The name "Seorak" originated from the word 'Seol' which means snow and 'Ak' which means big mountain. This is because the snow would not melt for a long time keeping the rocks in a permanent state of white. Oh wow, it must have been freezing in this region in winter time. 

Seoraksan National Park was designated as Biosphere Preservation District by UNESCO in August 1982. It is now a very popular site amongst local and international tourists. During winter, the whole area is covered by thick snow but since we came during summer, the park is full of lust greens. We are supposed to take cable car ride to see the view from the top but unfortunately, the cable car was not in operation that day. There are some power faults which the operator needs to investigate further which is due to strong wind current at night. Bummer but it is better to be safe than sorry. 

Since we are out of cable car ride quest today, we are just going to explore the park slowly. Jenny (in red) has walked off ahead to wait for us at the gathering spot where she's going to share with us some history lesson on South Korea. So far her stories have been so interesting, I can't wait to hear what she has in store today. I suppose that's one of the benefit of having a tour guide. 

In the gathering spot, we saw the statue of black bear on top of the sign Seoraksan National Park. Jenny mentioned that this black bear is different from the bears that we may have seen at NatGeo's channel somewhere in Canada. This is Asian black bear and this fauna is often spotted in the region. The Korean (especially the elder generation) believes that their ancestors come from the Asian black bears. The bears can be quite aggressive toward human though so be careful of them if you are meeting them upon hiking or exploring the region. 

It does look kinda scary actually. It kinda remind me of a gory news where a bear mauling and eating a father and daughter in the wilderness of Russia. Yikes. But they do have reason to be aggressive towards human I suppose since people often hunt them for their fur or meats for medicine. 

If you come to the park in the autumn, the green leaves that you see now will turn color into yellow or red. I bet it's gonna be so fantastic in autumn but it's very difficult for me to go in autumn because of deadliest deadline of tax world. Hmm, maybe I should seriously change my field of work, really. 

Some health tips for hikers. Stretching is important prior to hiking I think. If Singapore has a lot of mountains, I wonder if the people here will love hiking as well. Hmm, maybe they will. 

If you are more of those people who likes relaxing activity, you can relax and chill and one of the many cafes/ restaurants here at Seoraksan National Park. Drinking americano while enjoying the scenery does not sound bad after all. By the way, other than for hiking, Seoraksan National Park is also a popular spot for camping. A certain admission fees is applicable for the camping site though. 

Seoraksan National Park's admission fees:

Adults - 3,500 KRW

Middle to high school students (14 - 19 y.o.) - 1,000 KRW

Elementary school students (8 - 13 y.o.) - 500 KRW

Camping sites admission fees:

Low season: Adults 1,600 KRW/ Teenagers 1,200 KRW/ Children 800 KRW

Peak season: Adults 2,000 KRW/ Teenagers 1,500 KRW/ Chilrend 1,000 KRW

Peak season: 1 May - 30 November

Low season: All period except peak season