Seongsan Ilchulbong

성산일출봉

Seongsan Ilchulbong, also called Sunrise Peak, is a volcano on the eastern tip of Jeju Island in South Korea. It is 182 metres high and has a wide, grassy, bowl-shaped crater on top. The mountain rises right at the edge of the sea, with cliffs on the ocean side.

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At a glance

Country: South Korea
Location: Jeju, South Korea
Height: 182 m
Type: Volcano

Quick answers

Where is Seongsan Ilchulbong?

Seongsan Ilchulbong is in Jeju, South Korea.

How tall is Seongsan Ilchulbong?

Seongsan Ilchulbong is about 182 m tall.

A tuff cone rising from the sea with a bowl-shaped crater, famous for sunrise views.

It is famous for sunrise views. Because it is the easternmost mountain on Jeju, it is one of the best places on the island to watch the first sunrise of the year. It is also a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, as part of Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes.

How did it form?

Seongsan Ilchulbong is a tuff cone. It formed when a volcano erupted on a shallow seabed and hot magma met sea water, blasting out ash that settled into a ring. Wikipedia gives its age as about 6,700 years, while other sources say roughly 5,000. Waves later wore away parts of the cone and exposed layers inside the cliffs. The mountain was once separate from Jeju, but sand and sediment joined the two. Scientists still study it closely.

Visiting the peak

The name has two parts: 'Seongsan' means fortress mountain, and 'Ilchulbong' means sunrise peak. Visitors climb a wooden staircase that takes up to about 30 minutes. From the top you can see the ocean, the island of Udo and, on clear days, Hallasan, Korea's highest mountain. The crater is a wide grassy bowl, and a survey in 2011 found 240 kinds of plants on the mountain.

Fun facts

It formed about 6,700 years ago in an eruption in shallow sea water.
Its crater is a smooth, shallow bowl about 600 metres across.
The mountain was once an island on its own before sediment connected it to Jeju.
A 2011 study counted 240 kinds of plants growing on it.