[One Day 10,000 Steps] If You Travel Far During the Golden Holiday... Try Walking Here

For those planning to travel far during the golden holiday at the end of May, it is also a good idea to check out walking events organized by local governments and the newly renovated Dulle-gil trails.

Haenam-gun in Jeollanam-do operates the ‘Haenam Dalma-godo & Korea Dulle-gil Walking Day’ walking event every second and fourth Saturday of the month until November. Starting from the 27th, the event is themed ‘A Romantic Walking Trip at the Land’s End Walking through Mountains and Sea’ and features different courses and themes each time, such as ‘Just Walking,’ ‘Dawn Walking,’ ‘Sunset Walking,’ and ‘Walking Exploration.’ In addition to simple walking, participants will also practice environmental protection through plogging (picking up trash while jogging), and volunteer activity hours will be recognized. Those who walk Haenam’s walking trails (Dalma-godo, Korea Dulle-gil) and write reviews on their personal SNS will be entered into a monthly draw where five winners will receive a package of Haenam’s agricultural and marine specialty products. The SNS review event runs from June 1 to November 30.

Dalma Trail, Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do
Photo by Haenam-gun

Dalma-godo (達磨古道) is a trail around Dalma Mountain starting from Mihwangsa Temple in Seojeong-ri, Songji-myeon, Haenam-gun, extending through Songji-myeon and Bukpyeong-myeon. Dalma-godo is a forest trail with 12 hermitages set against the backdrop of the sea, featuring forest clusters of Korean hornbeam and Japanese cypress trees, as well as coastal views of the land’s end on the east side of Dalma Mountain. Dalma-godo consists of four paths with a total length of 17.74 km, taking about six hours to complete a full loop. The Korea Dulle-gil is a walking trail of approximately 4,500 km that connects the eastern, western, and southern coasts as well as the DMZ border areas around the outskirts of South Korea. In Haenam-gun, there are Namparang-gil courses 89 and 90, and Seohaerang-gil courses 1 to 5.

Dalma Trail, Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do
Photo by Haenam-gun

Since 2021, Gyeongnam Province and Namhae-gun have supplemented the old trails of Jodo and Hodo Islands through the ‘Making Islands Worth Living’ project, designating them as Seombarae-gil trails (approximately 2.3 km for Jodo and 2 km for Hodo). On the 20th and 21st, together with the Namhae Tourism and Culture Foundation, they held the ‘Seombarae-gil Opening Ceremony.’ Participants experienced the daytime and nighttime atmosphere of Jodo and Hodo over a 1-night, 2-day period. Along with the walking event, various programs such as birdwatching, night star gazing, and busking performances were held. Jodo and Hodo Islands in Namhae-gun are located very close to Mijo Port and are easily accessible via the ‘Jodoho’ ferry. The Korea Islands Promotion Agency selected these islands as the ‘Island of the Month (November) 2023.’

Yeongcheon City and Eunhaesa Temple in Gyeongbuk are conducting the ‘Eunhaesa Healing School Forest Experience for Atopy and Asthma Prevention and Management.’ Allergic diseases, including atopy, are known to occur most frequently in children and adolescents. Proper management and treatment during childhood are important to prevent these allergic diseases from worsening into adult illnesses. Accordingly, Yeongcheon City and Eunhaesa Temple aim to educate on allergy prevention and management methods and ways to improve living environments through the forest experience program. From May 22 to 30, the program will be conducted three times for 66 seven-year-old children from five daycare centers. The first group of participants included 25 children from Hansol Daycare Center, who took part in an ‘Atopic Dermatitis Prevention Puppet Show,’ ‘Forest Trail Walking Experience,’ and ‘Treasure Hunt.’

Wonju City in Gangwon-do is creating urban forests where citizens can feel nature, walk, and relax in their daily lives. The Chiaksan Dulle-gil, divided into 11 courses around the outskirts of Chiaksan Mountain, and Wonju Gubigil, consisting of 30 walking-friendly courses throughout the city, are popular spots frequently visited by citizens. To improve convenience for trail users, additional restrooms and parking lots have been installed, and the ‘Chiaksan Dulle Bus,’ which connects the trails and tourist sites, is also in operation. Among the existing trails, 10 walking paths ranging from 2 to 5 km that families with children can enjoy together will be reinterpreted and introduced as picnic trails. Following the first zone of Central Park developed in the Musil-dong and Myeongnyun-dong areas, a second zone of Central Park is being added in the Musil-dong San 23 area. Efforts are also accelerating to create urban walking paths such as the Chiaksan Wind Path Forest using abandoned railroads and the restoration of the Dangchecheon ecological stream.

May 20th Namhae Seombaraegil Opening Ceremony
[Photo by Namhae-gun]

Miryang City in Gyeongnam will hold the Chodong Yeonga-gil Poppy Festival on the 27th and 28th, during the peak blooming period of poppies, at Yeonga-gil in Chodong-myeon, which was selected as one of the ‘100 Beautiful Our Rivers Exploration Trails’ by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. This year’s festival will feature customized consultations at the ‘Becoming a Miryang Citizen’ promotion booth, mainly targeting new farmers and residents who have recently settled in Chodong-myeon.

Chodong Yeonga (緣佳) Gil was created in 2015 as a small growth engine project by Miryang City. Residents of Chodong-myeon and Chaweol Village worked together to plant and care for poppies in spring and cosmos flowers in autumn. It is a 4 km round-trip walking path where flowers and rivers harmonize, ideal for families, couples, and friends. The path is named Yeonga-gil, meaning ‘Beautiful Connection,’ because walking this path together is said to bring happiness to families, good relationships to couples, and strengthen friendship among friends.