Pocheon Art Valley in Pocheon, South Korea

I wanted to explore a different area in April, so I decided to research some day trips out of Seoul. I had already been to Paju with my fiancé to see Hyeri Art Village. This time I wanted to explore a different city, so I decided to go to Pocheon. There are two places to visit according to some blogs that I read. You can go to Pocheon Art Valley or Herb Island. Herb Island was described as a garden filled with old amusement park rides that were dilapidated after not being used for a long time. One blogger said the only time you would enjoy it would be spring when the flowers were in bloom and it wouldn't feel so creepy. The fact that the place was described as creepy made me turn my attention to the Pocheon Art Valley. I saw some great pictures of a lake surrounded by carved rock quarries. With me being a lover of photography, I chose to go there.

To Get There: Go to Gangbyeon Station (Dongseoul Bus Terminal) and buy a ticket for Pocheon. The cost is ₩6,400. Once you arrive at the terminal, turn left and walk to Pocheon City Hall. Walk for about 5-8 minutes (pass one intersection) and it will be on the same side of the street as the bus terminal. Wait for the 87-1 bus and take that. It comes once per hour.

Once you get there, you can either walk up the VERY steep hill or you can take a tram to the top. You can either pay for a one-way trip up or a round trip ticket. I bought a round trip ticket after but I walked down the hill later since I wanted to take pictures as I was was descending down the hill. Here's a view of inside the tram. The window was tinted, hence the yellow shade of the picture.



Once I got to the top, you can see a planetarium for children in the distance. There are four interesting figures playing musical instruments. Since this place has a modern art, you can make your own guesses as to what these animals are.




Here's another look at some unique modern art as you approach the planetarium. At least this one is a bit cuter and makes a little more sense. ;)



I went inside the planetarium. There were about four rooms to access. It wasn't very big and it it will take you about 30-45 minutes to walk through it. Here's one view of it:



After I got out of there, I thought it was the end of the Pocheon Art Valley and then I realized that I had seen that beautiful lake in the pictures and wasn't sure where it was. Then I found out that I had to veer off to the left from the planetarium and lo and behold, I found it. It was definitely a sight for sore eyes to see. It was a trek to get to this place, but it was totally worth it.

 



Once you make your way around the lake, you'll see a cafe and a little igloo made up of plastic makgeoli bottles. Inside it was one makgeoli bottle. It was definitely weird and unique.





Your last stop will be an array of modern art on the top of the hill. Some of it was cool and some of it was your typical "interesting" modern art. My favorite one was this. It's a map of South Korea on stone with the DMZ line in the middle. You can see a small tree as you look through the art.



Finally, I walked down the steep hill, and then took a bus back to downtown Pocheon. There is a ticket office behind the island as you get off the bus. Look for :매표소 . 

You will pay another W6,400 to get back to Gangbyeon Station.

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy