Likely Juwangsan National Park is not on your radar. I’m writing this article to show you that you have made a mistake by overlooking this one.
I gave Juwangsan the #3 spot for the best autumn hikes in South Korea and its Yongchu Waterfall trail is my #1 pick for best waterfall hikes. Seoraksan National Park is the only park I rank higher for beautiful and quality of trail. But what Juwangsan has the Seoraksan lacks, is it a drop-dead gorgeous body of water, the Jusanjeosuji Reservoir – which is famous for its submerged willow trees. (Not to mention Juwangsan is only 30 minutes from the beach!)
Juwangsan National Park is located on the coast of Gyeongbuk-do, South Korea – so not the most accessible location, which is probably why it has largely gone unnoticed by the foreigner hiking community.
This national park is in no way convenient to get to as it’s a 4–5-hour drive from central Seoul, and 3.5-4.5 hours from Camp Humphreys. But when combined with a trip to Andong or a relaxing day on the beach, it makes for an unforgettable weekend. Jump to Lodging to learn more about local accommodation options.
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Hiking in Juwangsan National Park
This park has three major attractions – Jubong Peak/주봉 , the riverwalk to Yongchu Waterfall /용추폭포 and Jusanjeosuji Reservoir / 주산저수지. The latter of which is a 20-minute drive away and I cover separately in this article.
If you only have one day here, don’t miss walking from Daejeonsa Temple to the Yongchu Waterfall – This can be done as a there and back, or can be included in a hike to the main peak – which is my recommended course.
This is because the Yongchu Waterfall trail is truly extraordinary, and I ranked it #1 on my list for South Korea’s top waterfall courses.
This course is yellow difficultly in the below map – and yellow means it’s not even hiking, but rather just walking. This trail attracts a lot of families and older people, since it is so flat and incredibly beautiful. I wouldn’t go as far as saying its wheelchair friendly, but it’s very accessible.
The last time I hiked here, I went with a group of 6. Two members of my group only did the river course – but they walked further to Yongyeon Waterfall (용연폭포), which is just another 1.2km of easy hiking further than the Yonchu waterfall. And they had a fantastic time even without going to the peak.
I have outlined the important and noteworthy locations in various colors, which I reference throughout the article. The hiking course I will discuss in this guide is shown with the black lines. This loop course is 10.5km.
Before I dive into the specifics of this trail, I want to stress that parking is a big deal in this national park. If you arrive after about 10am on a weekend, you will likely not be able to park close to the entrance. The “상의주차장” / Sangui Parking Lot is rather small, and while there are other larger lots, they are 500 meters to 1km away, so you run the risk of increasing your walking commute a fair bit.
Juwangsan National Park Sangui Parking Lot 경북 청송군 주왕산면 상의리 299 https://naver.me/GWJq9kEz
After parking at Sangui Parking Lot, it’s about 400 meters walk until Daejeonsa Temple (Yellow block). This short walk has you going down a narrow road filled with small restaurants, shops and places to buy coffee. Both times I hiked here I made reservations with one of the restaurants so that my group could order the chicken stew/토종닭백숙 – which is famous in this area. You don’t need to make a reservation to eat at these restaurants normally, but this chicken dish has a 45 min to 1 hour prep time, so it requires you make a reservation.
Arriving at Daejeonsa, which is pictured below, you get a fantastic view of the dinosaur egg-esk shaped rocks. These rocks are visible from the parking lot, but this is the best place to see them. Prior to arriving at the temple, we stopped by a coffee shop to get our caffeine fix and take in the views of the dino eggs.
From Daejeonsa Temple its 2.2 kilometers until Yongchu Waterfall (blue block). The majority of this course is a flat river adjacent walk that cuts through Jabong Valley. This course is a mix of flat dirt paths, boardwalks and some stairs. If you come here during the fall expect it to be very crowded, but even with the crowds, it’s incredibly beautiful here. On my last trip, we went during the early fall time, so we were able to take in some of the foliage, but it gets even more beautiful if you wait a couple more weeks than we did.
As a side note, due to this mountain’s extreme popularity among Korean hikers chasing the foliage, most prediction maps list Juwangsan/주왕산, so it’s fairly easy to time the leave change correctly. But just remember that the valley will turn after the peak, but since the peak is fairly low lying (720m), the difference is marginal.
While the below types of pictures are very popular online, it’s only the last 100 meters prior to Yongchu Waterfall that the dramatic boardwalk with towering rocks is visible. This section of the course makes the long drive out here worth it. There really isn’t any other hike in Korea like this one, and those that might seem similar pale in comparison.
Another 900 meters beyond Yongchu Waterfall, brings you to the entrance of Hurimaeji/ “후리메기 입구”, which is the turn off point that begins the loop to hike to the main peak, Jubong. From this turn off its 1km of valley hiking, with a slight upward gradient until you come to the Hurimaeji 3-way intersection/ “후리메기 삼거리”, where you turn right. From here its 2.5 kilometers until the peak – with the middle 1.3km being quite intense.
Besides the views form the steep section, pictured above, the rest of the upwards climb and the peak itself is fairly view free. But this changes once you begin the descent. The main peak, Jubong, is fairly low lying compared to other mountainous national parks, standing at only 770m. Due to its elevation, even considering the steeper section on the ascent, this is a much easier hiker than most other national park main peak hikes. But unlike most parks, you aren’t sacrificing anything in terms of atmosphere when selecting this easy course. Although the trail is quite different, it sort of reminds me of hiking Workasan’s Jaebibong, in terms of fairly lower effort vs high pay off – which I showcase in the below images and are most prominent on the 2.3km descent to Daejeonsa Temple. Besides the views, the other appeals to this hike is that it’s on the Black Yak 100 Mountain Challenge, and you can get your stamp for the National Park Stamp Passport Tour as well.
The reason to do this loop trail in this direction (clockwise) is because of the view on this section of the trail (Jubong peak -> Daejeonsa Temple). By going clockwise, you can better appreciate these views than from the reverse direction.
Alternative Option:
If you opt to not do this hike, you can instead either go beyond the turn off point to Yongyeon Waterfall /용연폭포, or to turn around at Yeonhchu Waterfall and go see Juwangam Temple / “주왕암” (purple block) which is a small religious area with a series of statues and shrines as well as smaller waterfalls.
The Jusanjeosuji Reservoir / 주산저수지
In a separate area of the park is Jusanjeonsuji Reservoir – it’s about a 20-minute drive from the main area of the park. This reservoir is a 1 km (2km round trip) road walk from a small parking lot. You can’t swim or enter the water, but there is a boardwalk that runs along half of the lake.
Jusanji Parking Lot 경북 청송군 주왕산면 주산지리 87 https://naver.me/5oXHYaWP
Also, there is a look out area at the far end of the lake (100 meters from the start) and another look out spot at about the 60% mark. Throughout the boardwalk there are a number of signs talking about the history of the reservoir and the species that inhabit it. This spot had been on my bucket-list for a while, and that’s because I wanted to see the submerged Red Leaf Willow trees, which were cooler in person that in the pictures. (But I’m also an agroforestry researcher so I’m a bit biased to love all trees)
Lodging
Since the drive is about 4 hours, it’s a tough day trip and more suited as an overnight. I’ve done it as both a day trip and overnight. By making it an overnight trip, it gave us the time to also check out Jusanjeonsuji Reservoir and not feel rushed.
You essentially have two options for places to stay – near the park or in Andong.
Near the park at about $100-150 a night, is the Sono Belle Cheongsong which is a resort with family style rooms and a spa. They also have a large garden, complete with outdoor relaxing areas. Cheonsong is the name of the area.
The alternative option is to stay in Andong.
Andong is a smaller city in South Korea which is famous for the traditional village, Andong Hahoe Village/ 안동하회마을 , the Michelin starred Mammoth Bakery, and the Korean dish Jimdak/찜닭. Andong is about an hour drive from Juwangsan National Park.
In Andong, you have more accommodations options such as the Goryeo Hotel for under $50 a night, or Kims House Andong which lets you rent out a small traditional Hanok with fun furnishings for $100-150 a night.
Happy Trekking!
-Aurora
