Chungju and Danyang: A 24 hour escape from Seoul

I’ve seen my fair share of soju-swilling partiers in this country (both Korean and foreign), but I wasn’t expecting to be greeted by a pack of them at 10.00am on a Sunday morning. I also wasn’t expecting them to be well over twice my age....

Our plan was to use the Chungju Lake ferry as a scenic way of getting across to Danyang, where there was a large cave to explore. A rather raucous Friday night had meant that we’d spent Saturday in Seoul nursing hangovers and had departed from Gangnam’s Express Bus Terminal on Sunday at the pretty painful hour of 7.30am. With only twenty four hours before we had to be back in Seoul, we were determined to make the most of our smog free surroundings and pack in as much in the way of scenic sights as we could. Now as we stood bleary eyed and queuing for tickets, the ‘adjosshi’ and ‘adjuma’ (older men and older women) of Korea had decided that Chungju was the place to be that morning. As we waited to board our ferry, they crowded onto the dock, trading cackles and squid flavoured snacks. Once on board, the party started in earnest and bottles of soju were cracked open with an impressive enthusiasm given the early hour. We felt rather staid refraining from knocking back shots out of paper cups and sipping on juice instead.


Clear and sparkling the water of the manmade lake is not, but the surrounding rock formations more than make up for that. Towering over the boat, they inspired the adjummas (who by now had made their way down to the lower deck for what can only be described as a midday rave to some pounding techno beats) to leap into a frenzy of photography.

The scenery reached a climax shortly before the boat arrived at the dock, although the entire ride was a relaxing and altogether delightful way to spend a few hours on a Sunday morning. By the time we arrived, the sun which had felt warm and soothing on the open deck of the boat was beating down fiercely and we were eager to make our way to Gosu Donggul, the large limestone cave. A few inquiries later, we discovered we’d actually disembarked a stop before Danyang which is apparently common practice when the water levels further across are too low. A short bus ride took us into the town, where we stopped for some lunch before heading on to explore the cave.


Gosu Donggul is about a fifteen minute walk out of Danyang, nestled in amongst some beautiful greenery. This is not the kind of cave where you crawl in and explore yourself-the inside has been filled with walkways, gangplanks and staircases which guide you around the interior. The cave is stunning, packed with delicate formations and fascinating features-however the sheer volume of people in the place can, at times, be overwhelming. The walkways become something of a human traffic jam and appreciating the scenic surroundings can be tough when you are being jostled from all sides. It wasn’t without some relief that we exited into the sunlit car park and made our way back over the bridge into Danyang to continue our journey.

Rock formations inside the cave

In order to make getting back into Seoul as easy as possible on Monday, we’d decided to head back to Chungju and spend the night there, leaving us perfectly placed to hop on an express bus back to Seoul the following morning. Three tired waegookin snoozed their way through the ride back to Chungju and stumbled dozily off the bus in search of what the Lonely Planet had proclaimed as ‘Chungju’s Flashiest Motel’-the Titanic. We were drawn in by the castle-like exterior which screamed ‘love motel’ and dumped our bags before heading out in search of food, eventually ending up in a pretty standard galbi restaurant.



Chungju on a Sunday night wasn’t the liveliest of places, but then that wasn’t really why we were there. Deciding to return to the motel for an early night, we reflected on a day of boat rides, drunken pensioners and fascinating scenery-twenty four hours out of Seoul well spent.







Transport: Buses run to Chungju from Seoul’s Express Bus Terminal and Dong Seoul Terminal and take around two hours. Chungju ferry terminal can be reached by bus 301 from the bus terminal, or by taxi (around 15,000). Buses from Danyang to Chungju run frequently and take around one hour thirty minutes. The ferry trip from Chungju to Danyang or Janghoe (the stop before) takes around two hours and costs approximately 20,000.



Gosu Donggul can be reached on foot from Danyang-cross the bridge and follow the signs (Hangul only).



Accommodation: There are several other love motels in the same neighbourhood as the ‘Titanic’. Most cost around 35,000 per room per night.



Nearby Attractions: The temple complex Gu-Insa, in Sobeaksan National Park, can be reached via a thirty minute bus ride from Danyang bus terminal. There are also several smaller caves in the area. From Chungju, the Suanbo Hot Springs are thirty minutes away.