Discovering Danyang 🏞️🚶‍♀

As promised, the second leg of the 2 day trip to Jecheon and Danyang sponsored by Funday Korea Networks will now begin. Evidenced by the picture on the left, we got an early start to our morning as we could still see the morning mist rising from the surface of the water. We were first treated to an international-style breakfast buffet from our hotel and then headed straight for Dodamsambong (도담삼봉) but before embarking on the boat, we climbed the steps for a bird eye view of this point and were not disappointed.

There, we were told about the legend of this very rock which only made me more anxious to get a closer look around them as the view changes depending on your viewing angle. As the legend goes, these rocks emerging from the water represent a typical love triangle of ancient Korea between a husband, his wife and mistress. The biggest peak represents the husband, the smaller of the 2 peaks on either side of the husband represents the wife, and the other is the mistress. Legend states that the wife was not able to give birth to a son so the husband found a mistress to instead produce a son. This is why the wife's rock is further away from the husband than the mistress's rock as she has turned her back towards her husband. After hearing this story, we enjoyed the refreshing breeze for a little while longer before it became too cold. We then skipped back down to the traditional boat for our cruise around these little rocky islands.

As we sailed across the calm Namhan River (남한강), traditional Korean music emanated from the speakers onboard, adding to the traditional experience of the cruise. Along the river, we saw large and interesting rocky cliffsides on one side of the boat with sprawling mountain views on the opposite side of the boat. Upon approaching the rocky islands, the boat slowed so we could properly capture the majestic feature attraction of the river. At that very moment, a bird flew above the islands for the perfect shot, almost as if it was expecting our arrival. Indeed, it was a spectacular view from close range especially as the view from the shore, although breath-taking, provided a silhouette shot with a lot less detail. The tour took approximately 20 minutes in duration but it seemed a little bit longer.

After this tour, we quickly browsed the vicinity before heading on the bus for our lunch pit stop. This was no ordinary pit stop however. Lunch was served in grand style at the 충북단양맛집(a famous restaurant in Danyang). As Danyang is famously known for producing garlic in Korea, the garlic side dishes were in no short supply on our table. There was sweet, savory, spicy and every other combination of garlic you could possibly think of, was placed in our food. They were all quite good but in addition to this, there was so much more to choose from as the table was literally covered with a variety of dishes ranging from rice, vegetables, mushrooms, boiled pork and lettuce (보쌈), grilled fish and much more. From the pictures, you can see that I was not even exaggerating a little.

Interestingly, we were also taught to make a soup by adding broth to the remaining fried rice (누릉지) from our steaming traditional stone pots (돌솥). I was informed by our Funday Korea tour guide, Alesya, that this should be consumed at the end of our meal to aid digestion as we were having a big meal. She also mentioned that this is sometimes consumed by itself in the morning as a porridge as Koreans consider this rice and broth dish to be a healthy breakfast. We left this restaurant in the best mood, filled to the brim and ready for our next adventure. Thank you to this restaurant for their amazing service displayed in the loving form of bountiful and tasty side dishes. (진짜 잘 먹었습니다!)

As Danyang is a very small county, we were able to walk to our next destination which allowed us the opportunity to walk off some of the pounds we generously put on at the restaurant. The Danyang Story Centre (단양다누리아쿠아리움) was our next destination. This venue immediately reminded me of the similar immersive light display at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) which has been a recent attraction as early winter temperatures has now pushed most activities indoors. As we travelled through this indoor centre, the illusions also gave me the feel of the Trick Eye Museum in Hongdae but are distinctly different with respect to the artwork itself. Each room has very interactive displays that make for cute Instagrammable spots but also the virtual reality room encountered at the start, gives a surreal feeling that transports you from a sunset view to a garden of flowers to the milkyway in seconds with cool caressing breeze and sounds to help your imagination. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and is best enjoyed with a friend or two for sure for creating crazy, interesting group pictures.

Next on the agenda, we were taken to 단양강잔도, a small wooden walking trail at the edge of a cliff. Here we could enjoy the glistening riverside with a view of the bridges as well as our next destination, the Mancheonha Skywalk (만천하스카이워크). A cruise boat was also spotted on the river and I thought this would also be a perfect post-lunch time activity to relax for the afternoon. Many Koreans were using this scenic pathway as an exercise route and perhaps if I lived here, I might have done the same.

From what I have observed in my two and a half years in Korean, Koreans exercise in any weather and any place whether it be winter or summer, mountain, or park, you will always find them. I think I need to translate this energy into my life as well so that 40 years from now, I can also be as youthful as they are.

Again at the skywalk, we saw more exercising enthusiasts that sped past us as we casually made our way to the top. Before reaching the peak, there were several great viewing spots along this spiralling incline up to the top and I could not help but snap some shots for you guys to see. At the top, I thought the perfect pose would be a jump but there was a sign stating no jumping, so I had to refrain. In retrospect, it was probably for the best because it could probably be a bit risky to jump on glass right? Sometimes my mind ignores safety instincts so thank God for those signs. Haha. However, I took my chance to jump as soon as I stepped off the glass and the perfect shot was captured with the sun peaking through the metal architecture. I also could not hold back my Michael Jackson mood with the fedora hat style :P I bet you were almost fooled for a moment! haha

With some time to spare, we made our way to a nearby café called Mancheonha Sky Cafe (@11000ha.cafe) with a modern high-ceiling and amazing glass window view of the lake.

When I first visited, I was curious when I saw the numbers and now my slow Korean capabilities has kicked in and I finally get it! The dictionary defiontion of mancheonha (만천하) means the whole world so I think the name is trying to suggest that the great panoramic sky view you can get from this skywalk can make you feel like you are standing on top of the whole world. Separating into single syllables, 만 is ten thousand, 천 is one thousand and 하 is an abbreviated form for hectare so together it makes 11000 hectares. Finally, it makes complete sense! haha. We slowly sipped on our drinks and prepared for the long bus ride back to Seoul as we enjoyed the picturesque lakeside view. As we encountered some traffic on our way back, it took a bit longer to arrive than our quicker trip to Jecheon on Tuesday but it gave me ample time to review the footage I captured during this amazing two day trip. For sure, the next thing I am going to do is make a short video of this trip so stay tuned for the video coming next week! Danyang, although small, has enough to get you tired and is surely worth a visit if you still have not crossed this one off your bucket list!

See you on my next escapade! What should it be? Ice skating? Skiing? Sledding? Snowboarding? Winter hiking? Truthfully, I would like all of these options but first, let’s see what COVID-19 and my thesis allows! Until next time friends! 😊