There Are As Many Hiking Trails As There Are...

Tongduchon, South Korea

There are as many hiking trails as there are hills in Korea. The Koreans make hiking trails everywhere. I am giving a general description of places to run because there are so many. First I would like to note that running along the river in Tongduchon is clear of traffic but, they call it "doo doo creek" for a reason. The smell is not always pleasant. Being north of Seoul we are generally considered as to being in the country. I like this due to the fact that the air is generally more clear than in Seoul. As I stated earlier that pretty much all of the hills around here are used for hiking, these make great running trails if you do not mind hills. North of Tongduchon (also spelled Dongduchon) there is a national park by the name of Soyu Mountain. It is a great hiking trail with a large beautiful buddhist temple about 500 meters up the first trail. From the base of the mountain to the temple there are stairs. After the temple you go dirt path for the next five peaks. Hiking this trail takes about 4-6 hours. I have never run this trail yet but hope to someday. South, West, and East of Tongduchon there are many hills with trails I have not, and probably will not ever, get to run or hike them all. Most have a small buddhist temple established. Take water with you and have toilet paper with you also. There are port-a-potties here and there, but don’t count on paper being provided. If you ever visit, there are many hotels to stay at with a large variety of restaurants to eat at. If you like sashimi (raw fish) then they have very fresh sashimi places here in Tongduchon. We also have a Kentucky Fried Chicken, Subway sandwich shop, and Domino's. I am not advertising for these establishments but they are available if you wish to eat there. Then you have a never-ending supply of Korean restaurants.