The Garden of the Morning Calm during Autumn |
And where are these places?
Now, this is where dilemma is kicking its way to confuse your subconscious. There are a lot of great places in Korea to visit during autumn. It is up to you to choose and do research on which one is accessible. For this year, I visited the most famous garden in South Korea, The Garden of the Morning Calm.
GETTING THERE.
Last year, I had the privilege to visit Nami Island and Petite France in Gapyeong during Autumn. The Garden of the Morning Calm is just around the corner of the city but I was not able to visit because I don’t have ample time. When a friend invited me to go to the garden, I did not hesitate because I wanted to go there since last year. Gapyeong is almost 2 hours away from Seoul. Seeing that I am coming from the province, it would take me at least a good 3 hours of travel via subway. Just as there are a lot of ways to cook a fish, there are also a lot of options to go to the Garden of the Morning Calm.
If you have your own private vehicle, going there could be very easy and convenient. Just navigate to this address and you will surely find your way there:
432, Sumogwon-ro, Sang-myeon, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do
경기도 가평군 상면 수목원로 432 (상면)
Me and my friends wasted a good 45 minutes to discuss how we should go there. The options are via ITX Train from Yongsan Station to Gapyeong, or by bus, or just the ordinary subway.
ITX from Yongsan station to Gapyeong Station is the fastest. For only 4,500 KRW, you can get to the Gapyeong Station in just 50 minutes. Aside from being the fastest option, you can also get a comfortable seat all throughout the trip. The disadvantage of this is that you may need to book ahead of time for the ticket. There is a schedule for this, so you also need to check the schedule. We did not take this option because we need to wait for about an hour before the next trip, so we decided to take another option.
If by Bus, you need to go to Dong Seoul Bus Terminal and take the bus bound for Cheongpyeong Bus Terminal. It would take about 2 hours of travel. And from Cheongpyeong Terminal, you need to take Bus 31-7 that would take you to the Garden of Morning Calm (아침고요수목원).
Since we were already inside the train station that time, we took the third option, and that’s to go there via the regular subway. We took the Gyeonchun Line from Yongsan Station and got off at Cheongpyeong Station. It took us almost 2 hours to travel via the subway.
From Cheongpyeong Station, there are two ways to get to the garden. First is by taking Bus 31-7 at Cheongpyeong Terminal, second is by taking the City Bus Tour. We chose the City Bus Tour because there is not much Bus 31-7 available.
The City Bus Tour costs 6,000 won, you can hop on and off at the bus at different spot for one whole day. If you want to go to other places aside from the Garden of the Morning Calm, you can do so. You can check out my previous post about the ITINERARY TO GAPYEONG DAY TOUR on how you can fully avail the city tour.
FOOD TRIP.
We were so exhausted and hungry seeing that it was lunchtime when we arrived at the garden. We cared less of the view of the mountain and the garden because we looked for something to eat first. Good thing that there are a lot of restaurants available inside and outside of the garden. There are a lot of coffee shops, pension houses and Korean restaurants in the area. If you are planning to go there and spend overnight in the area, you can do so. We went to a chicken restaurant and had our lunch there. Before the entrance to the garden, there are also Korean street foods available. You will surely never go hungry there.
AT THE GARDEN.
entrance to the garden of the morning calm |
But of course we did not go there just to eat. After we ate, we went to see what’s inside the garden. The entrance fee costs 9,000 won per person during the weekend. There are also special prices for the youths, senior citizen and for kids. If you come in by group, you can also get a discount price. If you go there during weekdays, price is lower by about 1,000 won.
At The Garden of the Morning Calm, every single walkway is a perfect spot for photography. As a photography hobbyist, I did not find it hard to find scenic angles because everything inside the garden was perfectly designed. The grasses were beautifully manicured and the flowers are so attractive you could not resist but to appreciate it.
relaxing spot at the garden |
I don’t know how the garden looks like in different season but for me, it’s beautiful in the autumn. Just imagine how these 5,000 kinds of plants entertain your eyes with their colorful leaves and blossoming flowers. I was enticed by the beautiful foliage because it makes the garden even more romantic that is why couples find this place perfect to hang out.
Couple enjoying the scenic walkway of the garden of the morning calm |
I like how I felt like I was connected with nature when I was inside the garden. The elements of water, earth and plants are so powerful that it helps you forget about the busy world outside the garden.
the serenity of the garden of the morning calm |
Korea is big when it comes to preserving nature but not everyday you get the chance to stop and appreciate it. The garden has different sections you can enjoy. There are sections for trees, for flowers, for forest, for stones and for waters. I forgot how exactly they call it but yeah, all these and more, you can experience at the garden.
one of the interesting displays at the garden of the morning calm |
FOUR SEASONS.
I really appreciate the garden during the autumn, but apparently, the beauty of The Garden of The Morning Calm never fades all through the year. It is not only beautiful during the autumn, it finds a way to stay attractive and awesome in different seasons of the year. When we went there, the Chrysanthemums and fall foliage dominate the public eye because it was autumn.
Chrysanthemums and fall foliage festival at the garden of the morning calm |
Imagine how it looks like during spring. During this season, the garden celebrates the Spring Garden Festival where different varieties of flowers bloom. During summer, it’s the Festival of Roses, Hydrangeas and Roses of Sharon and on winter, they have the Lighting Festival where you can see the magnificent form of the garden when embedded with lights of different color and sizes.
And on that note, I am planning to visit the garden again at different season of the year. I think that would be very interesting.
END OF TRIP.
an old tree in the garden of the morning calm |
All in all, we enjoyed our visit in the garden. It was one sweet and memorable afternoon because we once again experience the beauty of autumn in Korea. It’s far but it’s worth the visit. We went out of the garden at around 5 in the afternoon because it was getting cold already. We also need to catch the last trip of the city tour bus so we could go back to the train station. There were a lot of people during our visit probably because it was the peak season for autumn, but it was fun. I can’t wait to go back this winter if I have the chance again to witness the Lighting Festival.
How many hours did you spend here?
ReplyDeleteWe had so much fun in this garden so we spent a good four hours here. But if you have other places to go like Nami and Petite France, you can spend around 2 hours, that's good enough.
DeleteHow you could go back to Seoul from this garden?
ReplyDeleteTake the tour bus or take bus 31-7 to Cheongpyeong terminal or Cheongpyeong Station (whatever you like), then from there, you can go to back to Seoul.
DeleteYou can also choose the Gapyeong Tour Bus @6000krw to Cheongpyeong Station (for 15-20 minutes travel)
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