Whilst I was on a semester exchange in South Korea (2018), I bought a book which shows various locations in South Korea that may be lesser known to tourists and/or places that you will have to go. I was flipping through the book and I came across Daedunsan (대둔산). In it, beautiful autumn foliage, along with a suspending bridge were depicted. I placed a bookmark and I told myself that I would go for the gorgeous red and orange leaves. However, autumn 2018 was very short-lived and with an unfortunate typhoon that swept across the country, I missed the opportunity to capture what was depicted in the book; trees were mostly bare when I got there in October.
With hopes to avoid the potential crowd at Daedunsan, I packed some bagels in my bag and left my dormitory in KAIST at 5.30 in the morning. I took a 2.5-hour bus ride to Daedunsan resting point, followed by a 30-minutes walk to Daedunsan Cable Car (대둔산 케이블카). I reached at about 8.30am, 30 minutes before the operational timing of the cable car and I wasn’t alone; I was joined with a huge group of Koreans waiting to purchase the ticket to get to the top of the mountain. I was, however, the youngest person (the Koreans were mostly above 50 years old). Was I lazy to hike up the mountain? Yes, but only because I hiked up Hallasan (한라산) in Jeju not too long before I went to Daedunsan.
The cable car ride was nothing short of amazing; as the cable car slowly climbed its way up, you could observe the rock formations against the beautiful cloudy sky. Imagine how much more beautiful it would be if the autumn colours were still there.
After I got off the cable car, a short 600m hike brought me to the Geumgang Gureum Bridge (금강 구름다리) and gosh, it was a whole new experience. It's a bridge that is suspending between two rocks. I’m not really afraid of heights so I walked across with ease, at least until when I was 3/4 way done with the bridge; the same old folks whom I’ve met at the base of the mountain came along and the men tried to have some fun by jumping on the bridge. It shook really hard and I started laughing, only because the ladies were screaming at the top of their lungs. I finally got off the bridge (safely) and continued to hike to the top of the mountain.
But before that, I reached the second bridge: Samseon Overpass (삼선구름다리). Believe me when I say it took me a great deal of energy to climb this bridge. The 127 steps-bridge is suspended across two peaks, similar to Geumgang Gureum Bridge, only that it is inclined at an angle of about 70 degrees; it was extremely steep and it is definitely not for the faint-hearted. Just focus on going up, that is the only tip I would give for people with acrophobia.
Finally, with the remaining 700m or so, I reached the acme of the mountain (at least what was in the trail): Macheondae Peak (마천대). The view was stunning. Just breathtaking. I sat there for 15 minutes enjoying the view and refilled my empty stomach with bagels. If there is a chance, I would invite myself back here to enjoy what I missed: autumn foliage.