Mountain · North Jeolla / South Jeolla
Gangcheonsan
강천산
Gangcheonsan (585.8 m), Sunchang: Korea’s first county park, a 5 km rock gorge of waterfalls and baby-maple autumn colour.
Place details
- Region
- North Jeolla · South Jeolla
- Type of place
- Mountain
- Locality in the source
- 순창군 · 담양군
- Summit height
- 585.8 m summit altitude, Korea Forest Service guide p. 28
Locate the place
Search by the Korean name and locality, then check the public entrance with the managing authority.
About Gangcheonsan
Gangcheonsan sits on the border of Sunchang in North Jeolla and Damyang in South Jeolla and was Korea’s first county park, designated in 1981. Its main peak, Wangjabong, stands just off the Honam ridge.
Rock walls close in on a 5 km gorge where waterfalls drop one after another into clear pools, with caves, legends and the temple Gangcheonsa along the way. Soft earth above and bare rock below make it a mountain of cliffs and water.
The name means hard rock and clear springs; it was once called Yongcheonsan, for the shape of two dragons rising to the sky.
Through the seasons
- Spring
- Azalea, forsythia and cherry blossom
- Summer
- Cool falls and valley pools
- Autumn
- Tiny baby maples in seven kinds of red
- Winter
- Icicles and snow over the gorge
Worth seeing
- Barefoot walk 맨발산책로A 2.5 km sand path between cliffs and stream.
- Byeongpung Falls 병풍폭포A 40 m fall down the Folding Screen Rock.
Where the main trail starts
Gangcheonsan entrance 강천산 입구
A main route in the Forest Service guide begins here. Search the Korean name to plan your bus or taxi to the entrance.
Written from the Korea Forest Service guide 꼭 한번 가 볼 우리 100대 명산, p. 28.