Munjangdae - Sinseondae Loop

Dogs No Dogs

Features Cave · Fall Colors · Historical Significance · Views

This is another very straightforward hike in Songnisan National Park. The hike begins at the main park entrance, where you follow signs for Munjangdae all the way to the summit platform. Once there, you can hike along the ridge line north or south as long as there are no fire-danger closures.

This particular loop uses the Shinseondae Peak Trail to descend back to the park entrance. The ridge line is part of the Baekdudaegan Trail, so in theory you could continue walking north all the way to North Korea, or south all the way to Jirisan National Park. This would of course take multiple weeks, Songnisan is about in the middle of this trail.

Like most National Parks in Korea, the entrance to the park is lined with dozens of restaurants and cafes. In Korea, hiking is equally about the socialization before and after as it is about the natural features.

Parking was fairly adequate in a lot near the start point, probably 4-10k won depending on the season. I would imagine this lot fills up extremely fast in peak season. Park admission was about the same, 4k won for me in off-season.

There are literally restaurants along this loop all the way up including on the ridge itself, so don't even bother bringing food and water if you want to have the local stuff!

The hike is marked extremely well, and much of it is along a constructed pathway paralleling a road. There are frequent temples, restaurants, and maps.

The trail up is the Munjangdae Trail, the ridge trail is a small section of the Baekdudaegan Trail, but you'll follow signs for Shinseondae if you are following this GPX exactly. The trail down is the Shinseondae Peak Trail. You can do this route in reverse, add on more ridge hiking, etc., etc. There are dozens of trails in this area of the park.

The terrain is relatively easy, the whole trail is lined with either carpet, stones, or stairs. It may be steep in some spots, and the ridge itself tends to get muddy. Other than that, this is a very simple outing.

The temple at the bottom is quite large and has a wonderful aesthetic spot with good views of the ridge and surrounding mountains. Naturally, the large statue is a big attraction here.

The temple offers temple stays, for those interested. I haven't looked into any of the details, but there were many signs advertising it at the entrance.