ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Natural Attractions in Korea

Updated on August 13, 2013

Mount Sorak

Before going to Korea, I did not know that the country is made up of about 70% to 80% of mountainous area. This became more and more obvious as I explored South Korea. During my one week trip, I visited Mount Sorak National Park, which is one of the most beautiful and popular national parks in Korea. During winter, many Koreans enjoy skiing at the resorts located here. As I visited in summer, there was of course no snow to be seen.

At the national park, we took a cable car up to Gwongeumseong. Do take note that the cable car ride may not be available during bad weather or maintenance period. Besides that, the cable car does not actually bring you all the way to the top. There is still quite a long hike before you reach the peak and enjoy the beautiful view of the East Sea and city of Sokcho. Here, you can also see the many rocks and stones which make up Mount Sorak.

View from Top of Mount Sorak

The view from the top of Mount Sorak on a clear day.
The view from the top of Mount Sorak on a clear day.

Teddy Bear Museum

Teddy Bears dressed up in army uniform.
Teddy Bears dressed up in army uniform.

Teddy Bear Museum at Mount Sorak

The Teddy Bear Museum is not exactly a natural attraction but I included it here as the branch I visited was located at Mount Sorak. It is pretty small and it takes less than half an hour to explore the whole area. However, there are lots of photo-taking opportunities with the cute bears. There are bears in various themes such as wearing Korean traditional clothes and bears in the shape of bees and even polar bears.

The Great Unification Buddha at Shinheungsa Temple

"Tongil Daebul" a sitting Buddha at the Shinheungsa Temple at Mount Sorak.
"Tongil Daebul" a sitting Buddha at the Shinheungsa Temple at Mount Sorak.

Shingheungsa Temple at Mount Sorak

Shinheungsa Temple is located in the Seoraksan (Mount Sorak) National Park. It is about a thousand years old. At the temple, you will see a huge sitting Buddha flanked by lotuses. Visitors can also spend some time admiring the traditional architecture of the pavilions and bridge located in the area.

Flowers Blooming at Nami Island

Nami Island is really beautiful in summer despite looking very unlike the Winter Sonata landscape.
Nami Island is really beautiful in summer despite looking very unlike the Winter Sonata landscape.

Nami Island: Beautiful throughout Four Seasons

Nami Island is most famous for its winter landscape when the island is covered by snow. This is because Winter Sonata, a famous Korean drama, was filmed there in winter. However, even during the other seasons, the island is still very beautiful. I was there in summer and the flowers were blooming. The tall trees around the island also provide some shade from the hot sun.

More of Beautiful Nami Island

One of the many lanes on Nami Island lined by trees.
One of the many lanes on Nami Island lined by trees.

The island was created as a result of the construction of the Cheongpyeong dam. Today, it is visited by many tourists. A famous lane is the Metasequoia Lane where visitors can reenact the walk made by Bae Yong Jun and Choi Ji Woo, the Winter Sonata actors. The island also has various exhibition halls such as the UNICEF hall and the Winter Sonata Photo Gallery.

Wolmido Seagull cruise

Wolmido Island: Seagulls Galore

Close to Incheon Airport is Wolmido Island. Visitors can take a short ferry ride from Yeongjong Pier to Wolmido. During the ride, we bought prawn crackers and threw it at the many seagulls which were flying about. They were really quick in grabbing the prawn crackers as seen in the video I took. As I was on Wolmido Island very early in the morning, many shops were still not open. But during my short stay there, it looked like it would be a very lively place in the evening as there were many seafood restaurants and cafes there.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)