Seoraksan National Park shelters 1,562 plant species and 2,084 animal species within 398 square kilometers of Taebaek range granite—the peninsula's third-highest massif and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1982. Daecheongbong Peak rises 1,708 meters, its ridgeline visible from the East Sea on cloudless mornings. The park's name derives from seol-ak, "snowy crag," a reference to the white quartzite that glints across its upper slopes even in summer. Today Seoraksan National Park tour from Seoul itineraries typically pair the mountain with Nami Island, capitalizing on Gangwon-do's position 90 minutes northeast of the capital. Coaches depart Seoul before dawn, reaching Sokcho's park entrance by mid-morning. Sinheungsa Temple, founded in 653, anchors the lower valley; its bronze Jwabul Buddha stands 14.6 meters tall, cast in 1987. Beyond the temple, Gwongeumseong Fortress ruins—originally built in the Goryeo period to repel northern incursions—perch at 800 meters, accessible via cable car. The fortress command post offers unobstructed views of Ulsanbawi Rock's granite columns, each weathered into vertical ribs by millennia of freeze-thaw cycles. Naksansa Temple occupies a sea-facing promontory 30 kilometers south, its seven-story pagoda rebuilt in 2005 after a forest fire destroyed the 1467 original. The temple's Uisangdae Pavilion juts over cliffs where the East Sea breaks against basalt. Most combined tours allocate two hours to Seoraksan's cable car circuit and another 90 minutes to either Naksansa or Nami Island, the latter requiring a 40-minute detour west to Chuncheon. Nami Island itself occupies 460,000 square meters of the Bukhan River reservoir, reachable only by ferry from Gapyeong dock. The island's metasequoia lanes and ginkgo groves were planted in the 1960s during a national reforestation campaign. Gangwon-do's infrastructure supports 8.2 million annual visitors to Seoraksan alone. October draws the largest crowds—the park's maples and oaks turn copper and crimson between the 15th and 30th, a narrow window governed by elevation and first frost. Winter access remains open; snow-shoe trails replace summer footpaths above 1,200 meters from December through February.