Travel through magnificent scenery along an inland highway
There’s a province in the middle of Korea, a country surrounded by water on three sides, where one cannot see the oceans at all. It’s Chungcheongbuk-do, or North Chungcheong Province, the smallest peninsular province of Korea, with an area of only 7,432 square kilometers. As the Sobaek Mountains (小白山脈) extend across the south of the peninsula, running in a roughly southwest-northeast line, they cut through the northern part of the province, giving the region picturesque scenery with high mountains and deep valleys contrasting in harmony with each other.
An inland beltway loops around the province. It opened in 2002 after five years of construction. It links an existing national highway and some local roads, allowing travelers to enjoy the natural landscape while on the move.
The beltway covers 297 kilometers, running from Yeongchun-myeon in Danyang-gun all the way down to Hansan-ni in Yeongdong-gun. The inland route passes by three national parks, too, at the Songnisan, Sobaeksan and Woraksan Mountains.
There is a 140-kilometer valley that runs from Boeun-gun through Geosan-gun to reach the city of Chungju. There, along the lakeside road of Chungjuho Lake, magnificent sights will unfold themselves as the drivers tour the country.
Beautiful scenes can be seen driving the inland beltway that loops from Danyang-gun through to Chungju and across Chungcheongbuk-do. Pictures are taken on December 1, when the region had its first snowfall of the year.
By Wi Tack-whan, Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writers
Photos: Wi Tack-whan
whan23@korea.kr