The Gongnyong Ridge was formed from the Jurassic period granite of Seoraksan being shaped over the years due to tectonic shifts and erosion.

It has earned much recognition because of its beauty, both from domestic and international sources, such as being labelled the most scenic location among the national parks of South Korea.

[2] Because ofthis, water from the Sea of Japan evaporates and meets the cold air near the spikes of the ridge, creating large amounts of fog and clouds near the peaks.

Around the same time, there were tectonic shifts in the region that expanded the Sea of Japan, raising the body of bedrock around Seoraksan.

[citation needed] Another incident in December 1993 left two university students, out of a party of four, dead from hypothermia because of them losing their way at night.

[14] The students got lost at dark near the cliff of Sinseonam Rock, leading to the party taking a circuitous route and arriving at a different shelter at another point in the park.

Also, on August 4, 2010, a 40-year-old man died after straying off the route to rest and falling 50 m (160 ft) from a cliff near the midpoint of the ridge, at Peak 1275.