JIRISAN (지리산) - Southeast Entrance 1 (Jungsan-ni)

A huge thank you to our friend Carina for providing most of the following information!

This entrance provides the quickest access to Jirisan’s highest peak, Cheonwangbong. From the bus stop(버스 정류장) and parking lot, it's a 40-60 minute walk to the campground and Kalbawi (Rock). Guesthouses (민박) and restaurants (식당) abound in the vicinity not too far from the parking lot. From Kalbawi, a steep, but scenic, 4.1 km trail leads north past the Rotari Shelter to Cheonwangbong. This is a very popular trail with Koreans who want to conquer the top without exerting themselves too much. Expect plenty of company. Another trail goes northwest 4 km to Jangteomok Shelter.

GETTING THERE

From Busan there are two options:

(1) Take an intercity bus directly to Jungsan-ni Village from Busan (3 hours). There are only 4 buses a day.

BUSAN Seobu Sasang Terminal ► JUNGSAN-NI Tourist Village
Fare: W11,600
08:15 11:16 12:15 16:00

(2) Take an intercity bus to Jinju Bus Terminal from Busan and then transfer to a bus for Jungsan-ni.

BUSAN Seobu Sasang Terminal ► JINJU Express Bus Terminal
Fare: W6,900
Duration: 70-80 minutes
05:40 ◄ Every 10-15 minutes ► 20:20 21:05 21:30

JINJU Bus Terminal ► JUNGSAN-NI Tourist Village
Fare: W4,700
06:20 07:05 08:05 09:20 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:10

From Seoul, take a bus from the Nambu Bus Terminal to Wonji and then transfer to a bus for Jungsan-ni:

SEOUL Nambu Bus Terminal ► JUNGSAN-NI Tourist Village
Fare: W18,400 (W20,000 after 10 PM)
Duration: 3 hours 15 minutes
06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:30 09:30 10:00 10:30 11:30 12:30 13:00 14:00 14:20 14:40 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 20:30 21:00 22:10 23:00 00:00

From Incheon Terminal, buses depart twice daily for Wonji, stopping in Jinju:

INCHEON Bus Terminal ► WONJI Bus Terminal
Fare: W15,400
Duration: 3 hours 40 minutes
10:20 16:30

GETTING AWAY

Buses run from Jungsan-ni to Wonji, Georim, Jinju, and Busan:

JUNGSAN-NI Tourist Village ► BUSAN Seobu Sasang Bus Terminal
06:15 10:05 13:05 18:00 19:40
These buses stop in Wonji (W3,000) and Jinju en route to Busan.

JUNGSAN-NI Tourist Village ► JINJU Bus Terminal
06:15 06:55 07:25 09:05 10:05 11:05 12:05 13:05 14:05 15:05 16:05 17:05 18:00 19:10 19:40
These buses stop in Wonji (W3,000) en route to Jinju

JUNGSAN-NI Tourist Village ► GEORIM Village
07:25

From Wonji, there are buses to Seoul Nambu Terminal and Incheon Bus Terminal:

WONJI Bus Terminal ► SEOUL Nambu Bus Terminal
05:50 06:20 06:50 07:50 08:50 09:40 10:20 10:40 11:20 12:20 12:50 13:20 14:20 15:20 16:20 16:50 17:50 18:50 19:20 20:00 20:40 21:20 22:50 24:20

WONJI Bus Terminal ► INCHEON Bus Terminal
Fare: W15,400
Duration: 3 hours 40 minutes
10:20 10:40 16:30 16:50

NOTE: If you can't read Korean, be prepared for unpredictable English spellings on bus timetables, such as Chungsanli and Jungsanri.