[One Day Walk] A 2.5 Billion-Year History of Korean Peninsula Minerals at a Glance While Walking... Geological Trail

There is a path designed to walk through the 2.5 billion-year geological history of the Korean Peninsula. It is the Geologic Nadeulgil, completed in 2015 at the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources within the Daejeon Daedeok Research and Development Special Zone.

The Geologic Nadeulgil is the nation's first 'Geologic Time Street.' It is a 100-meter-long, 3-meter-wide walking trail where visitors can casually stroll and admire various minerals of the Korean Peninsula at a glance.

More than 60 different rock specimens are displayed in chronological order, ranging from Precambrian metamorphic rocks that have endured billions of years, Paleozoic limestone where trilobites once lived, Mesozoic lacustrine sedimentary rocks from the age of dinosaurs, various granites and volcanic rhyolites indicating large-scale orogenic movements, to Cenozoic basalt lava flows found in Jeju Island and central Korean Peninsula.

Large rock samples placed along both sides of the trail allow visitors to appreciate the natural appearance of the rocks.

The Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources has installed boundary stones introducing the geological history of Korea at the start of each major era, and on one side of the path, key events of the geologic times and the evolutionary process of organisms are engraved to enhance the viewing experience.

If you want to learn more about minerals, you can enter the Geological Museum located at the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources. It offers in-depth exploration of geological structures, rock formations, and fossil evolution.

Moreover, an outdoor exhibition area is arranged along a wide grassy walking path, where you can see large rock specimens such as the columnar joints of Pohang, basalt of Jeju Island, limestone of Gangwon Province, as well as mineral specimens like calcite from Sangdong Mine, tourmaline from Daeyu Mine, and lead-zinc-copper minerals from Yeonhwa Mine, along with various fossils.