I climbed Seorak in Feb this year and saw the sunrise at Daechongbong, the peak of Seoraksan... you will need to stay overnight in one of the ranger huts/shelters.. i was backpacking on my own also... here's my itineray for your reference...
from Seoul, take a bus to Sokcho, about 3-4 hours...
at Sokcho, i stayed at House Hostel... the owner, Mr. Yoo, is a great guy, friendly and always ready to give your suggestions of places to go and how to get there... he speaks pretty good english... i paid only 20000Won per night for a single bedroom with a private bathroom and tv and heated blanket... breakfast is free!!! and so is laundry!!!
http://www.thehouse-hostel.com/
from the hostel, take a bus to the Seoraksan National Park Visitor Centre.
At the Visitor Centre, ask for a map of the hiking trail, like this:
Ask the latest weather conditions up in the mountain and any restrictions for hiking (the mountain could be closed to prevent forest fires). Ask about the availability of sleeping berths in the shelters... I stayed in Yangpok shelter, which is on a first-come-first-serve basis... there are two other shelters that are on FCFS basis... there are also 2 shelters that you can reserve beforehand on this website (ask Mr Yoo to help you book the shelter online)...
http://english.knps.or.kr/Experience/Shelters/Default.aspx?MenuNum=2&Submenu=Shelters
photos of yangpok shelter here:
http://intro.knps.or.kr/sandorinet/shelter_photo/photo/Seorak_Yangpok01.jpg
have a very full meal at the eatery near the Visitor Centre before your hike...
you will need to buy ticket into the mountain...
i started pretty late in the day, about 2.30pm... so i hiked very quickly and hardly stop to take any photos... i wanted to reach the shelter before it got dark... i took about 2 hours to reach Yangpok Shelter (normal walking speed may take up to 4 hours)... along the way, you may meet fellow hikers, so be nice and greet them with "An nyeong ha se yo" and tried to follow them or at least keep them in sight in case you meet with any difficulty and you can shout out to them for help.... (i suggest you start the hike in the morning)...
when i reached Yangpok, it was about 4pm... the place was also pretty crowded already... people setting up their stoves on the floor to cook dinner... the shelter sells instant noodle and rice and chocolate and water/pocari... i bought a packet of instant noodle and sat down with a group of young guys to share their pots and solid fuel... they were a bunch of undergrads from Seoul, also intending to catch sunrise, and we set to move together... oh, for cooking the instant noodle, use the river water...
The shelter provides us with 2 blanket, so it is quite warm in the shelther even though it was freezing cold and windy outside...
we woke up at about 1.30am to start the hike up Daechongbong... MUST bring a torchlight... best if it is head-mounted torchlight so your hands are free to maneouvre... eat plenty of chocolate/snickers for energy... it was a pretty tough climb in the dark and we made several U-turns when we discovered we were on the wrong track...
we took about 4 hours to reach the Jungcheong shelter at about 5.30am, which is the nearest shelter to Daechongbong... it has a good view of the Daechongbong peak... we had a rest there, bought pocari to drink and ate chocolate...
then, we started the rather steep climb up the slope of Daechongbong... it was very windy and very cold... it was very foggy also, so we could not see the peak clearly... it took about half an hour to reach the peak... by that time, about 6am, there were already several groups there, surrounding the stone plaque that marked the highest point of the mountain...
it was cloudy, so we knew the chance of seeing the sunrise was very slim... sometimes, the cloud would break up a bit and the morning sun rays would burst through and shine upon us...
for the descend, we choose the trail that lead to the Osaek ranger station... the descend was very tough on the knees... we stopped by one of the several river streams along the way and use the river water to wash up... the descend took about 3 hours... it was a very picturesque journey... at Daechongbong, it was all snowy and white... as we descend, the forest color changed from white to yellow as the snow disappeared and vegetation became more dense...
at Osaek, i took a bus back to Sokcho and back to House Hostel for a well-deserved nap...
the photos are in my gallery... sadly, i did not take many photos because we were frequently walking very fast... for the early morning hike, i did not take any photos at all because we were busy finding the correct track and walking very fast so that we could reach the peak for the sunrise... we took more photos on the descend as we had more time and we were all very glad we achieved our aim...
http://gallery.clubsnap.com/showphoto.php/photo/167716/ppuser/131446
for hiking equipment, it was still snowing in Sokcho/Seoraksan in Feb, so I wore jacket, pants and shoes that are waterproof... ice-crampons are essential, as mentioned by toejam... i bought them in Seoul for 7000 won... the better ones can cost 50,000won... do check out whether it will snow in Nov in Seoraksan...
have a nice trip!
PS: i climbed up Hallasan and part of Jirisan (the Nogodan area, highly recommended in winter! very beautiful there!!!) too. If you need info on these places, just PM me. =)
