Yeongwol travel info

Yeongwol is a small town in Gangwon's mountains, tucked into a bend of the river. Its story starts with Danjong, a seventeen-year-old king who was deposed and sent to live in the pine woods of Cheongnyeongpo, a spit of land wrapped by the Seogang river on three sides. He died in Yeongwol, and his tomb, Jangneung, is one of the few Joseon royal tombs far from Seoul. It joined the UNESCO list in 2009, and a festival in his memory is held every April.

The scenery would fill a day even without the history. There's a viewpoint over the Dong River as it curls into the shape of the Korean peninsula, a rock pillar called Seondol that stands over the water, and Byeolmaro Observatory on a hilltop for night skies. The sights are spread widely across the county, so expect real time in a car or taxi between them.

The food comes from the mountains: rice topped with gondre greens, a river-snail soup from the Dong River, and eosuri, a wild herb that appears only in spring. Dong Seoul Terminal is about two hours away by bus, which makes one night the natural length of a visit.

From Seoul (BUS)

From Wonju and nearby towns (BUS)