Hwanseongul Cave, Samcheok

Site details

In Samcheok, Gangwon-do Province, lies the Daei-ri Cave System, which was designated as a Natural Monument in 1966. The area contains a number of limestone caves with names that evoke a sense of mystery, including Hwanseongul, Daegeumgul, Gwaneumgul, Yangteomoksegul, Keunjaesegul, Deokbatsegul, and Sadaribawibaramgul. The best known among them, Hwanseongul Cave, was first recorded in Cheokjuji, a gazetteer of the Samcheok district compiled in 1662 by Heo Mok, who was magistrate of the district at the time. Its name is said to mean “the cave where a fairy was reborn after disappearing inside. ” It was previously known as Daeseokgul, or “the great stone cave. ” Located at an elevation of about 485 meters, Hwanseongul Cave possesses a semicircular entrance approximately 16 meters wide and 12 meters high. With a main passage measuring about three kilometers and a total length of approximately 8.5 kilometers, it is considered the largest limestone cave in South Korea. The floor at the far end of the cave, near Gwinemi Village in Taebaek, is about 245 meters higher than the entrance. Roughly one kilometer of the cave is accessible by the public. The open section includes a magnificent passage reaching approximately 82 meters in width and 34 meters in height. Large flowstones, including one known as the “Beauty Figure,” and a stalactite called the “Goblin’s Club” can be seen on the walls and ceiling, while the floor features a variety of speleothems, such as the lotus-shaped “Jade Throne,” dome-shaped stalagmites, cave coral, and cave flowers. The cave is also of high ecological value. One closed section near the visitor route provides a hibernation site to thousands of long-winged bats. The Korean clawed salamander, an endemic species, has also been confirmed to inhabit the cave. Since April 2010, a monorail has made it much easier for visitors to reach the cave entrance without climbing the steep mountain path. (*Monorail operations are currently temporarily suspended. )