South Korea location map with sobaek mountains marked

The Sobaek Mountains 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 arise ...

cutting across the southern

Korean peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. They split off from the

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 along ...

and trend southwest across the center of the peninsula. They are traditionally considered to reach their southwestern limit at Jirisan, which is also the highest peak of the range. Other famous mountains in the range include Songni Mountain, Joryeong Mountain, Gaya Mountain, Worak Mountain, and Sobaek Mountain itself. The peaks of the Sobaek Mountains are generally well over 1000 m above

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

. The Sobaek Mountains form the southern half of the

Baekdudaegan The Baekdu-daegan is a mountain-system and watershed-crest-line which runs through almost all of the length of the Korean Peninsula, from Paektu Mountain (2,744m) in the north to the Cheonhwang-bong or "Heavenly Monarch Peak" of Jirisan (1,915 ...

, 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 and North Jeolla Provinces. The name "Jeonla-do" is used in the names of th ...

and

Yeongnam Yeongnam (Hangul: 영남, ; literally "south of the passes") is a region that coincides with the former Gyeongsang Province in what is now South Korea. The region includes the modern-day provinces of North and South Gyeongsang and the self-gov ...

regions.

References

See also