Daytrip to Chuncheon

Seoul is so big and has so many things to do that it takes a fair bit of planning and ambition to get out of the city. We do want to see more of Korea though, so we set aside a Sunday last month for a day trip to Chuncheon, a city about 40 miles northeast of Seoul. The Chuncheon area is very mountainous and is famous for its lakes and hiking. Here is how it went…

Train — First, we hopped on a train at Yongsan Station, just a mile or so from our house. Most of the trip was in tunnels under the mountains, so it wasn’t too exciting, but we were happy to be getting all the way out of the city for the cost of a normal metro fare and we did get some good views in between tunnels!

Bus — Once to Chuncheon we caught city bus #11 to Soyang Dam — touted as the country’s biggest packed-earth dam. Lots of people were hiking back and forth across the top of the dam, so we joined them, and got a chance to enjoy battling the gusting, funneled wind that whistled through the valley and across the top of dam.

Looking down on the dam from a mountainside perch
Ferry — Near the dam a small ferry dock promised rides all over the lake. We payed our 4000 won ($4) and hopped on, securing seats next to the open windows so we could enjoy the views. The window-side seats had the added benefit of ensuring a thorough splashing from wind-driven lake water…

Feet — After hopping off the ferry at the far end of the lake, a hiking path led up into the woods toward a series of shrines and, finally, a monastery we were promised had been founded in 983AD. The last boat back to Chuncheon departed at 5:30 and we were sternly warned that we’d be stuck if we missed it. Determined to climb the mountain we double-timed it up the path, zigging past scores of ajumas and families out for a more leisurely Sunday stroll. If we’d had time, we could have stopped and enjoyed lunch at any number of stream-side cafes, some of which boasted al fresco seating on platforms suspended over the stream itself!

Made it!

Getting home was just a matter of retracing our steps, but we did stop along the way for dinner — two local food specialties we’d been promised were worth the trip: Dak Galbi (AMAZING barbecued chicken) and makkguksu (cold buckwheat noodles with vegetables and sauce). Both dishes were delicious and left us full and happy.