No visitor to Jeju would leave before making a trip to Seongsan Ilchulbong Sunrise Peak, an iconic landmark on the tiny island.
Tip: It might be a little troublesome to travel to Seongsan Ilchulbong if you’re not driving. Consider getting there by booking the following day tours with Klook:
Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to climb Seongsan Sunrise Ilchulbong Peak on my previous trips to Jeju. This made me all the more excited (and nervous!) about what to expect on my hike.
The good news is that most online sites and reviews would tell you that the climb is actually very manageable (not Bukhansan level).
The bad news was that the weather was terribly frosty and the winds were very strong, so I wasn’t confident that I could make it up to the peak without freezing first.
When we reached the foot, we realised there were 2 paths. 1 is the path that leads to the peak, whereas the other goes around the peak instead. You’ll need to pay a fee to take the path leading to the peak, which I can’t find but it was a low nominal charge.
The skies were particularly blue that day and made for some really good photos!
The stairs and steps leading up to the peak were a little steep, and the melting snow on the steps made it worse as they tended to be slippery.
I also got a little out of breath as we got further up due to the cold & thin air. However, I did find it still manageable – as did the other ahjummas and ahjussis.
The bird eye views of Jeju Island from the hike were stunning!
After what seemed like about 30 minutes, we reached the peak! There’ll be this sign at the top to let you know that the torture hike was over.
The top of the Seongsan Ilchulbong is actually a crater, which was originally used for agriculture, but has since been converted into a natural habitat.
After taking many photos at the peak, we made our way down and thought that was all to it. That was until we realised that the path leading down actually brings us around Seongsan Ilchulbong with a clear, unblocked view of the sea!
Lots of tourists were taking photos against the magnificent backdrop of Seongsan Ilchulbong, on the black & grey coastline.
The fact that the sun was about to set also gave the rocks a beautiful golden glow!
We didn’t spend too long around Seongsan Ilchulbong itself, and went off to find dinner after this. However, the short time here still left a deep impression on me.
I fully understand the draw of coming here to see and hike up Seongsan Sunrise Ilchulbong Peak. Although I have to admit that my photos may not fully express the beauty of the place!
I’m very thankful that the hike was also much easier than expected, but we considered ourselves quite lucky that the heavy snowfall had stopped right before our hike. Otherwise, it’s likely that they’ll close off the path and you’ll only be able to walk around the foot. Despite that, I find that the surrounding views of the sea (and Udo Island!) are still worth the trip here.
DIRECTIONS
Address: 284-12, Ilchul-ro, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do
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