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Watch the sun rise out of the East Sea from the tip of Mt. Taebaek. It’s an especially popular New Year’s destina- tion, when hundreds of people gather here to catch a glimpse of the frst sunrise of the year. Te mountain itself is well known for being sacred; Koreans hold rites at the top on the frst day of each year. Te Munsubong Peak hiking trail is 7 kilome- ters in length and takes an able-bodied person three hours and 30 minutes, round trip. From Danggol Plaza, you will pass Jedanggol before getting to Munsubong Peak and then Cheonjedan. You’ll see some stupas along the way, too. Don’t let the 7 kilometers intimidate you, the hike is rather easy. Temples in Taebaeksan Provincial Park include Uilsa-sa, Baekdansa-sa, Manggyeong-sa, Baek- dan-sa, Yuil -saand Cheongwon-sa. Te park is a famous place in winter for its fro- zen, bare trees covered in snow, which Koreans call “snow fowers.” taebaeksan provincial park gangwon province B y r o m a i n b o u l e s t e i x getting there From the East Seoul Termi- nal, take a bus to Taebaek. Te bus operates every 30 minutes between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. It takes a little under 4 hours. Once in Taebaek you have two options to get to Taebaeksan Provincial Park: 1) Take a bus headed for Danggol and get of at Parking Lot No. 1 of the provincial park (27 buses a day, 25 minutes); and 2) Take a bus bound for Yeopyeong/Sangdong and get of at Baekdan/Yuil Temple (fve times a day).