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Mount Kumgang in 3D: real relief (Copernicus DEM) and satellite image (Sentinel-2)

Mountain·North KoreaNorth Korea

Mount Kumgang

1,638m

Taebaek Mountains

Summit weather

3D view drawn from Copernicus WorldDEM-30 (© DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA) and Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH, CC BY 4.0

Elevation
1,638m
Relief
1,400mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope
49°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit
Nov–MaySee month by month ↓
Summit
38.6564°N, 128.1053°E

Mountain range in North Korea

Mount Kumgang is a mountain in the Taebaek Mountains (North Korea). Its summit stands 1,638 m above sea level.

From the lowest point within 5 km (238 m), it rises 1,400 m. The steepest side is the north-east face: 32° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 49° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

Read more on Wikipedia

Scores

Mount Kumgang for skiers and climbers

Two scores out of 10, built only from open data — every part is shown. They describe what the mountain offers, not how safe it is.

Hiking & mountaineering

4.7/10

Difficulty to the top

Alpine climb

Estimated from the slope: OpenStreetMap has no graded paths near the top.

Indicative only — never a safety assessment. Conditions change: ask local guides and check the forecast.

  • 0.5/2.51 waymarked routes and 0 path sections nearby
  • 0.0/1.50 huts and shelters
  • 1.4/21,400 m of ascent from the valley
  • 1.3/1.5840 m of prominence
  • 1.5/1.59 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
  • 0.0/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

—

No ski runs within 12 km in OpenStreetMap.

How these scores are made

Ski (where OpenStreetMap has skiing within 12 km): up to 4 points for the length of downhill runs (300 km or more = 4), 1.5 for the number of lifts (40+), 1.5 for the vertical between lift stations (1,500 m) and 3 for the snow season — a month counts when the estimated mean temperature at the height of the ski area is −1 °C or lower and snow falls or lies there (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Hiking & mountaineering: up to 2.5 for waymarked routes and paths, 1.5 for huts, 2 for the ascent from the valley (2,000 m), 1.5 for prominence (3,000 m), 1.5 for the season (months with summit afternoons above −5 °C) and 1 for via ferratas, climbing and glaciers. OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: where few things are mapped, a score can be lower than reality.

Plan your visit

Stay, climb and get there

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

Snow

When there is snow on Mount Kumgang

At the summit, snow from November to May. Month by month below, at different heights on the way up.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Summit1,638 msnow from November to May
Snow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all month
Halfway up938 msnow from February to March (some years from November to April)
Snow some of the timeSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow some of the timeNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowSnow some of the timeSnow some of the time
Foot of the mountain238 msnow in February (some years from December to March)
Snow some of the timeSnow on the ground all monthSnow some of the timeNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowSnow some of the time
  • Snow on the ground all month
  • Snow some of the time
  • No snow
  • This month

Estimate for a normal year: average temperature and precipitation from NASA POWER, carried to each height, in a simple model of snow building up and melting. In a given year snow can come earlier or stay longer. It does not replace the local snow and avalanche bulletin.

Summit weather

Mount Kumgang, month by month

Not a forecast: long-term averages (1991–2020), carried up to the summit. The orange line is where an average afternoon reaches 0 °C; above the dashed blue line it freezes even at dawn.

On an average August afternoon the summit reaches about 18 °C; on January nights it falls to about -19 °C. In 5 months of the year it stays below freezing at the top even in the afternoon. In August the 0 °C line climbs to about 4,460 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, January is the driest month (24 mm) and July the wettest (324 mm).

0 m1,000 m2,000 m3,000 m4,000 mSUMMIT · 1,638 mJanuary: 150 mFebruary: 550 mMarch: 1,430 mApril: 2,490 mMay: 3,510 mJune: 4,170 mJuly: 4,430 mAugust: 4,460 mSeptember: 3,720 mOctober: 2,840 mNovember: 1,630 mDecember: 460 mJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit
MonthSummit high °CSummit low °C0 °C line (m)Rain & snow (mm)Wet daysSun h/day
January-10-191502455.2
February-7-175503355.8
March-1-111,4303766.2
April6-62,4906966.4
May1213,5107976.6
June1664,17096105.7
July18104,430324163.7
August18114,460259164.4
September1463,720150105.0
October8-12,8407465.6
November0-81,6306574.6
December-8-164602845.0

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 521 m), adjusted to the summit by −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Rain, wet days and sunshine are those of the region. Mountain weather changes fast — always check a local forecast. ★ = mildest months at the top.

Relief

The mountain in profile

Two cuts through the summit, 16 km long, from the 30 m Copernicus elevation model. Heights drawn 2× taller than lengths, so the shape can be seen.

West – east
1,638 m306 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmWE
South – north
1,638 m723 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmSN
Steepness by direction
30°N: 13°NNE: 32°NEE: 27°ESE: 24°SES: 25°SSW: 24°SWW: 10°WNW: 10°NW

Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.

Around the mountain

Huts, lifts and trails around Mount Kumgang

Counted around the summit in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. The satellite plate shows 14 × 14 km.

Mount Kumgang seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

  • —mountain huts and shelters
  • —cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
  • —ski areas
  • 1waymarked hiking routes

    구룡연산도

  • —via ferratas
  • —climbing crags and routes
  • —named glaciers
  • 2viewpoints
  • —campsites
  • 4hotels, B&Bs and chalets

    외금강호텔, 금강산호텔, 내금강휴계소, 호텔해금강

  • 3restaurants and cafés

OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: a low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. Places © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Photos

Seen by climbers and visitors

0438 - Nordkorea 2015 - Kumgang Gebirge - Kuryong Fasserfall (22543108597)
Uwe Brodrecht · CC BY-SA 2.0
0331 - Nordkorea 2015 - Kumgang Gebirge (22341968203)
Uwe Brodrecht · CC BY-SA 2.0

Recent years

How each month compared at the summit

Afternoon high at the summit (estimate). The first row is the reference, the 1991–2020 average in °C; the years show only the difference.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
1991–2020 average-10-7-16121618181480-8
2020+3.4+2.3+2.1−1.3−0.6+0.8−1.9+0.8−1.0−0.4+1.6+0.3
2021+0.3+3.1+2.6+1.0−1.4−1.0+2.5−0.8+0.6+0.3+1.0+1.2
2022+0.9−1.1+0.9+2.0+0.2−0.7+0.8±0.0+0.7−0.9+3.2−1.9
2023+0.5+1.6+4.0+1.0+0.1±0.0+1.8+0.8+1.6+0.9−0.2−0.7
2024−0.4+0.6−0.3+2.7−0.2+1.6+0.9+2.7+2.7+1.5+2.4+0.8
2025+1.2−1.1+0.7+1.2−1.2+1.1+2.6+1.9+1.8−0.4+1.0+1.4

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Nearby

More mountains nearby

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominenceWikidata (Q495501) · CC0
Relief, 3D view, profilesCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020 · CC BY 4.0
Around the mountain© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

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