A Travel Course Encountering Art and Nature as a Single Masterpiece

This travel course introduces the architecture, culture, and arts of the border regions in Gangwon-do, featuring the unique historical sites of the DMZ alongside blessed natural scenery. Baekdamsa Temple and Manhae Village, where Manhae Han Yong-un wrote 'The Silence of Love' (Nimui Chimmuk), are places where the spirit of national literature remains alive.

Along the way

1. 1
   Hantangang River (National Geopark, Goseokjeong)

   한탄강(국가지질공원, 고석정)

   Goseok is a granite rock about 15 meters high observed in the Hantangang River gorge in the area of Jangheung-ri, Dongsong-eup, Cheorwon-gun. Nearby stands a pavilion named Goseokjeong, so the entire gorge area is often collectively called Goseokjeong. This area holds high value as an important geological and topographical learning site where visitors can observe the landform before the formation of the basalt lava plateau, as well as the fact that basaltic lava flowed over the bedrock to form a lava plateau. Goseok is the bedrock that existed before the Cheorwon area was covered with lava, a granite formed underground about 110 million years ago (Mid-Cretaceous). After being exposed to the surface through long-term geological processes, it was covered by basalt lava flows from volcanic activity between about 540,000 and 120,000 years ago, and then resurfaced on the ground as the Hantangang River eroded the rock to form a new waterway.MoreLess

   

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2. 2

   Hwacheon Wood Culture Experience Center

   화천 목재문화체험장

   Hwacheon Wood Culture Experience Center is a woodworking craft experience facility where visitors can use high-quality Hwacheon timber to craft their own household furniture or wooden products. It serves perfectly as an exciting wooden playground for children and a specialized workshop for adults to acquire deeper knowledge of woodworking. The circular exterior of the building, finished with layered wood materials, conveys a warm atmosphere. On the first floor, a DIY woodworking craft workshop operates, allowing visitors to make items such as children's furniture, bookshelves, book stands, wooden speakers, and handmade wooden cutting boards.MoreLess

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3. 3
   Park Soo Keun Museum

   박수근미술관

   Painter Park Soo-keun sought to express the goodness and sincerity of humanity in his paintings. Looking into life with an honest and benign gaze like Millet rather than the madness of Van Gogh or the revolutionism of Picasso, he holds an unrivaled position in modern Korean art. Built on an area of about 200 pyeong at the birthplace of Park Soo-keun in Yanggu-gun, Gangwon-do, the Yanggu County Park Soo Keun Museum was established to honor the artist's philosophy of art and life while serving as a representative regional cultural space. The artworks featured at the Park Soo Keun Museum include three oil paintings such as 'Two Seated Men', prints including 'Tree and Two Women' and 'Tapdori (Circumambulating the Pagoda)', the watercolor 'Paint', and dozens of drawings.MoreLess

   

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4. 4

   Dutayeon (Gangwon Peace Area National Geopark)

   두타연 (강원평화지역 국가지질공원)

   As a Civilian Control Line area, visitors can apply for entry in advance on the Yanggu Security Tourism Integrated Reservation website or register on-site on the day of the visit. On the visit date, visitors must fill out an entry application form and a pledge at the Geumgangsan Information Center, wear a GPS device, and depart on the hour under guidance from the Geumgangsan Information Center. After touring the ecological trail section (Dutayeon Parking Lot -> Ecological Trail -> Dutayeon Parking Lot) for about one hour, visitors must return at the designated time. Dutayeon is a waterfall and plunge pool formed when a meandering curve was cut off (meander cutoff) as Sataecheon Stream, a tributary of Suipcheon Stream, wound through the mountainous terrain (incised meander). A plunge pool refers to a deep, round hollow pool under a waterfall, formed as falling water grinds the bottom of the falls with gravel (abrasion) or tears away rock through hydraulic pressure (hydraulic action). Meanwhile, the name Dutayeon originated from the former presence of a temple named Dutasa nearby.MoreLess

   

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5. 5

   Manhae Village

   만해마을

   Manhae Village was established as a place of practice to honor and promote the literary spirit, philosophy of freedom, progressive thought, and national spirit of Manhae Han Yong-un, a prominent poet in Korean literary history, a great Buddhist master, and an independence activist who instilled an everlasting national spirit into the hearts of the Korean people during the dark period of Japanese colonial rule.MoreLess

   

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6. 6

   Baekdamsa Temple

   백담사

   Baekdamsa Temple is a representative temple in Inner Seorak (Naeseorak), located above Baekdam Valley where clear waters flowing from Gayadong Valley and Gugokdam meet, serving as a gateway to climbing Inner Seorak. It was founded in 647 (the 1st year of Queen Jindeok's reign of Silla) by Master Jajang under the name Hangyesa Temple. Later, it was named Baekdamsa Temple because there are 100 pools from Daecheongbong Peak down to the temple. Having been destroyed by fire over ten times and rebuilt in 1957 following the Korean War, it is a temple with many historical twists and turns. Artifacts include Master Jajang's small bronze seat and a seven-story small jade pagoda bestowed upon Master Seoljeong during the reign of King Injo, and associated hermitages include Yeongsiam, Oseam, and Bongjeongam. In addition, Baekdamsa Temple is famous as the place where Manhae Han Yong-un (1879–1944) had his head shaved and practiced asceticism. While Master Manhae endured the labor of reviving the national spirit to write for the nation and its people, former President Chun Doo-hwan and his wife are said to have lived in exile and repented here. Along one side of the stream in front of Baekdamsa Temple stand countless stone towers stacked by visitors making wishes.MoreLess

   

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7. 7

   Bauzium Sculpture Museum

   조각미술관 바우지움

   Bauzium Sculpture Museum is a private art museum established by sculptor Kim Myeong-suk. Visitors can appreciate works by sculptor Kim Myeong-suk as well as modern and contemporary Korean sculpture. It is a beautiful space where nature, architecture, and art harmonize. It consists of three gallery buildings and an outdoor garden across an area of 5,000 pyeong featuring five distinct themes.MoreLess

   

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