉 
Peak #2: 비로봉’s view
The next peak is the most famous and highest peak on Gwanggyusan, 시로봉 at 582.0m. I’m a huge fan of these huge rocks on most of the Korean mountains so I had to make sure I got a photo with this one.
This portion of the trail is more rolling than harsh and so there are fewer views to see than other Seoul hikes. I made sure to stop and take in the views when I did see them, like at the 4th peak, Beakunsan (백운산, 567m). I reached this peak after only 1.8km with minimal elevation change. Right before the peak, you pass a military complex with some interesting looking buildings.
Peak #5 Barasan (바라산, 428m) was a short 2.2km from Baekunsan and had by far my favorite view. I made sure to take the most amount of time here to eat my lunch and relax.
The 6th peak and the rest of the Gwanggusan trail is fairly tame and just a wooded up and down path with a net downward trend. During this part of the trail there is one more peak, Udamsan (우담산, 425m) but its in a wooded area and without the sign you won’t have know it was a peak.
The mid-point of the trail is the large white bridge that takes hikers over an interstate. Although it is centrally located between the two mountains, the southern half of the hike accounts for 16/17km of the 25/26km hike, so you are significantly past the real half way point if you are starting in Suwon.
Halfway – Cafe Lalo (카페 랄로)
Adding about 2km to my day, I got off the trail and headed to a local cafe which has received good reviews. In my hiking shoes and surely smelling badly I went to one of the most over the top fancy cafes Ive been to in Seoul to order myself a coffee and smoothie. I required two drinks after my day. I got some weird looks, but that’s to be expected.
After taking 40 minutes to relax and charge my phone I was off again. For the second half of the journey I would be covering Cheonggyesan and arriving in Seoul.
Cheonggyesan: the remaining 11km
There’s a sizable elevation drop and immediate change as you transition between the two mountains. Making the first couple kilometers of this part of the trail quite intense with its steep incline.
The second half along with being the shorter half is the more beautiful half of the trail. There were a total of four peaks and an elevated trail which lended itself to sweeping and mountainous views.
Peak #1: Guksanbong
The elevation change between the first and third peaks was fairly small, making the trail run go by much quicker.
Peak #2: Isubong
But the best views of the day were between Peak. #2 Isubong (이수봉 545m) and #3 Maebong of this half of the hike. Near the summit of Cheonggyesan.
Of all of the peaks the 3rd is the most independently famous. I often see people hiking Maebong on instagram. I had to make sure I got my photo with this famous mountain stone.
After getting past Maebong (매봉 582.5m), the high peak of Cheonggyesan and of this whole hike, its pretty smooth sailing to the bottom. The path is mostly flat-ish and with stairs. For the rest of the trail I was able to maintain a constant and fast pace. But I did make a new friend while at the final peak Ongyeobong (옥녀봉 350m)
Take aways
Do I recommend this trail?
Yes and no. Its an excellent training trail run. If you are training for a 50km or have a passion for trail running in general I think its a great option. But for the lay, not super experienced runner or hiker there’s no reason to have this trail on your bucket list.
On the other hand, I can understand the appeal to the Maebong portion of the hike and if you wanted an even shorter hike, the first peak of the day in suwon had decent views and could be done by a less experienced hiker in maybe an hour and half round trip.
Ultimately it’s a non-technically difficult trail but due to its numerous smaller peaks has an unexpected amount of elevation gain (2,450m) considering the max elevation is about 590m. But for someone getting into trail running the frequent peaks and thus frequent sense of accomplishment, makes this an excellent training trail to tackle.
Any tips?
Theres no place to fill up water along the way, unless you want to go down to Cafe Lola like I did. It was a fun little side adventure but it added a solid 1 hrs 3o mins to my trip and about 2km. When I do the run over again would I go to Cafe Lola again? If it was my first time yes but next time I hit the trail I will know what to expect, and will be a bit better in my packing, making a cafe stop seem less needed even though it was a great experience.
Which direction would I recommend?
Next time, I intend to do the trail in the opposite direction (north to south). I suspect it’s the better direction due to the elevation change. Coming up the second mountain at the half way point is quite brutal. Additionally, the descent from Maebong is mostly stairs which would make an ascent easier than some of the dirt and rocky ascents from the Suwon direction.
Happy hiking
I’d love to hear what other people who have done this trail think of it. Do you know any similar trails you might recommend?
“I’d love to hear what other people who have done this trail think of it. Do you know any similar trails you might recommend?”
I did this course in one day in the opposite direction, mainly because transportation to that end was easier for me to do in the morning. That down and up is tough either way, but I appreciated having 광교산 at the end of the hike as I think it has the best views. Back when they built the Sinbundang subway line, they actually had advertisements all over the subway cars to promote this hike (since you can take that subway line back to the start). That’s how I had the idea to do it!
For a similar challenge, I would recommend Deokyusan National Park. I started in the South with Namdeokyusan. You could do it as a tough one-day hike like this or, whenever shelters open up again, there is a shelter in the middle of the ridge to break it up. The whole southern part of the park is really quiet, but the views are outstanding.
Thanks for the recommendation. I’m looking for some longer hikes in Korea to see more of the countryside. Great advice.