등산 (deungsan)

등산 (deungsan) means going up a mountain for the purpose of exercise, recreation, and the like. You are more likely to meet this word on the subway than in a classroom. Board a Seoul Subway Line 3 or Line 4 car at seven on a Saturday morning and you will find a dozen or so people in a single car wearing brightly colored waterproof jackets and wide-brimmed hats, backpacks on their backs, poles in their hands. And they usually all pour out at the same station. The one word that ties that whole morning scene together is 등산 (deungsan).

A large share of Korea’s land is mountainous, so in most cities you can see a mountain out the window. In Seoul alone, 북한산 (Bukhansan), 관악산 (Gwanaksan), 도봉산 (Dobongsan), and 인왕산 (Inwangsan) are all within subway reach. So 등산 (deungsan) is not a trip you have to work yourself up for — it is closer to something you slip out and do on a weekend morning. The phrase 등산 갔다 올게 (deungsan gatda olge) functions in practice as “I’ll be back in two or three hours.”

등산 (deungsan) is a Sino-Korean word: 오를 등 (登), “to climb,” plus 뫼 산 (山), “mountain” — literally, to climb a mountain. In sentences it appears mainly in two shapes. One is 등산하다 (deungsanhada), the other is 등산을 가다 (deungsaneul gada). There is almost no difference in meaning, but the second one is heard far more often in speech. When talking about plans in particular, it is 가다 (gada) nearly without exception. 주말에 등산 갈래? (jumare deungsan gallae?) sounds natural, while 주말에 등산할래? (jumare deungsanhallae?) sounds somehow like a textbook.

Two quiet assumptions are built into this word. First, you have to go up on your own two feet. Standing on a summit you reached by cable car is not 등산 (deungsan). Second, the purpose has to be exercise or enjoyment. Going up to gather wild greens, or going up and down a mountain for work, is not called 등산 (deungsan). On the other hand, the word itself carries no level of formality. It is neither light nor heavy, so you can use it with a friend or with your department head just as it is, and it sits comfortably in both polite and casual speech.

Checking the National Institute of Korean Language dictionary

The National Institute of Korean Language’s Basic Korean Dictionary defines 등산 (deungsan) this way.

등산 (deungsan) 「명사 (noun)」 운동이나 놀이 등의 목적으로 산에 올라감. Going up a mountain for the purpose of exercise, amusement, and so on. [en] hike; mountain climbing — Mountain climbing with the purpose of exercising, amusement, etc. [ja] とざん【登山】。やまのぼり【山登り】 — 運動や遊びなどの目的で山に登ること。 [es] senderismo, alpinismo, montañismo — Subida a la montaña con el fin de hacer ejercicio o como actividad de ocio. [zh] 登山 — 以运动或玩乐为目的的爬山。 — National Institute of Korean Language, Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr)

The first part of the definition — 운동이나 놀이 등의 목적으로 (for the purpose of exercise, amusement, and so on) — is the heart of this word. It is also why English hike, Spanish senderismo, and Japanese 山登り are lined up alongside it. Note that this entry carries no Portuguese translation. If we had to render it, it would be something like caminhada na montanha or montanhismo, but that Portuguese equivalent is not in the dictionary — it is a translation we have supplied ourselves.

Here are actual usage examples from the same dictionary.

아버지는 일요일 아침이면 항상 가까운 산에 등산을 가신다. On Sunday mornings my father always goes hiking on a nearby mountain. — National Institute of Korean Language, Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr)

This is the scene most familiar to Korean households. abeojineun iryoil achimimyeon hangsang gakkaun sane deungsaneul gasinda. Notice the phrase 가까운 산 (gakkaun san), “a nearby mountain.” This is not a journey far away — it is the hill behind the neighborhood. And 가신다 (gasinda) is the form that honors the father. The word 등산 (deungsan) itself is neutral, but the verb attached to it carries the honorific.

가을은 날씨도 시원하고 산에 단풍도 예뻐서 등산하기가 참 좋습니다. In autumn the weather is cool and the fall foliage on the mountains is beautiful, so it’s a really good time to hike. — National Institute of Korean Language, Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr)

gaeureun nalssido siwonhago sane danpungdo yeppeoseo deungsanhagiga cham jotseumnida. Autumn foliage season is when the hiking crowds in Korea peak. On an October weekend, the parking lots at 설악산 (Seoraksan) or 내장산 (Naejangsan) are already full by seven in the morning. This sentence is in polite speech, and here it is 등산하다 (deungsanhada) that gets used. When you are describing a general quality rather than a plan, 등산하기가 좋다 (deungsanhagiga jota) is the natural choice.

매주 등산을 가려고 해도 같이 갈 사람이 없어서 고민이야. I want to go hiking every week, but there’s nobody to go with, so I’m stuck. — National Institute of Korean Language, Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr)

maeju deungsaneul garyeogo haedo gachi gal sarami eopseoseo gominiya. This is casual speech, someone venting to a friend. It shows why hiking is not imagined as a solo sport. Unlike jogging or the gym, 등산 (deungsan) is pictured from the start as something you do in a group.

그래? 그럼, 등산 동호회에 가입해 봐. Really? Then try joining a hiking club. — National Institute of Korean Language, Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr)

geurae? geureom, deungsan donghohoee gaipae bwa. It reads like a reply to the sentence just above. 동호회 (donghohoe) is a group of people who share the same hobby. Hiking clubs are one of the most common kinds of 동호회 (donghohoe) in Korea — you can safely assume there is one at every company, every apartment complex, and in every neighborhood.

등산로에서 가파른 곳은 위험하므로 가로대가 설치되어 있다. Steep spots on the trail are dangerous, so railings have been installed. — National Institute of Korean Language, Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr)

deungsanroeseo gapareun goseun wiheomhameuro garodaega seolchidoeeo itda. Here we get the derived word 등산로 (deungsanro), meaning a hiking trail. Because this is written explanatory prose, it uses a stiff connective ending like -(으)므로. It is exactly the style you will run into on signboards and park notices.

A real conversation

The scene: seven on a Saturday morning, in an apartment elevator. Jun-kyung gets on with a backpack and even poles, and runs into Emily, who is carrying out the recycling.

Jun-kyung: 어유, 깜짝이야. 에밀리 씨가 이 시간에 웬일이야? Whoa, you startled me. What are you doing up at this hour, Emily?

Emily: 그건 내가 할 말인데. 그 차림은 뭐야, 또 등산 가? That’s my line. What’s with the outfit — going hiking again?

Jun-kyung: 응, 관악산. 오전에 다녀와야 오후가 길어지거든. Yeah, Gwanaksan. If I get back in the morning, the afternoon feels longer.

Emily: 부지런하다 진짜. 나도 운동 좀 해야 되는데 맨날 마음만 먹어. You’re seriously diligent. I keep telling myself to exercise and never do.

Jun-kyung: 그럼 다음 주에 같이 갈래? 등산은 혼자보다 둘이 훨씬 나아. Then want to come next week? Hiking is way better with two people than alone.

Emily: 좋아. 근데 나 등산화 없는데, 그냥 운동화 신고 가도 돼? Sure. But I don’t have hiking boots — can I just wear sneakers?

These uses sound off

✗ (taking a photo after riding the cable car up to the summit) 오늘 등산 제대로 했다! Today I really did some proper hiking! ✓ (taking a photo after riding the cable car up to the summit) 오늘 케이블카 타고 편하게 구경 잘했다! Today I took the cable car up and enjoyed the view in comfort! → 등산 (deungsan) contains the meaning that you went up on your own legs. If you reach the summit by cable car or by car and then say you went 등산 (deungsan), Koreans will take it as a joke, or laugh and correct you with 그건 등산이 아니지 (geugeon deungsani aniji), “that’s not hiking.”

✗ (to a professional mountaineer leaving for a Himalayan expedition) 이번 등산 잘 다녀오세요. Have a good hike this time. ✓ (to a professional mountaineer leaving for a Himalayan expedition) 이번 등반 잘 다녀오세요. Have a good climb this time. → 등산 (deungsan) is, at the end of the day, a word for exercise and leisure. Using it for the professional world of scaling walls at the risk of your life makes it sound like you do not grasp the weight of what they are doing. That domain is 등반 (deungban) or 원정 (wonjeong).

Example sentences by situation

① A weekend notice posted in a club’s group chat

이번 주 토요일 등산은 비 예보가 있어 다음 주로 미룹니다. 회비 입금하신 분들은 그대로 유효합니다. This Saturday’s hike is postponed to next week because rain is forecast. Dues already paid remain valid.

ibeon ju toyoil deungsaneun bi yeboga isseo daeum juro miromnida. Hiking depends heavily on the weather, so postponement notices like this go up all the time. Because it is an announcement, it uses the -ㅂ니다 style. What is interesting here is that 등산 (deungsan) is used as a noun meaning “the event, the scheduled outing.” That one word stands in for the entire plan: what time Saturday morning, where to meet, which mountain to climb.

② Monday morning at the office, when people ask about the weekend

A: 주말에 뭐 하셨어요? A: What did you do over the weekend? B: 애들이랑 북한산 등산 갔다 왔어요. 오랜만에 갔더니 다리가 아직도 뻐근하네요. B: I went hiking on Bukhansan with the kids. It had been a while, so my legs are still sore.

aedeurang bukhansan deungsan gatda wasseoyo. This is one of the safest possible answers to a Monday morning greeting at a Korean workplace. It sounds healthier than talking about drinking, and it takes less explaining than talking about a hobby. 다리가 뻐근하다 (dariga ppeogeunhada) describes that heavy, tight pull in the muscles.

③ To a friend, after a hospital visit for a bad knee

나 이제 등산은 못 해. 의사가 무릎에 무리 간대. 대신 둘레길만 걸어. I can’t hike anymore. The doctor says it strains my knees. I just walk the loop trails instead.

na ije deungsaneun mot hae. daesin dullegilman georeo. 둘레길 (dullegil) is a gentle path that loops around the foot of a mountain instead of going up it. It sits about halfway between 등산 (deungsan) and 산책 (sanchaek), and it is a frequent choice for people with bad knees or limited stamina. This sentence shows nicely that 등산 (deungsan) is, in the end, something you do with your body.

Polite and casual forms, and similar expressions

등산 (deungsan) itself is a noun, so it carries no honorific level. The honorific work is done by the verb that follows.

Casual: 등산 가? (deungsan ga?) / 등산 갔다 올게 (deungsan gatda olge)
Polite: 등산 가세요? (deungsan gaseyo?) / 등산 다녀오겠습니다 (deungsan danyeoogetseumnida)
Honorific: 아버지는 등산을 가신다 (abeojineun deungsaneul gasinda) — the subject-honoring -시- (-si-) is added.

Let’s line up some words that look similar but occupy different places.

Expression	Tone / intensity	Where it’s used
등산 (deungsan)	Neutral. The basic word	Anywhere. Polite and casual speech alike
산행 (sanhaeng)	A bit formal and earnest	Club notices, mountaineering clubs, news writing
등반 (deungban)	Technical; accepts real danger	Rock walls, ice walls, high-altitude expeditions
하이킹 (haiking)	Light, casual loanword	Younger crowd, social media, gentle courses
산책 (sanchaek)	The lightest. No climbing involved	Neighborhood, parks, riversides, loop trails

When you are unsure, there are two criteria: how hard it is, and how serious it is. An hour on the hill behind your neighborhood is 등산 (deungsan); setting out before dawn and spending the whole day is 산행 (sanhaeng); needing ropes and gear is 등반 (deungban). If you walked on flat ground, then no matter how long you walked, it was 산책 (sanchaek), not 등산 (deungsan).

Cultural background — between the backpack and the makgeolli

The reason this Sino-Korean word has put down such unusually thick roots in Korean comes down to terrain. In a country where the mountains are far away, hiking is a special hobby; in Korea it is everyday life, a few bus stops away. That is why so many words branch off from it: 등산로 (deungsanro), a hiking trail; 등산화 (deungsanhwa), hiking shoes; 등산복 (deungsanbok), hiking clothes; 등산객 (deungsangaek), a person who goes up mountains. Hiking clothes in particular spread so widely at one point that you could commonly see middle-aged and older people in brightly colored waterproof jackets in places that had nothing to do with hiking at all. These days that very sight gets talked about as the emblem of an era.

For a long time, hiking belonged to the fathers’ generation. In Korean dramas, the scene of a father character stepping out the front door in hiking gear early in the morning is practically an idiom. That single shot delivers, all at once, the information that this character is diligent, regular in his habits, and not much of a talker with his family. But over the past few years, people in their twenties and thirties have taken to the mountains in force, and the atmosphere has changed. Words like 등린이 (deungnini), meaning a hiking beginner, have appeared, and the proof-shot taken in front of the summit marker has become a genre of its own.

Korean-style hiking also has its fixed afterparty. You come down, sit in a restaurant at the base of the mountain, and have 막걸리 (makgeolli) with 파전 (pajeon) — in that order. In truth, for many people this last hour is the real point. 등산 (deungsan) includes 하산 (hasan), the coming back down, and then a meal is tacked on at the end. So a hiking plan is an exercise plan and a social plan at the same time. There was a good reason the dictionary example above complained about having 같이 갈 사람이 없어서 고민 (gachi gal sarami eopseoseo gomin), “nobody to go with.”

One more thing. On the mountain, there is a custom of offering a light greeting when you make eye contact with a stranger. A single 안녕하세요 (annyeonghaseyo) or 수고하세요 (sugohaseyo) is enough. A greeting that would be awkward in the city is not the least bit awkward on a trail. Simply climbing the same path in the same direction makes you, for a moment, on the same side.

Today’s quiz

Your friend rode the cable car to the top of 남산 (Namsan), took a photo, and then said the following. Which sentence is the most natural?

오늘 남산 등산 제대로 했다.
오늘 남산 등반에 성공했다.
오늘 케이블카 타고 남산 올라갔다 왔어.
오늘 남산 산행 다녀왔다.

Answer: 3

등산 (deungsan), 산행 (sanhaeng), and 등반 (deungban) all carry the meaning that you went up on your own two feet. If you went up by cable car, it is more accurate to simply say 올라갔다 왔다 (ollagatda watda), “I went up and came back,” and not pretending it was hard work is what sounds properly Korean. The 등반 (deungban) in option 2 is a word for rock faces and high peaks, so attaching it to the top of Namsan sounds like such an exaggeration that it becomes a joke.

Definitions and example sentences are from the National Institute of Korean Language’s Basic Korean Dictionary (krdict.korean.go.kr); that portion of this post, including our translations, is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 KR.