Samcheok City – Gangwon’s Escape

Samcheok City (삼척시) is a dream destination to visit during the fall season in South Korea.

Offering scenic beauty along with delicious food that nobody can resist, this is an experience of a lifetime. The city is the industrial, educational, cultural, and tourism hub of the province. It is situated on the southern-most tip of Gangwon Province (강원도).  Sitting next to the East Sea (동해) the landscape is breathtaking and straight out of a painting. The rampant scenic beauty consists of streams, caves, beaches and natural rock formations. The natural treasures present around the city offer much for the tourist to see and do. Seeing hills and the sea coming so close together is a sight that one should not miss. The escape it offers from the bustling Seoul life is one that is highly recommended to people looking for a vacation spot.

Samcheok railbike

Samcheok City offers a very special ride called the Ocean Railbike (해양 레일비이크). It is a 5.4 km double track bike rail lying along the breathtaking coastline of the East Sea. You can see an awesome visual of the ocean becoming one with the black pine trees. There are also imposing rock features to boot accompanied by a constant and refreshing sea breeze blowing through the clean, lush green area. Numerous tunnels come along the way which is decorated with brightly coloured lights. You can also experience laser shows along the tunnel walls, which has a marine city theme. Riding the railbike requires some teamwork and joint effort from those travelling together. However, it is not tiresome at all because of the wonderful views you get to see along the way. The beauty in this area is very refreshing for the eyes.

Janghohang

Another place to explore in Samcheok City is Janghohang (장호항), which is known as the Naples of Korea. It has a beautiful white coastline with walkways connecting various rocks to each other. A walk around this area offers tourist much scenic beauty. There is a sandy beach and numerous cliffs all around. Seeing the waves of the sea lapping around the rugged rocks is both awe-inspiring and incredibly fascinating. If you visit during the summertime, there are many water related activities to enjoy. There is a transparent canoe or kayak that you can row around the port or you can try snorkeling to quench your curiosity about the world under the deep sea. The whole experience is so memorable that you will forget all of your worries from back home.

Daegeumgul

A natural land form that you can explore in Samcheok City is Daegeumgul (대금굴). It is a limestone cave which dates back to some 5.3 billion years. While its entrance was hidden from humans for a long time, people could see water coming out of the cave. It was finally discovered in 2003 and people could come explore it after 2007. It has been given the name of Daegeumgul which means ‘great gold cave’ because of the rocks giving off a golden hue. Since there is a lot of water inside the cave, many types of rock formations can be found here. These include numerous stalactites and stalagmites that have plenty of fascinating shapes. The cave is 610 m away from the entrance can only be reached via monorail. The views are again incredibly breathtaking to see.

Visiting Samcheok City is like a dream come true. It’s honestly a once in a lifetime experience and you most definitely should not miss out on exploring the hidden beauty of Gangwondo!