Goseokjeong National Tourist Area

Overview of the name Goseokjeong Pavilion, listed as Number One of the Nine Scenic Spots of the Cheorwon, is an iconic symbol of Cheorwon Tourism, with the great harmony of the Hantan River and odd-looking cliffs, and is also a national tourist site as well. The view-point pavilion, together with a 15-meter-tall granite rock standing in the middle of the Hantan River and a pine forest growing on it, has been named Goseokjeong since King Jinpyeong of Silla Dynasty in the early 7th century. Many more kings during the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties are also recorded to have visited this acclaimed scenic spot. Legend also has it that Im Kkeokjeong, a Korean version of Robin Hood, hid himself within the caves of the Goseok Rock while fleeing from government soldiers in the mid-16th century during the Joseon Dynasty. Geological Features around Goseokjeong Pavilion This area is also worth citing for its geological values. The Hantan River, flowing below the Goseokjeong Pavilion, is the only volcanic river in the whole Korean Peninsula and has unique and high geological values such as curious harmonies between basalt and granite. Basalt gorges stand in symmetry on both sides of the deeply dented river in the lava plain. All the dark-colored basalt rocks are washed away and distinctively light-colored granite rocks are revealed in the river bed where rapid currents have winding turns and faster flow. Goseokjeong Pavilion is in a location where you can also view rather contrary and asymmetric scenes. Tourist Attractions near Goseokjeong Pavilion Now, let me give you a few more tips about how to better enjoy your visit here. King Sejong's Gangmu Pavilion on the right of the entrance of the downhill staircase was named after the historic record that King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty visited Cheorwon 19 times for military trainings called Gangmu and hunting. The pavilion is a good place to view the breath-taking scenery of the gorge. The pavilion down the staircase is called Goseokjeong Pavilion, which was restored back in 1971 after it was burnt down to ashes during the Korean War. Now, would you like to go down to view the Goseok Rock? You can appreciate the solid style of the rock standing alone in the middle of the Hantan River. It looks classy at any time of the year, and each season has a different style to appreciate. The pine forest growing from the cracks at the top of the rock without soil show an atmosphere of integrity. At the bottom of the massive rock, you can see the interesting layers of rocks piled up one after another. Its spectacular settings were the reason why this area was used as a filming location for Korean movies such as The Fatal Encounter and Kundo: Age of the Rampant and for Korean TV series such as The Slave Hunters and Hur Jun. From spring to autumn, you can hire a motor-powered boat and view the odd-looking rock cliffs from aboard the boat; when looked up at from the level of the flowing water, the 15-meter-high rock looks like a massive work of sculpture. It goes without saying that the boat-ride is definitely worth trying at least once. How to Enjoy Your Visit Better at Goseokjeong Pavilion It would be a good idea to visit the Hantan River UNESCO Geopark Visitor Center to get a better chance to learn more about the geology of Cheorwon on your way back home after your visit to the pavilion. It's also worth visiting a local food market called Today's Farmers where local specialty products such as fresh produce grown by local farmers and processed foods are sold. You can also get more information at Tourist Information Centers about the DMZ Peace Tours including Cheorwon Peace Observatory and Woljeong-ri Station, which is an abandoned train station on the northernmost end of Korail's Gyeongwon Line, located within the Civilian Control Zone.

"""A place where restriction and control have become a way of life, the DMZ embraces people and culture."" Though it carries the wounds of history, this too is a place where people have lived and continue to live. Here we explore the festivals of coexistence in the Cheorwon DMZ, where untouched nature and people become one. Running in pursuit of peace: the Cheorwon DMZ International Peace Marathon Is there any better way to savor autumn than to run beneath a sky so blue it stings the eyes, gazing out over the golden hue that washes across the vast plain? The Cheorwon DMZ International Peace Marathon lets runners take in the autumn scenery of Cheorwon with their whole bodies, carrying the added meaning of running together in a shared wish for peace on the Korean Peninsula. Runners gather at the lawn plaza of Goseokjeong in Jangheung-ri, Dongsong-eup, Cheorwon-gun, set off at 9 a.m., and run into the afternoon. The event features five categories in all: the DMZ full course of 42.195 kilometers, the DMZ half course, the 21-kilometer course, the 5-kilometer course, and the Milky Way Trail Walk. The Milky Way Trail Walk is an outing well suited to taking in the magnificent scenery of the Hantangang River and the golden Cheorwon Plain while feeling the autumn breeze. As the first DMZ course in Korea to be officially certified by the Korea Association of Athletics Federations, it stands comparison with any race in the world. Beyond the joy of running, the DMZ Marathon has earned great popularity by offering hands-on activities for families, such as rides on the tin can train, silkworm experiences, making blueberry ice cream, baking apple cookies, dyeing, making cosmos flower photo cups, and tractor wagon rides. Breaking down the boundaries between us to coexist: the DMZ Peace Train Music Festival The DMZ Peace Train Music Festival is a music festival held for just three days a year in Cheorwon, Gangwon-do. It began in 2018 with the aim of transcending politics, economics, and ideology through music, and experiencing freedom and peace. Now in its seventh edition this year, Peace Train honors the music that has shaped its times and brings together artists with distinct voices and individuality. Placing the diversity of music above all else, with no headliners, it offers audiences a wide range of musical experiences. Cheorwon, where the festival takes place, bears the scars of division, with parts of it assigned to South Korea and parts to North Korea after the Korean War, and it embraces the Demilitarized Zone, a ""zone of peace where no hostile act may occur."" The astonishingly peaceful and beautiful natural environment here, together with the stories of its residents, merges with the musical values of Peace Train to form a unique festival identity found nowhere else. Peace Train carries on its own distinctive sense of festival, breaking down the boundaries between people and coexisting by singing together music that transcends rankings, genres, nationalities, and generations, and by simply ""dancing together before any lines are drawn,"" with no hostility. It seeks to continually rediscover, through culture, the universal values of life that we can grow indifferent or numb to in our daily routines, in the hope that the spirit of freedom and peace, inclusion and tolerance, will endure unchanged into the future. Peace Train has no headliners. It guards against drawing distinctions between musicians who sell tickets well and those who do not, and it breaks the usual formula of putting only young, famous musicians who appeal to the key audience of those in their twenties and thirties on the festival stage. Instead, Peace Train actively introduces legendary musicians of genuine significance in music history alongside musicians who, outside the reach of digital algorithms, deliver outstanding live performances with their own individuality. Rather than lining acts up by fame, it weaves together music of different genres, nationalities, and generations through its curation, creating a narrative that only Peace Train can tell. At Peace Train 2018, the legendary Glen Matlock, founder of British punk rock with the Sex Pistols, performed and presented a collaborative stage with Crying Nut and ChaCha. In 2019, John Cale of The Velvet Underground, regarded as one of the most important avant-garde and experimental rock bands of the 1960s, performed and sang together with So!YoON!. In 2023, the festival welcomed 26 acts from 10 countries, including Michael Rother of the legendary band NEU!, founders of krautrock, Germany's signature genre of popular music which greatly influenced post-punk and post-rock, along with Korean legends Choi Baek-ho, Lee Sang-eun, Silica Gel, and ADOY."