[One Day Walk] Experience the Atmosphere of the Joseon Dynasty at 'Children's Grand Park - Songjeong Embankment Road'

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[Asia Economy Reporter Byeon Seon-jin] Today's ten-thousand-step course is the ‘Children's Grand Park - Songjeong Embankment Road (Dukgil),’ where you can catch a glimpse of the Joseon Dynasty atmosphere. The course starts at Exit 4 of Achasan Station, passes through the back gate of Children's Grand Park, Gunja Intersection → Ginkgo Tree Walkway → Salgot Bridge, and ends at Exit 2 of Eumbong Station. It is also famous as a fallen leaf course where you can step on thick piles of leaves.

First, exit from Exit 4 of Achasan Station and head to the back gate of Children's Grand Park, where a wide walkway has been created. Admission to the park is free. Passing through Mushroom Village inside Children's Grand Park, you can see the zoo. Small and cute animals such as wallaroo, meerkat, and fennec fox inhabit the area. In the predator village, you can see elephants, lions, tigers, hyenas, black bears, and leopards. It is also a delight to see animals unique to Children's Grand Park, such as the Korean lynx, red fox, and northern Chinese eagle owl. After going up from the zoo, you will immediately find the botanical garden and then head toward the main gate passing through the Traditional Fairy Tale Village. The Traditional Fairy Tale Village is a great place to reminisce while admiring sculptures of characters from traditional fairy tales like ‘Heungbu and Nolbu’ and ‘The Fairy and the Woodcutter.’

After exiting the main gate, move to the right to reach Gunja Intersection. Along the way, there are various cafes where you can take a break and enjoy a cup of coffee. When you reach the entrance of Gunja Bridge, turn left onto the side road next to the residential area and follow the bicycle and pedestrian shared path to find the embankment road. Walking along the embankment road, you can enjoy murals painted on the houses. Then, you will encounter a path densely lined with lush ginkgo trees on both sides.

The next course is Salgot Bridge. As you go up the embankment road, you will pass a rest area and then come to an underground passage. Passing through here, you will face Salgot Bridge crossing Jungnangcheon Stream. There is a famous story that King Taejo Yi Seong-gye drew his bowstring aiming at his son King Taejong Yi Bang-won, who hid behind a wooden pillar, and the arrow missed and stuck into the ground, which is called ‘Salgot.’ Salgot Bridge, designated as Treasure No. 1738 on December 23, 2011, is the longest existing bridge from the Joseon Dynasty. After crossing Salgot Bridge and following the riverside path, arriving at Eungbong Station marks the end of this course.