Baekdu-Daegan Trail

Length: 735kms
Time: 2 months
Area: The Baekdu-daegan mountain system on the entire length of South Korea
Theme: An iconic mountain ridge trail of nationalism and beauty

Pricing for this hiking expedition can be done by emailing me via my contact page.

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What is the Baekdu Daegan?

The Baekdu-daegan (White head - Great ridge) is a 1700km geographical feature (ridge) that runs along the entire length of the Korean peninsula. It is the watershed of the Korea. It is never broken or crossed by water. It begins (or ends) at Korea’s most sacred peak Baekdu-san 2750m on the Chinese border with North Korea and ends at Jirisan’s Cheonwang-bong in South Korea. The 735km South Korean section is walkable for hikers and is a strong symbol of identity and nationalism for the people of both Koreas.

The geo-culture of Korea

The Baekdu Daegan mountain system is located on the Korean peninsula, an 1100km jut of land that protrudes in a south easterly direction from mainland China in North East Asia. The 220,847km² of peninsula is surrounded by three seas and consists of 8,460km of coastline with a mass of some 3,500 isles. Japan lies to its south.

Korea’s history stretches back some 5000 years to its earliest known civilization, consisting of a race of homogenous Koreans ruled by a leader known as Tangun, whose history is now a mixture of both myth and disputed fact in Korea. The Korean geopolitical influence once ruled deep into Manchurian China during the Goguryeo Kingdom (37BC-668AD), but it wasn’t perhaps until the 7^th century that Korea’s present day geopolitical boundary was formed. It begins at its highest and holiest peak Baekdusan 2744m on its river border with China. It is this river border and Baekdusan Mountain that defines the origins of the unique topography of the Korean peninsula., with the Baekdu Daegan mountain system being the mother entity of all its topography. It is a fact that the Korean peninsula is only connected to the Asian continent by one natural land bridge, that being the holy mountain of Baekdusan. This volcanic Crater Lake Mountain creates the two rivers (Yalu & Tumen) that separate the peninsula from Asia. Baekdusan Mountain therefore, is the beginning of the subject of this exhibition, the Baekdu Daegan mountain system. From its mysterious and revered summit a continuous ridge, known as the Baekdu Daegan traverses and twists down the peninsula for some 1700km, never crossing water, forming Korea’s backbone. Its end point is commonly known to be at its highest mainland mountain in the southern section of the peninsula - Jirisan’s Cheonwangbong summit at 1915m above sea level. Some geographers view the Baekdu Daegan ridge as continuing further along the peninsula from Cheonwangbong, under the sea, until it resurfaces on Korea’s famous sub-tropical island of Jeju, where it ends rather fittingly at Korea’s only other volcanic Crater Lake mountain of Hallasan 1950m in the southern most extreme of the Korean geopolitical region. From the Baekdu Daegan ridge some 14 subsidiary ridges known as Jeongamek, disperse throughout the peninsula channeling Korea’s major river ways from there sources at the foothills of the Baekdu Daegan to the seas. From that thousands of lesser ridges splay out all over the peninsula channeling the streams into the rivers, forming this enormous graphic mountain system that studied closely, resembles the arterial venous network of a human body, that occupies 75% of the land mass of the Korean peninsula. This plethora of mountain ridge generates from Korea’s holiest mountain Baekdusan, where the Baekdu Daegan ridge begins. This is maybe the most important fact behind its reverence.

Early History of the Baekdu Daegan

As far as we know, it wasn’t until the mid 9^th century, that a famous Korean monk named Doseon Guksa, introduced the theory that the Baekdu Daegan mountain system could be the main disperser of the peninsula’s mountainous vitality. Doseon Guksa was already a practitioner of China’s Daoist Feng Shui study of natural sciences, and evolved the basis of those theories into Korea’s own form of natural science calling it Pungsu-jiri. However, whereas, China’s Daoist theories of Feng Shui may be more cosmic and universal, what localized Doseon Guksa’s own theory of Korean Pungsu-jiri was that he isolated the source of the Korean peninsula’s natural energies back to its holiest mountain, Baekdusan as it was the only natural land bridge that connected the peninsula to Asia, and also the mother of all mountains on the peninsula. With that he could safely assume that all of Korea’s mountains, subsequent waterways, and sustaining lifestyles, were connected back to Baekdusan Mountain, and nowhere else. The Baekdu Daegan ridge that ran south from Baekdusan mountain along the peninsula, was therefore the spinal frame of the central nervous system of all of this mountain energy. The Baekdu Daegan’s interconnected subsidiary ridges, lesser ridges, and waterways became arterial and venous like channels of this energy, that filtered this natural energy into the very corners of the peninsula. With this we can begin to see a contained network of mountain ridges formed by one mountainous spine connected to the peninsula’s highest mountain that also happens to be its only natural land bridge to Asia. On a grand scale this is what the Baekdu Daegan ridge is seen as – a natural provider of life giving earth energy sources that sustains all living beings on the peninsula. It is both a natural and spiritual fact.

The Baekdu-daegan in the 21^st century

These days the Baekdu-daegan is making a nationalistic recovery. As Korea became more and more financially stable, its people and policies have begun to pay more attention to their natural history. In the mid 1970’s, adventurous hikers began visiting the Baekdu-daegan, walking and plotting its entire length in South Korea. Since then this marvellous geographical feature has slowly but surely become a prodigal figure in the minds of the Korean people. For those that have the time, they venture to walk its length to capture its energy and rediscover Korean identity. Some even spend 2 to 5 years hiking its length on their weekends to achieve their dream. The Baekdu-daegan is not actually a long distance hiking trail, it is a natural geographical feature that became recognised for its spiritual, religious, and nationalistic traits, and it is for these reasons that pilgrims have been hiking it. The beauty of this fact is that, it has naturally developed into a pilgrimage, making it a sensational wander along a ridge that houses outstanding natural mountain-scape, culture, historical wonder, religious spiritual significance, and a geomantic eco-system that supports and feeds the entire peninsula with life giving water and energy sources. It really is an incredible piece of naturalness.