SOUTHERN SEORAK

Southern Seorak is small, and few trails cross it, but it's a beautiful area, and there's a good hot spring and mineral water source at Osaek, its main entrance. A perfect alternative to the crowded Seorak-dong.

The Osaek mineral spring (yaksuteo) emerges from holes in the rock near the torrent. Take the path through the park, between the stores and restaurants, up the stream to the bridge. The holes are dug underneath and protected. You'll need your own tank or bowl. This slightly sparkling mineral water is delicious. It was discovered under Silla by a monk who gave it his name. It is also said to have been named after the trees growing nearby, which have 5 flowering colors(osaek).

Not far from here, you can take a path from the park entrance into the magnificent Osaek Valley. It follows a beautiful torrent forming occasional pools of green water where you can bathe in summer. The gorge is deep, winding between granite cliffs festooned with elegant Korean pines, between which you can make out the sky.

We arrive at the second mineral spring, with its sparkling salt water. It's below a metal bridge, indicated by a sign in Korean, and a rope helps you get down to it, as it's on a slippery rock. You can easily miss it, as it's a small hole in the rock. The village's restaurants often come here to fill up with water. Nearby is Seonnyeotang, the "fairy bath", one of the many natural pools where fairies (or female mountain spirits) were believed to come to bathe. Further along the Chujeongol valley, a path leads off to the left towards Sibipokpo, "the twelve waterfalls". You can continue straight on to the pretty Yongso Falls (up to there, the path takes 40 minutes in all) and beyond to Route 44.

There'sa minbakvillage (Osaek kwangwangchon, a group of traditional houses on the road to Osaek from Yangyang), but it's a long way from the center of Osaek. There are other charming minbaks near the stream at the entrance to the tourist village, almost hidden below.

Many yeogwans north of the village also offer hot spring baths(oncheon), either in a public bath, directly in the room's bathroom, or in private lounges.

In addition to the luxury restaurants of the Green Yard Hotel, there are a host of small Korean restaurants south of the yeogwans, above the torrent.