A gaggle of 36 international members participate in a dawn hike at Mount Bukhan throughout this 12 months’s Seoul Mountain climbing Week, Nov. 8. Courtesy of Seoul Tourism Group
A rising variety of worldwide vacationers are flocking to Seoul’s mountain trails, the place nature meets the town in what officers are calling “Okay-hiking.”
In keeping with the Seoul Tourism Group, international guests to its mountain climbing tourism heart on Mount Bukhan surged 760 % this 12 months in comparison with the identical interval final 12 months, signaling a pointy rise within the exercise’s enchantment.
The rise follows the success of this 12 months’s Seoul Mountain climbing Week, collectively organized by the tourism board and the out of doors Korean attire model Black Yak. The occasion featured dawn hikes to Baegundae Peak on Mount Bukhan and trail-running applications via Uiryeong’s maple-lined paths, attracting greater than a thousand members.
Members in a path operating program run alongside the Uiryeong’s maple-lined path in Mount Bukhan, Nov. 9. Courtesy of Seoul Tourism Group
Officers say many guests are drawn to Seoul’s distinctive geography — a metropolis the place forested peaks stand alongside clusters of glass towers and centuries-old palaces. From the summit of Mount Bukhan, hikers can watch daybreak spill over Gyeongbok Palace and the Han River, a view that captures the town’s twin id as each historic and fashionable.
The Seoul Mountain climbing Tourism Middle, established in 2022, supplies rental gear, multilingual path info, and guided experiences tailor-made to international company. Constructing on the momentum, comparable facilities have opened close to Mount Bukhan and Gwanak, introducing new routes that showcase seasonal modifications and cultural landmarks.
Past mountain climbing, the town’s program now contains indoor climbing and out of doors sports activities meetups, providing year-round accessibility.
“In simply three years, Seoul’s mountains have turn out to be a key motive foreigners go to,” mentioned Gil Ki-yeon, president of the Seoul Tourism Group. “Okay-hiking is now not simply out of doors recreation — it’s a cultural expertise.”
Officers plan to increase collaborations with non-public companions to create extra artistic, sustainable mountain tourism applications that spotlight Seoul’s distinct city-meets-nature aesthetic.
