"Rockfall Suspected as Ice Melts"
Occurred at Night with No Casualties
The Jeju Manjanggul Lava Tube trail, a natural monument and famous tourist destination, has been completely closed until July 2025 due to consecutive rockfall accidents.
On the 29th, the Jeju World Heritage Headquarters announced that a rock about 1 meter in width and length fell from about 5 meters above the entrance of the Manjanggul trail, damaging part of the stair railing. The rock rolled about 5 meters down toward the entrance of a restricted area after hitting the stair railing.
A fallen rock approximately 1 meter in width and length at the entrance of the Manjanggul Cave trail in Jeju (right) and the damaged railing. [Photo by Yonhap News]
According to closed-circuit television (CCTV) installed at the trail entrance, the rockfall occurred during the night when the trail was closed, so there were no casualties. Manjanggul is open to visitors only along a 1 km section of its total 7.4 km length. On the same day, the World Heritage Headquarters sent three geological curators specializing in caves to the site to inspect the rockfall situation. The on-site inspection suggested that the rockfall was caused by thawing ice in the entrance area, which is vulnerable to temperature changes.
The World Heritage Headquarters decided to close the trail from that day until July 2025 because additional rockfall prevention measures will take 2 to 3 months, and trail maintenance work must also be carried out. Originally, the World Heritage Headquarters planned to start maintenance work on the Manjanggul trail and restrict access from February 1 next year, but the sudden rockfall accident brought the closure forward by about a month. Kim Hee-chan, head of the Jeju World Heritage Headquarters, said, "We will thoroughly prepare so that Manjanggul becomes a place where visitors can feel safe through the upcoming trail maintenance work."
At Manjanggul, on January 27, four rocks?two measuring 7 cm and two measuring 2 to 3 cm?fell. At that time, the World Heritage Headquarters closed the trail to investigate the cause of the rockfall and implement safety measures, reopening it on March 24 after about two months.
Manjanggul, a lava tube located in Gujwa-eup, Jeju City, was designated a natural monument in 1962. It is part of the Geomunoreum Lava Tube System, which was designated a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site in 2007, and is the 12th longest lava tube in the world. Manjanggul is one of Jeju’s representative tourist attractions, with about 550,000 visitors last year.
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