Seoraksan Part 5 - Sample the Waters at Osaek

I didn't think I was a city-slicker till I tried the steep gradients of Seoraksan. They were something of a shock for me when I ventured brainlessly on an uphill trail on my very first day. Happily for my soles and ankles, the kind ajumma at my minbak suggested a novice-friendlier route for my second day.  The route that starts just behind the Greenyard Hotel was more like my cup of nokcha. It goes along the river valley past Mangwolsa and Seongguksa Temples towards Sibi Waterfalls

The trail is on a much more gentle gradient and very scenic as one follows a footpath up a narrow river gorge with two mineral springs to quench your thirst along the way.

The first Osaek Yaksu ( spring)  is easy to spot because it’s near the start of this trail and is marked by a stone tortoise spouting water and surrounded by plastic scoops in red or blue for visitors to use.

The second spring requires a bit more walking to reach. ( 2 kilometers past Sunnyeotang towards Jujeongol Valley). Look out for a footbridge with a sign marked in Hangul –Mineral Spring No 2. Again, just follow the plastic scoops and join the queue to claim your next refreshing and complimentary drink straight from the ground.

According to the Yangyang Travel Guide, the mineral water contains iron and carbonic acid and “the spring produces 12,500 litres of mineral water each day…. Rice cooked in Osaek water turns blue and has a good taste”.

Honestly, I don’t recall the taste of the water except to say that it was cool and refreshing. It didn’t seem highly carbonated to my untutored palate but then again, I was more taken with the novel charm of drinking water directly from a spring and vaguely concerned about developing some Korean version of Bali or Delhi Belly. But the scores of people who kept refilling their water bottles and even 5 litre containers were a reassuring sight.

For more on Seoraksan, click here.

sources:
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264192
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=658326
http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/ena/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=658327
http://english.knps.or.kr/Knp/Seoraksan/
http://www.osaek.info/
http://www.san.go.kr/english/info/gangwon_seoraksan.jsp
http://pr.korean.net/eng/koview/koview_10.jsp