Return After 21 Years... The Gyooeseon Line Begins a Time Travel
The Aesthetics of Slowness... The Romantic 'Gyooeseon' Line
A Station Where Time Stands Still... 'Ilyeong Station'
Enjoy the Last Cherry Blossoms on the 'Maenaemi Cherry Blossom Road'
A Poetic Space Crafted by Art, Seasons, and Architecture: 'Jangheung Art Tour'
Carrying a guitar on their back, sitting around a bonfire in Songchu Valley, singing about youth?the feelings from those days come alive again. In 2025, the 'Gyooeseon' line resumed operation after 21 years, achieving not just the restoration of a railway but the restoration of time itself.
According to Yangju City on the 16th, the city has established a 'Jangheung Tourism Revitalization Comprehensive Plan' this year and is ready to revive this area once again as a representative tourist destination in the metropolitan area.
From Goyang Daegok Station to Uijeongbu, passing through quiet rural simple stations, this slow train runs 20 round trips a day, rekindling forgotten emotions. The journey, where mountains, fields, and the colors of the seasons unfold outside the window like blank spaces filling the heart, allows busy city dwellers to catch their breath for a moment.
At the center of this is Jangheung in Gyeonggi Province's Yangju City. Once just a passing name, it is now being reappraised as an emotional tourist destination where culture and nature harmonize.
There is a saying that 'a slightly slower pace can take you the farthest.' The 'Gyooeseon' line is proof of that.
Revived after 21 years since its suspension in 2004, this line starts from Goyang Daegok, passes through Ilyeong, Jangheung, and Songchu areas, and continues to Uijeongbu. The single-track non-electrified train is the perfect means of transport when you want to put down the busy rhythm of the city. This short but profound journey is more than just transportation; it is a 'restoration of memories' and a 'refreshment of the heart.'
The intermediate stations, Jangheung Station and Songchu Station, were once the best summer resorts in the metropolitan area and are now reborn as spaces where art, tradition, and nature coexist.
Under the quiet mountain slopes, the tranquil simple station 'Ilyeong (日迎)' seems to hold sunlight within it.
Once a popular MT (Membership Training) spot, this place has recently been remodeled and is emerging as a place of emotion and photo spots.
Ilyeong Station, the backdrop for BTS's 'Spring Day' music video and iconic scenes from the movie 'My Sassy Girl,' remains a stage of memories and a current landscape, quietly welcoming visitors.
The last cherry blossoms left where spring has departed. The Maenaemi Cherry Blossom Road near Ilyeong Station blooms late, forming a bright flower tunnel even after most of Seoul and the metropolitan area have seen their cherry blossoms fade. This road, lined with cherry blossom trees on both sides, becomes a 'path of flower rain' when the wind blows and petals scatter.
The name 'Maenaemi' of this road also holds a legend derived from the classic Korean tale Chunhyangjeon. Walking this path with its legend, it is not just a flower road but a road where stories and time linger.
At the end of the cherry blossom road awaits Namgyeong Arboretum, where the scenery blending waterways and flower paths approaches like a spring painting itself.
Walking quietly along this path gives a feeling of meeting the end of one season and the beginning of another.
For those who want to hold on to the fleeting spring a little longer or who regret the already fallen cherry blossoms, now is the time to head to 'Maenaemi Cherry Blossom Road.'
Getting off at Jangheung Station marks the start of a full-fledged 'art walk.' Four art landmarks where tradition and modernity, nature and architecture blend await.
The Cheongam Folk Museum is a modern and contemporary life history museum exhibiting over 12,000 folk artifacts. Spread over 20,000 pyeong (approximately 66,115 square meters), it offers not just an exhibition but a living 'time travel' experience.
A short trip from the Cheongam Folk Museum leads to 'Gana Art Park.' Established in 1984 as Korea's first private art museum, this complex cultural and artistic space includes exhibition halls, a children's experience center, a sculpture park, a carousel playground, a performance hall, and a restaurant. The architectural beauty designed by world-renowned architects Uchida Shigeru, Ban Shigeru, and Jean-Michel Wilmotte exquisitely blends Eastern restraint with Western sensibility.
Especially, Korea's first Picasso Children's Art Museum is a special space that stimulates children's creativity and imagination, gaining popularity.
The Jang Uk-jin Art Museum unfolds the artist's world filled with depth in simplicity. True to his philosophy, "I am simple," the paintings filled with deep contemplation within simple and humble materials fill the space. This year, through the special exhibition 'Imagination Garden,' it presents a new perspective on viewing nature.
Across the street stands the Min Bok-jin Art Museum, a space showcasing the essence of sculptural art themed on 'love.' Sculptures by artist Min Bok-jin, who showed unique sculptural beauty with the theme of 'love,' are exhibited, and currently, a special exhibition titled 'Sitting, Standing, or Lying Down' is underway, featuring human body sculptures by four sculptors of the liberation generation.
Additionally, the Jangheung Native Arboretum reaches the peak of healing with red azaleas and pine forests harmonizing in the natural order.
The final touch to this emotionally charged journey is decorated by nature.
A 15-minute walk from Songchu Station begins the Songchu Valley of Bukhansan National Park. Between towering peaks that seem to pierce the sky and the sound of valley waters, the breath of nature long forgotten in the city is revived. There, a hiking course bustling with visitors every weekend unfolds, with the majestic Obong standing tall at its center. This scene, where five bizarre rock formations soar toward the sky, takes one's breath away.
After resting with your feet dipped in the valley water, a warm countryside meal awaits at local restaurants near Songchu Station, known as the 'Taste Street.'
Especially, restaurants with long-time regular customers capture visitors' footsteps not with the hustle typical of tourist spots but with warm and sincere flavors like a cozy countryside meal.
Songchu Valley and Bukhansan form the most perfect final course connecting the Jangheung art journey with the lingering presence of nature.
In the fast-flowing daily life, the Gyooeseon line speaks of the aesthetics of slowness.
An official from Yangju City said, "This year, we have established the 'Jangheung Tourism Revitalization Comprehensive Plan' and are preparing for its revival as a representative tourist destination in the metropolitan area," adding, "We hope people will appreciate the aesthetics of slowness on the Gyooeseon line amid the fast-paced daily life."
The name of this city, where art, nature, history, and romance blend, is no longer unfamiliar. Now, if you want to pause for a moment and find true 'rest,' take the Gyooeseon line and head to Yangju. Now is your time.
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