The Signs and Markers

In order to follow the trail, the makers and caretakers placed a number of different types of markers to follow along the way.

At the beginning of most legs, of which there are 50 defined legs of the whole trail, there is a sign with a route map, as well at other information such as sights along the way and even accommodation suggestions and food recommendations.  These signs show where the leg goes and gives information about its length and how far from each end of the whole trail the leg is located.

On the trail itself, one of the two most common markers is an arrow sticker, orange for those headed north and blue for those headed south.  It seemed that most people must be headed north as there were many times when I would find an orange sticker with no corresponding blue sticker.  In the final stages of the trail in norther Gangwon Province, these stickers were not used.

The other most often used trail marker was a small cloth set of band-like flags attached to trees, fences, and other spots along the way.  They were always paired, one orange and one yellow.

The further north I went along the trail the more that the arrow stickers were not used, but tall poles with directional signs were used that seemed to make up for the lack of stickers.

Two other types of stickers were used, but irregularly.  One set was a round sticker, shaped like a sun.  They were orange and blue for north and southbound directions respectively.

The other set were larger rectangle stickers, again orange and blue, although the blue ones were relatively rarer than the orange ones.  These sets of stickers would be found on large stationary things like benches and bridge edges.  Again they were used far less in the northern parts of the trail.

There were square brown plaques with the Haeparang symbol attached at intervals along the trail.  They were not used much in the southern parts of the trail, but as they began to be used they would mark out roughly one kilometre intervals.

A final kind of route marker was on the ground.  They were directional indentations in concrete at some points.  They were rarely used, or at least rarely able to be seen.  They were not very useful as route markers, at least for me.

Many parts of the trail, particularly in the north, were quite well marked.  But at baffling times, when there were two or more possible directions, the trail makers seemed to lose the plot and not mark those spots well at all.  Occasionally a marker would even point in the wrong direction.  And it would sometimes take quite a distance beyond a choice point before getting confirmation that I was traveling in the correct direction.  It was a bit maddening and frustrating.  Having a photo of the route map on my phone or camera was at times absolutely necessary to be able to find the trail.

Good luck.