Dongseoksan Mountain on Jindo, a super interesting hike

Today, I hiked up Dongseoksan (동석산), a cool, isolated mountain on the south west side of Jindo Island way down south below Mokpo (목포).

Day 1 of a three-day trip to Mokpo, Jindo, and Haenam.

I had a few days free and wanted to hike a mountain I’d seen posted on the Facebook group Hiking in Korea. For that reason, I stayed a few nights in Mokpo and explored Jindo (진도) and Haenam (해남) by car. This was my second trip to Mokpo and Jindo and have wanted an excuse to return.

Hectic morning!

I got up super early to get the KTX to Mokpo station where I picked up my SOCAR. Then I drove straight to the south of Jindo. Phew! I got to the mountain at 1 pm, parked up and started to hike.

Dongseoksan Mountain

The trail head for this hike next to a church (종성장로교회). You walk up past there and simply follow the trail. The reason I came here was that the drone footage the hiker had taken on his hike showcased the beauty of its relatively compact, size along with all the interesting walkways and bridges; it was as cool as the video showed!

The rock was quite jagged, so great care was needed.

There were plenty of cool metal steps and walkways built into the rock, features that, for better or worse, I find fascinating.

The views showed a lot of flat farmland with mountains dotted around, plus views of lakes and the distant sea. It was quite hazy out but not enough to ruin the views.

A few sections of the mountain were quite challenging, especially one of the peaks with the rope and metal rings! This part was one way up and down before moving on to the main peak.

I decided not to do a through-hike to the end and walk the road back to my car as that would have taken too long; I wanted to explore some more of the island.

After the hike, I found some kind of park, memorial and/or burial ground on the way to the coffee shop. I’ve no idea what it was though…

Livin cafe

I went to a cafe called Livin (리빈). It’s at a beautiful spot on the east coast, very peaceful with a little garden and a view of the sea.

Ssanggyesa Temple

I went to a historical site to have a look around, but it had closed for the day. Instead, I looked around the nearby Ssanggyesa temple which looked lovely the fading sun.

Ramen House Ajossi

Back in Mokpo, I needed food! I was in luck; the ramen place I’d found the last minute on my last trip was open! A great end to the day before heading to my accommodation (달꾸메 게스트하우스). This was a hostel type place with private and shared rooms. It had good communal areas and lots of roof space. I’d definitely recommend it.