Hiking Trip

Hi,

I am planning to travel to S Korea around Mid September. It is going to be a full hiking trip. The plan is to visit as many national parks as possible in Korea in 20 days. (Yet to come up with a chart/route map but currently have the following under my planning radar: Jirisan, Bukhansan, Seorakhsan, Hallasan... not in the same order)

I have been to Seoul before, but it was an in-out city trip which I had taken on New Years.

Am looking for pointers /suggestions regarding the below:
1. Is it mandatory to know Korean (I know a few words, but have not yet started interpreting sentences_
2. Is it a good time to visit?
3. My budget including travel fare is around 15000 HKD. Would that be good enough?
4. Are there any cheap homestays available in Seoul/Busan/Jeju?

Also if anyone is interested in joining me please do let me know.

Regards
MM

1. No.
2. Yes.
3. Yes.
4. Yes - see the guidebooks

And be prepared that hiking is VERY popular in Korea - you may well need to share some trails with the crowds.

1) Being able to speak Korean would obviously help, but it's not necessary at all. There are many foreigners living here that only speak a word or two, and they're able to get around with relatively few problems.
2) Mid to late September is usually a great time to visit as the humidity usually drops significantly during this period and the weather's usually pretty good.
3) Yeah, that should be more than enough, as long as you're traveling cheap.
4) When I travel around Korea I usually spend between 30-40,000 won a night for a cheap single hotel room with a private bathroom. You can get cheaper rooms, especially if you don't mind sharing a room with others.

I'd also recommend checking out Odaesan NP near Gangneung, just south of Seoraksan.

Thanks Jason and Lazlo.

Has anyone been to wochulsan?

Is that the only park with the suspension bridge in S Korea? If yes, might consider including that park also in my plan.