South Korea location map with sobaek mountains marked

The Sobaek Mountains (, literally mean little

Taebaek Mountains The Taebaek Mountains () are a mountain range that stretches across North Korea and South Korea. They form the main ridge of the Korean peninsula. Geography The Taebaek mountains are located along the eastern edge of the peninsula and run alon ...

) are a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

cutting across the southern

Korean peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...

. They split off from the

and trend southwest across the center of the peninsula. They are traditionally considered to reach their southwestern limit at

Jirisan Jirisan () is a mountain located in the southern region of South Korea. It is the second-tallest mountain in South Korea after Jeju Island's Hallasan, and is the tallest mountain in mainland South Korea. The 1915m-high mountain is located in ...

, which, at an elevation of 1,915 meters, is also the highest peak of the range. Other famous mountains in the range include Songni Mountain, Joryeong Mountain, Gaya Mountain,

Worak Mountain Woraksan, or Worak Mountain, is a major mountain of the Sobaek mountain range in South Korea. Its highest peak is above sea level. It forms part of the boundary between North Chungcheong Province and North Gyeongsang Provinces. Its slopes co ...

, and Sobaek Mountain itself. The peaks of the Sobaek Mountains are generally well over 1,000 m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. The Sobaek Mountains form the southern half of the

Baekdu-daegan Baekdu-daegan () is a traditional Korean conception of the mountains and consequently the watersheds of the Korean Peninsula. The mountain range stretches the length of the Korean Peninsula, around 1,500 km, from Baekdu Mountain in the nor ...

, the symbolic "spine" of Korea. They mark the traditional border between the

Honam Honam (; literally "south of the lake") is a region coinciding with the former Jeolla Province in what is now South Korea. Today, the term refers to Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, Jeju Province and Jeonbuk State. The name "Jeonla-do" is used i ...

and

Yeongnam Yeongnam (, ; literally "south of the ridge") is a region that coincides with the former Gyeongsang Province, one of the ancient Eight Provinces, in what is now South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a countr ...

regions.

References

See also