[One Day Walk] Tracing the Footsteps of Teacher Song Hae at ‘Okyeonji Songhae Park Trail’

[Editor's Note] The Korea Forest Service has selected "Premium Forest Trails Perfect for Walking" to commemorate the 50th anniversary of national reforestation. These trails are accessible and suitable for about a day's hike, allowing the public to enjoy them easily and comfortably. We introduce these premium forest trails provided by the Korea Forest Service every two weeks.

Today's 10,000-step course is the "Okyeonji (玉淵池) Songhae Park Trail," imbued with the footsteps of broadcaster Songhae.

Okyeonji Songhae Park is a waterside park located in Gise-ri, Okpo-eup, Dalseong-gun, Daegu. The trail around the park received an encouragement award in the "Premium Forest Trails Perfect for Walking" contest hosted by the Korea Forest Service.

Okyeonji is a reservoir created by damming the Gisegok Stream. Walking along the deck path connected to the right side of Okyeonji leads to the Okyeonji Songhae Park Trail.

Visitors are taking commemorative photos against the backdrop of tulips planted along the walking trail at Okyeonji Songhae Park. Provided by the Korea Forest Service

This 3.5 km-long trail connects several observation decks: Damso Observatory, Silso Observatory, Pokso Observatory, and Bakjangdaeso Observatory.

The names of the observation decks?‘Damso, Silso, Pokso, Bakjangdaeso’?serve as a kind of link that evokes joyful moments that Songhae shared with the public through his broadcasts, prompting visitors to reminisce with "Those were the days."

Especially, the sound of Songhae’s singing heard at each observation deck offers a small delight to those walking the trail who remember him.

From Damso Observatory, if you ascend toward the mountain on the left, you can find ‘Geumgul,’ the only cave in Daegu accessible to people.

Geumgul is an abandoned gold mine from the Japanese colonial period. It was discovered during a survey of the area around Songhae Park and was developed to allow visitor access starting in 2019.

The suspension bridge installed between Pokso Observatory and Bakjangdaeso Observatory is considered a famous spot among those who have walked the Songhae Park Trail.

Long icicles extend from the Okyeonji ice wall. The winter ice wall can be seen at the suspension bridge section of the Okyeonji Songhae Park trail. Photo by Korea Forest Service

The cloud bridge on the deck path within Songhae Park is also one of the highlights of walking the trail. The surrounding scenery is beautiful with different atmospheres each season, but especially in winter, the view of the Okyeonji ice wall and the towering icicles between the ice walls from the cloud bridge is truly spectacular. The Okyeonji ice wall on the northern slope is used as an ice wall in winter and as an artificial waterfall in summer.

There is also a Songhae Memorial Hall on the Songhae Park Trail. On the exterior wall of the memorial hall, a large mural featuring a caricature of Songhae is painted, and sculptures including a statue welcome visitors. Inside, visitors can see photos and records of Songhae’s activities and footsteps during his lifetime.

Meanwhile, the reason the park was named after Songhae is due to the deep connection he had with Gise-ri during his lifetime.

Songhae was a displaced person from Hwanghae Province who settled in South Korea after the Korean War. During his military service as a communications soldier after the war, he married Seokok, the younger sister of his senior officer.

Seokok’s hometown is Gise-ri, Dalseong-gun, Daegu. Songhae always regarded Gise-ri, his in-laws’ hometown, as his "second hometown" and was laid to rest there after his passing.