A bucket list Item

One of my fondest childhood memories are from the trips I would take with my family to the various national parks throughout the United States. From Glacier to Yellowstone to Zion and many more my parents instilled a love for nature and national parks in me. So of course when I found out we would be spending two years in South Korea, I instantly looked up what national parks there were and added each of them to my bucket list.


This morning we woke up wanting out of the house. A fussy 2 month old baby and a 2 year toddler who desperately needed to get energy out..were driving us crazy.. so we decided to brave the rain and started the two hour drive to Songnisan National Park. A sper the moment trip that I am so glad we took! From the very start of the drive we were in awe of the view. The winding road through all the small little country towns were absolutely beautiful. With the rain storm, there were parts of. the drive where you could see the clouds and fog on the tips of the hill sides, making everything look magical.


Settled in the midst of the Sobaek Mountains lays Songnisan National Park. When you first enter the park you will drive down main street, which is filled with small cafes, shops and a market, all of which smelled heavenly. The park itself offers so many unique things from hiking to the temple to live music there is something for everyone. Because of the heavy rain we decided we would only visit Beopjusa ( Beopju Temple) and not to do much hiking, for fear of getting caught in a huge storm with two kiddos. Being Bhudda's birthday the temple was beaming with life from colorful lanterns to the nicest group of people. It is so interesting visiting these temples as each ones Bhudda statue is so different and unique.


Some fun facts about this temple: This temple was "built in 553 as part of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and is home to three national treasures... The temple and surrounding grounds served as the set for the movie Game of Death starring Bruce Lee". This temple is absolutely beautiful.

From the hiking we were able to do we had an absolute blast. The cloud coverage over the hill side was breath taking. We enjoyed walking listening to the rain hit our umbrellas and the birds chirping. We met so many kind souls a couple even insisted we take their extra umbrella so each of the kids had one. The act of kindness we receive from everyone anytime we adventure out is something I will miss once we are back stateside.


Somethings you need to know:

If you like hiking I would really encourage you to make the drive out here! The places we went were all stroller friendly, although I would recommend baby carrying as the paths are narrow in some places and can get kind of muddy, everyone I saw that had strollers were small and compact ones. The trial to the temple was flat, making it extremely kid friendly! There is also a trial that will take you around a dam, which was absolutely beautiful. There is a part that you will be walking on a raise metal platform with a railing, it made me a little nervous with Westley, so I was glad he as in the carrier.

There was not an entrance fee for us to enter the park however the parking was 5,000 won. We were lucky and found a spot right away. The parking lot is down at the very end of town to the left, past the market. Wether you go for a nice walk by the creek or are in it for the long hike you will absolutely love this place! We will be going back for a longer hike! From the greenery to the buildings to the people I could spend hours here! taking in the culture and history! Next item on the bucket list is to get back out here with a couple for a photoshoot!


Navar: Naver Map]

Gyeonggi Pyeongtaek-si Paengseong-eup Dodu-ri 12-118 → Songnisan National Park (Driving directions)

https://naver.me/xLEXCYEK