Seokbulsa is a rather obscure temple in Busan, but is sought out by adventurers who love to get off the beaten track. The temple is hidden away in Busan’s mountains so finding it can be a bit of a mission. Thankfully, the internet is here to help you get there, and I hope to make it as clear as possible.
To begin, there are two ways to get to Seokbulsa Temple. There is an easier way and a, shall we say, more adventurous way. It really depends on the kind of traveller you are. Is it about the destination or the journey?
Option 1: Hike through Geumgangjeongseong Park
The adventurous way is to hike through Geumgangjeongseong Park and to do so you need to get to Geumgang Park Cable Car. I’ll step you through how I got there now.
(Obviously, the easiest way to get there is to get a cab to Geumgang Park Cable Car. But if you are staying far away, like in Haeundae or near Yongdusan, this may not be a cheap option.)
This is the screenshot of my timeline from Google Maps. What Google recorded is pretty wonky (as it only updates your location when you unlock your phone), but I’ve added in the pink line with the green landmarks I noted to show the route I actually took. I hope it helps.
Step 1 – Get the train to Oncheonjang metro station. Take either Exit 1 or 3 (as they both exit to the same road) and turn left. Walk up to the traffic lights and cross towards the mountains. There is a statue of a tiger at the lights.
Across the road, there’ll be some signs pointing the direction of the Park. Follow the sign in the direction of the mountains towards Geumgang Park. They should be in English as well and will look like this.
Now, I won’t lie to you and say it’s a piece of cake to find the park from here. You have about 10-15 minutes of walking before you reach the park, and the streets between you and the park are not exactly straight forward. If you keep walking towards the mountains that’s a good start.
You’ll come to a large intersection, take a slight left instead of going straight.
The road will narrow and will begin going uphill and when you reach the police station it is just around the corner to the right. This is an easy landmark to remember so if you see signs to the police station, that will help too.
Once in the park it’s pretty easy to find the cable car, I took the path up left but you can probably ask anyone and they’ll be able to tell you.
For one way in August 2019 it was 6000 won.
Step 2 – Geumgang Park Cable Car
Step 2 is easy: take the cable car up to the top. Enjoy the magnificent view of Busan and hang out the window with your GoPro. You may expect to be scolded but the lady operator on mine could not give a toss what I was doing.
Step 3 – follow signs to South Gate
Around the mountain is the Geumgangjeongsong Fortress, which has 4 gates. The South Gate is about 15 minutes walk away from the top cable car station and is fairly well signposted. There are not too many places to get lost so just focus on finding the next sign.
This is the first sign you’ll come across at the South Gate. It is 1.3km to the gate and is reasonably flat.
The signs sometimes look different, just keep looking for them and you’ll be fine. All the ones I saw were also in English.
You have now made it to the South Gate, one of 4 gates on the mountain.
Step 4 – Walk past the South Gate
This is an important step and one I almost failed at. Once at the South Gate, take some photos, walk through to the picnic area for a rest if you want, but do not continue through the gate. You want to continue following the road that hooks around to the left and does not go through the gate. You’ll now start to see signs to Seokbulsa or Seokbul Temple.
This is the sign along the road at the Gate. It can be easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. From where I took this photo, I walked down from the left and I’ll continue down to my right. And if I was to turn around I’d be looking at the Gate.
About 400 metres from the South Gate is South Gate Village. There’s not much to the village — just a few buildings — but you could probably stop for a drink if you wanted to.
At the end of the village you’ll get to some tennis courts that look like they haven’t been used since Lleyton Hewitt was world number 1. Follow the big red arrows on the blue sign to the right.
From here, the signs continue, but they are more spread apart. I need constant reassurance when I’m trying to find my way through unknown territory looking for a specific goal. The best advice I can give is to follow your instincts and stay on the path you are on unless a sign directs you otherwise.
It is largely downhill and the path is much rockier now. You’ll pass streams and bridges but they are all distractions.
When you get to a road with parked cars you’re almost there. The difficult navigation through the forest is over; the bad news is that the steepest part of the journey is just beginning. But you can’t get lost as there is only one road in and one road out from here.
From here, just walk uphill.
The road goes up for about 500 metres in a series of switchbacks the likes of which I’ve never seen before. It was steep, man. You’ll pass an outdoor exercise gym and playground, which also has some toilets at the back if it’s been a while.
Mercifully, the Seokbulsa gate will come into view and you’ll let out a faint cheer. And then you’ll see the vending machine with cold water and cola and you might just fist-pump the air.
Now you have arrived, rest your legs, enjoy the view, bask in the serenity of the beautiful temple built into the side of the rock, and contemplate how in the hell they lugged all the materials up here to build this joint.
Option 2 – Get a cab from Mandeok Station to Seokbulsa Temple
Remember at the top how I said that there were two options? Yeah, I’d forgotten as well.
As you may have inferred from my directions above, there is actually a road that goes most of the way to the top where Seokbulsa is located. Just before the switchbacks began there was a large number of cars parked. I’m not actually sure where the people were because they weren’t in the temple, perhaps they were hiking through the park.
Beside the point.
Suffice it to say if you wanted to get a cab up you could get most of the way in air-conditioned comfort.
So get the metro to Mandeok Station on line 1 and flag a cab.
You could also walk from Mandeok Station, but if you were going to do that you might as well go through Option 1 and enjoy some actual scenery. It’s probably just as long and perhaps just as easy.
Getting Home from Seokbulsa Temple
Seokbulsa was quiet, unsurprisingly in hindsight, considering its relative remoteness; there were only a handful of people there with me. I strolled about, taking photos, enjoying the view and the serenity.
Once I had finished meandering through the temple I exited the way I had come in and headed back down the switchbacks.
Once you get back to the where all the cars are parked (where you hit the road and exited the forest) you have two choices. You can either walk back the way you came, back up the hill past South Gate Village and South Gate and down the cable car.
Or, you can continue walking down the road towards Mandeok Station like I did. About 15 minutes down from this spot there are a couple of cafes so this can be a great spot to recharge with a snack, a drink, and some air conditioning.
The route is reasonably self-explanatory but keep in mind that the footpath is narrow to non-existent in some parts so keep your wits about you. This is a very busy road.
The walk down took me about hour and is downhill the entire way. Once you get to Mandeok Station, celebrate a big day and text your travelling partners to tell them you’re still alive.
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