Boseong-gun, Jeamsan Natural Recreation Forest Popular as a Healing Travel Destination

A Destination to Escape the City and Experience Nature with Your Whole Body

[Boseong=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Cheon-seok] Jeamsan Natural Recreation Forest in Boseong-gun, Jeollanam-do, is gaining popularity as an unmissable healing travel destination near Gwangju.

According to the county, last year, about 110,000 guests stayed at the recreation forest, and approximately 12,000 people participated in experience programs. It was also reported that group visitors are steadily increasing, with 37 educational training sessions and seminars held.

Boseong-gun Jeamsan Natural Recreation Forest is gaining popularity as an unmissable healing travel destination near Gwangju.
Photo by Boseong-gun

Jeamsan Natural Recreation Forest opened on February 21, 1996, covering an area of 1.6 million square meters, with a maximum daily capacity of 3,000 people and an optimal capacity of 1,500 people.

Within the vast 160-hectare forest, there are phytoncide-emitting cypress trees, century-old large Gorosoe trees, and oak trees planted. Various animals and plants such as squirrels, Korean pine squirrels, otters, martens, and the endangered level 2 wild plant Daehangran live here, making it a living ecological travel destination.

The recreation forest features 48 lodging facilities, 51 campsites, a spacious parking lot, sports fields, conference rooms, an auditorium, seminar rooms, outdoor classrooms, hiking trails, walking paths, a lawn plaza, a water playground, a children's playground, the Deoneum-gil trail, and an adventure zipline facility.

The Forest House and the modern-style Jeam Recreation Hall provide tourists with comfortable and improved resting spaces and are also suitable facilities for corporate and institutional workshops, seminars, and university student MTs.

Each Forest House room is equipped with cypress wood walls and beds, air conditioning, refrigerators, TVs, bidets, and cotton bedding, allowing guests to rest and sleep deeply surrounded by the rich scent of cypress wood.

The campsites each have different characteristics, allowing visitors to choose according to their preferences, and are equipped with shared restrooms, hot water showers, drinking fountains, and electricity.

Fees range from 20,000 to 30,000 KRW depending on the size.

The recreation forest has hiking trails including one that circles the summit’s Imgeumbawi Rock (taking about 2 hours and 30 minutes) and another that passes Jeamsan’s summit, Gomjae, the Jeamsan azalea colony, Sajasan Mountain, and Yongchu Waterfall (taking about 5 hours).

In particular, the barrier-free mountain Deoneum-gil (deck trail), a pride of Jeamsan Natural Recreation Forest, is a 5.8 km cypress forest trail along the Jeamsan ridge without stairs, allowing wheelchair users and other mobility-impaired visitors to comfortably and safely enjoy walking and exercise.

Adventure facilities for children and a forest experience program for infants are also operated around the forest valley, targeting local daycare centers and kindergartens. The forest interpretation program has established itself as a way to understand and learn about the diverse ecology of Jeamsan Natural Recreation Forest through forest recreation.

Known by the nickname "Play Forest," Jeamsan Natural Recreation Forest offers experiences such as ▲Eco Adventure ▲Zipline ▲Bear Sled.

The Eco Adventure program features a course set 4 to 6 meters above the living forest floor, connecting trees with wires, wooden structures, and ropes, allowing participants to move between trees in the air without touching the ground, providing a nature-friendly ECO adventure course.

The dedicated zipline program moves without power, minimizing environmental impact, and allows participants to learn about nature simultaneously while moving through each course.

The Bear Sled program features a starting height of 15 meters and a total length of 238 meters. Riders slide down on sleds, feeling nature and enjoying views of the lake from a high vantage point. It is popular among many participants, and children aged 4 to 5 can ride accompanied by their parents, making it favored by family travelers.

A county official said, “With the easing of social distancing, we will do our best to make Jeamsan Natural Recreation Forest, rich in sights and activities, the most beloved forest recreation area. We will enhance programs and focus on promotion so that visitors can fully experience the charm of Jeamsan Natural Recreation Forest.”

Jeamsan Natural Recreation Forest boasts its status as a premium natural recreation forest, having been recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization as a ‘2018 Korea Tourism Star,’ a ‘Recommended Place to Visit in May and June,’ a ‘Good Walking Trail in August,’ and one of the ‘2019 Korea Unique Venues Top 30.’

Boseong=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Cheon-seok hss79@asiae.co.kr