Royal Asiatic Society hosts Danyang tour
By John Redmond
The Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch will host an excursion in Woraksan National Park, including a visit to Gosu Cave, followed by a boat cruise on Chungju Lake on April 14.
This adventure will take guests southeast to North Chungcheong Province. The cave, discovered in the 1970s, is the best-known in the area, with spectacular caverns, graceful stalactites and majestic stalagmites. It is called an “underground palace” because of its breathtaking natural beauty and has been designated as Natural Monument No. 256.
After exploring this, the tour will “surface” and head for Chungju Lake, likewise renowned for its natural beauty. Here, the group will board a comfortable cruise boat on which everyone will be able to relax and appreciate the lake and its surroundings.
It will pass the peaks of Okseonbong, which are said to resemble a bamboo grove, and visitors will also be able to see Gudambong, a tortoise shaped cliff, which is also among the “eight natural wonders” that can be found in the area. The boat ride will last about an hour.
After leaving the water, all will visit a village created during the construction of the Chungju hydroelectric dam. When it was constructed, the sites of several important Korean historical properties were inundated.
However, many of these structures were saved and relocated to the Cheongpung Munwha (Cultural) Folklore Village, the next stop. Overlooking the lake, this village houses a collection of rebuilt old houses, pavilions, gates, a Confucian academy, and also some massive Neolithic burial stones.
After re-boarding the bus, the group will continue enjoying fantastic scenery, as the bus proceeds along a six kilometer-long riverside cherry blossom road, which winds through some spectacular mountainous areas and beautiful countryside for part of the way home.
Cost of the excursion is 68,000 won for members and 78,000 won for non-members and includes transportation (bus and boat) and the entrance fee to Gosu Cave.
The bus will depart from the Yongsan Post Office (Subway line number 4, blue line, Sinyongsan Station 429 exit 1) at 8 a.m., and return is slated for 8 p.m. You may bring a packed lunch or buy something to eat at the lunch stop.
For information contact
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