"Cell Phones Also Dead"…Everland's 'Secret Ginkgo Forest' Unveiled After 50 Years [Jo Yongjun's Travel Stories]

Everland's Largest Ginkgo Tree Colony in Korea
5Km Trekking, Healing, Meditation, Yoga for a Happy Body
Expanding Unique Content and Experience Programs
30,000 Trees in a Magical Forest - Please Turn Off Your Phone Temporarily

Visitors exploring the ginkgo tree forest

30,000 Ginkgo Trees Planted in the Hyangsan Area

People visiting the Everland Ginkgo Forest are enjoying the deepening autumn.

The 'Secret Ginkgo Forest' near Everland, which had been shrouded in mystery for over half a century, has revealed itself for the first time.

The secret forest, created by Everland since the 1970s over approximately 145,000㎡ (44,000 pyeong) in the Sinwon-ri area of Pogok-eup, is the largest ginkgo tree colony in Korea, planted with about 30,000 ginkgo trees for reforestation purposes. Alongside various plant species such as chestnut trees, oak trees, and metasequoias, it forms a dense forest. Since planting, it has been rarely opened to the public and carefully maintained, preserving its naturally beautiful and secretive appearance.

About a 10-minute drive from Everland's main gate, the entrance to the ginkgo tree colony appeared. The numerous ginkgo trees densely rooted on the slopes of Hyangsusan Mountain stretch straight up toward the sky as if competing for more sunlight, creating an impressive sight. In late autumn, the entire forest is covered with golden ginkgo leaves, creating a magnificent spectacle.

You can slowly explore the ginkgo forest trail through a trekking course of about 5 km, with wooden benches and meditation spots to rest along the way, as well as an observatory offering a panoramic view of the ginkgo forest.

As you walk along the forest gifted by nature, your phone quickly loses signal. Now, it’s just you and the forest. You simply enjoy the leisure embraced by nature.

As the sun sets toward the west, the ginkgo forest is dyed golden, creating a breathtaking scene. The wind blowing along the ridge causes the ginkgo leaves to fall in showers. While the forest is most beautiful when the ginkgo leaves reach their peak, the time when the leaves fall in the wind is also quite romantic.

Lee Jung-gyu, head of the Plant Content Group, is explaining about the ginkgo tree.

Dr. Lee Jun-gyu, head of the Plant Content Group at Everland and a Ph.D. in Landscape Architecture, who accompanied the ginkgo forest trekking, shared interesting stories about the ginkgo forest. Dr. Lee is also active on YouTube under the name ‘Flower Wind Dr. Lee.’

Dr. Lee explained, "The ginkgo tree is regarded as a living fossil among existing plants," adding, "It is a sacred tree endowed with persistent vitality, dignity, beauty, and health benefits as an anticancer agent."

Perhaps for this reason, the area was originally a chestnut tree colony, and ginkgo trees were planted in between to add aesthetic elements. Now, the ginkgo trees have survived as a stronger species, enhancing the forest’s beauty and dignity.

Everland stated, "Recently, after improving nature-friendly facilities such as trekking courses and forest meditation spots, companies and organizations have been holding events here one after another," adding, "This fall, the ginkgo forest was also opened on a trial basis to the general public, receiving positive responses."

The ginkgo forest will be open to the public until this weekend, and at other times, it can be visited during corporate events held at the forest entrance. Programs include trekking through the ginkgo tree colony, forest experiences, and visiting the Hoam Art Museum.

At the meditation spot set within the dense ginkgo forest, visitors can lie in hammocks connected between trees to meditate and relax, and also experience various forest healing programs with experts.

In the ginkgo tree forest, there is a space designated for meditation and yoga.

Visitors walking through the ginkgo forest dyed in golden hues.

Ginkgo leaves falling in the wind

Everland is strengthening new customer experiences by connecting plant content such as forests and gardens with surrounding infrastructure.

This year, Everland introduced a pilot 'Garden Pass' ticket exclusively for customers who wish to experience only the gardens without using other facilities. It received positive feedback from customers during spring at places like the Sky Garden Path (plum blossoms) and the Rose Garden.

An Everland official said, "Amid changing trends in domestic leisure culture and demographic shifts, we plan to expand differentiated content and experience programs that can only be experienced at Everland, providing customers with new experiences."

Everland features flowers blooming in all four seasons, from tulips, plum blossoms, and roses to chrysanthemums. Since launching the Rose Festival (1985), Tulip Festival (1992), and Chrysanthemum Festival (1993), Everland has introduced various flower festivals to Korea, offering healing and new leisure culture through plants to the public.

At various themed gardens within Everland, such as the Four Seasons Garden, Rose Garden, Sky Garden Path, and Music Garden, visitors can experience a variety of flowers according to the seasons.