A mountain worth doing twice. I first hiked Jangansan in February of 2022 for the Blackyak 100 Mountain Challenge, and it left a lasting impression. Even with all the tall grass cut down and a light layer of snow covering the mountain, I could tell this would be a must see fall adventure.
Then in October 2022, when I was trying to decide on where to take my hiking lukewarm boyfriend, this one was at the top of my list.
Its an easy hike, with a well maintained course that’s a great spot to take cute pictures or have a picnic. Great for families, hiking lukewarm partners and mountain obsessed people. Only downside is that its a pretty long drive from Seoul and there isn’t a direct public transportation option.
The Verdict: Jangansan has earned the stamp of approval from both of us.
Hiking Course and Views
The parking areas is the 무룡(령)고개 and doubles as a bus parking spot for a segment of the Baekdudaegan (백두대간) as well a car parking lot for Jangansan. It’s a steep, but paved drive up to the parking area, which make for an interesting driving adventure but at least you don’t have to hike all that elevation. I’ve been to this parking lot three times now, and while there is a bathroom it’s 2/3 on being a horror show. There is a ‘seating’ area across the street, and the hiking trail is 25ish meters up the road from the parking lot. The Jangansan course is to the right and the Baekdudaegan hiking trail is to the left. While it says the 영취산 Beakdudaegan peak is only 500 meters up, there is no reason to do the extra hike. It’s a hard, steep 500 meters and theres no view, so only worth doing if you are doing the Beakdudaegan hiking challenge.
From the parking lot, its about 3km to the peak. The first 1-1.5km is a gradual climb with the Korean bamboo on both sides of the course. Then the view opens up and the last 1.5km offers views of the tall grass along the ridge line.
The course has many staircases and the rope mat covering, making it easy on the feet.
When we went in October, we joined a tour hosted by the 좋은사람들 hiking company. On our bus was 25ish other people, but besides that our weekend getaway wasn’t crowded with a ton of other people. While it attracts a lot of people in the fall, especially the instagram hiking people like myself, its likely going to be less densely packed than other famous tall grass peak mountains such as the Yeongnam Alps or Sobaeksan National Park.
The course I recommend is the standard there and back course from the parking lot to the peak. But since we hiked with the tour company in the fall, they had us hiking through the mountain, with different start and end points. The downhill course on the other side wasn’t great. The quality was bad and had lots of loose gravel!
But on a positive note, there was a nice restaurant to relax at on the other end. The owner was very nice. I actually had a very weird, memorable experience there. It was shortly after the article about me finishing the 100 mountain challenge was published in the Korean hiking magazine, 월간산. It so happened that 3 people recognized me and wanted to take pictures together, I was then asked to sign an autograph by the restaurant owner. It was a super bizarre, never to happen again experience that caused me to feel like I was dying of embarrassment, which my boyfriend found hilarious.
Wanted to give a shout out for the local Makgollie. The Jangsu Makgeollie (장수 막걸리) is on my list for the top 5 local Makgeollie for sure! Even if you don’t eat at this restaurant, I would recommend eating in the area or stopping by a local shop to buy this Makgeollie.
Ecological Fun Fact – The type of grass that covers this mountain and a handful of other Korean mountains is called ‘억새’, Silvergrass. It can grow to be much taller than a human being! As tall as 12 feet. A field of silvergrass is known as a ‘억새밭’. If you just want to see the grass but not hike or spend hours in the car, it can be seen on certain parts of the Hangang river or at Haneul Park, specifically the ‘Land of Silver Grass‘ in Seoul. There is a festival hosted here on the third weekend in October every year.
Happy trekking everyone!
