Oknyeobong 옥녀봉 (Aju-dong)
554.7 meters
Approximately 3.4km return
📍trailhead
Oknyeobong is the beautiful backdrop which encircles Aju-dong. It offers great views of the neighborhood, DSME shipyard, and on the opposite side of the mountain - Jisepo. To take the main trail up, start behind the Aju Community Center (linked in the trailhead above).
The trailhead will have you walking across a dirt roadway at first before entering the forest. Once you enter the forest you can choose from two routes to reach the top.
Turn left for the steepest route which is murder on your quads or knees (depending on which direction you are going.
For an easier climb with a clearer path, stay to the right (on the most obvious path), passing by the back of the Geoje Middle and High Schools. This is the route I recommend.
The trailhead
Stay to the right for an easier hike.
After a short walk, you’ll come to a crossroads with some exercise equipment on your left. Turn left here to start heading up the mountain. The trail is steep, but well defined. This is one of those hikes where I just keep my head down until I get er’ done.
Turn left.
About ⅔ of the way to the ridgeline you will cross over a dirt utility road. The trail continues directly across from here, up a flight of stairs.
Hike the last ⅓ of the way before coming to a clearing on the ridge.
From the clearing, proceed left to the peak. But first!!
OFF-SHOOT BONUS TRAIL:
So this isn’t technically an off-shoot, rather it’s just taking the trail in the opposite direction from the peak. I really recommend turning right at the clearing (either before or after visiting the peak) and hiking for less than 10 minutes in that direction. It will lead to a wooden gazebo with a great view of Jisepo and the sea. This is actually my favorite part of Oknyeobong. It’s usually empty and even beats the views from the summit in my opinion. It’s easy hiking for this stretch and doesn’t add on a lot of extra time to the hike.
If you’ve taken the “off-shoot bonus trail” head back to the clearing. From here it’ll be another 0.68km to the peak itself. When you’re almost at the peak, you’ll be walking next to some cellular and powerline towers and buildings. Here you’ll have another option:
OFF-SHOOT BONUS TRAIL:
As you approach the very first building mentioned above, you’ll notice a sign pointing towards Sodong Village on the right.
Turn right here for the rocky area pictured below. Otherwise continue straight to the peak.
Follow this trail down the mountain a short distance (probably about 5 minutes) to get to one more area with some big rocks that are quite pretty. This is definitely not a spot I would take children, or anyone who is clumsy or nervous with this sort of thing. The pictures below will give you an idea. Careful, careful, careful!
If you’ve chosen to take the “off-shoot bonus trail” to the rocks, simple head back to the sign post where you turned off. From here, you’re just a couple of minutes to the peak!
Viewpoint taken from the summit stone.
Enjoy the views of Aju-dong, DSME, and Okpo facing North, as well as looking back toward Jisepo to the South.
After the peak, you can simply turn back and retrace your steps to the bottom. However, there is one more option if you want to check out another part of the mountain.
OFF-SHOOT BONUS TRAIL:
Do you remember at the very start of the trail where you had the option to take a super steep trail up? Well you can choose to take this trail down to hit up a nice wooden gazebo, and of course some more nice rocks. Just be prepared, this route is quite hard on the knees.
To take this route, head back to the buildings near the peak, and follow the trail on the right that goes down the mountain (there’s no sign, but it’s obviously a trail.)
Stay to the right.
Stay to the right again and start making your way down the mountain.
After a while, you’ll emerge on the same road that you had crossed on the way up. Simply cross the road and continue on the trail into the forest.
Head straight for that rock.
Just a few minutes from here you’ll come to a large wooden platform that also makes a great spot for some “stealth” camping!
Just another couple of steps from the platform are some more nice rocks.
And that’s the end of the highlights for Oknyeong. If you choose to follow all the suggested off-shoot trails, it should be roughly 5km return as shown below.
