National Parks of Korea: Naejangsan

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Eric Burks
  • 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  Editor's Note: This is the fifth article in a series highlighting national parks in the ROK.

Over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, I took a two-day trip to visit several national parks in the southern regions of the country. The plan was to stop at four national parks, a migratory bird sanctuary and a tea plantation, but inclement weather conditions led to a few changes - as well a short visit to Kunsan AB.

Early Jan. 15, I departed for the first destination: Naejangsan National Park in the Jeollabuk-do province, about an hour north of the city of Gwangju. Naejangsan was designated as a national park in 1971 and is relatively small, covering just over 71 square kilometers.

To reach the park, I took I took expressway 40 east to expressway 1 south, and then followed expressway 25 south to the Chongup interchange. After exiting the expressway, follow national road 29 south, which merges with national road 49 south after a short distance. Stay on 49 until you see signs for Naejangsan.

Entrance to Naejangsan was 3,000 Won, and there's a cable car near the visitor center that takes you to an observatory on Yeonjabong peak for another 3,000 Won. Early on a Saturday morning, there were not a lot other park visitors; therefore it was not a long wait for the cable car.

I followed a short trail loop - about 3.5 kilometers - from the visitor center through a snow-covered valley, passing by three different temples. There is a longer loop trail that reaches six different peaks in the park, but there was still considerable snow and ice on the ground, which would have made hiking a bit more of a challenge without shoe spikes or other accessories.

Next, it was time to head south for the next destination: Suncheon Bay Migratory Bird Sanctuary. This area had been recommended by a co-worker whose hometown is in the same part of the country, and the visit turned out to be one of the highlights of the weekend.

To get to Suncheon Bay, I returned to expressway 25 south toward Gwangju. You can stay on this road all the city of Suncheon, and take the first exit: West Suncheon. Head south on national road 22, then look for signs to the bay. Arriving at the visitor center, there's a parking fee of 1,000 Won and the entrance fee is 2,000 Won.

There are a lot of things to see at Suncheon Bay, including an ecology hall, temple, and folk village. You can participate in a temple stay program, a tea ceremony at the folk village, or take a boat cruise around the bay. However, I chose to simply follow the walking path through the wetlands around the reeds. After a kilometer or so, the trail leads up a hill to an observatory with a commanding view of the area - especially nice around sunset.

I returned to the city of Suncheon for dinner - it's a fairly large city with many restaurants, both Korean and Western - then followed national road 17 south to the city of Yeosu. I had planned to spend the night there, then get up early the next morning to watch the sunrise from Hyangilam Temple in nearby Dadohaehaesang National Park. I checked into a small motel for 40,000 Won - be sure to bring cash, as many such inns and motels don't take credit cards - and called it a night. For the trip, it was one park down, three to go. ... at least, that was the plan.

To be continued.

For additional information on the National Parks of Korea, visit http://english.knps.or.kr/Knp/AboutNP.aspx?MenuNum=1&Submenu=AboutNP.

For information on Suncheon Bay, visit
http://www.suncheonbay.go.kr/english/html/visit/index.jsp.