[Travels in My Country #4][Inje] Wondae-ri Birch Forest

Hi!
I am a travel writer living in Korea.
I have published three books so far and have been posting travel related stories and information at Steemit.In a bid to introduce Korea to the Steemians living abroad,
I would love to tell you episodes about traveling in Korea.
In addition, I am going to share stories about hotels including those in other countries.
I hope you show many interests in the stories of my country.
Thank you!

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In between the countless birch,
I cannot count one's depth.

She's been asking to go see birch for the longest time so we headed to Inje to satisfy her wish. This place is known as a difficult destination to reach with public transportation. It actually takes about 3 hours of bus ride to Inje but I got on a town bus from the terminal and got off at a place without any bus stop signage. On the road sign, Wondae-ri Birch Forest can be seen.

There is a parking lot at the entrance so it would be convenient to drive here. But Gangwon-do is still so far away. Birch forest can be seen after tracking for about 40 minutes. The place has such clean air. The ambiance of the mountain and the cold breeze cleared up my lungs. When climbing up the mountain track, white birch can be seen around from time to time.

One cold winter day.
Frozen water.

There were less people because I went during the weekdays. When the weather becomes warmer and during the weekend, I suspect more tourists will visit. The surroundings as well as my mind found quietness. Maybe it was lack of the people around. There are different tracks to the birch forest, so you must calculate the time well. It's a good idea to ask one of the staff at the entrance because they help visitors on tracking time for their climbing. December as standard, visitors who arrive at 4pm are not prohibited to go climbing due to the sunset.

1 Day 2 Nights filming site.

They must've filmed the Television show here. I actually visited not knowing of this but I am sure many tourists came after watching the show. When you see this sign, the true birch forest will continue down the staircase. I finally arrived.

The birch makes me feel as if I am in a totally different world.

The few birch I saw while climbing, was only the beginning. The moment I entered the birch forest, I was speechless. I felt overwhelmed by the greatness of nature. Tightly branched out trees caught my attention for some time.

The birch look as if they are wearing white clothes

The forest has been preserved well so far, but I worry that it might be damaged even just a little when tourists starts increase.

This is amazing!
How could there be so many birch here?

When people arrived at the forest, they were all astonished. It was a very cold day but I managed to stay for over one hour long. Just staring at one tree is enough. It felt like I am inside a picture at an art gallery. I enjoyed the moment

When I need to get my mind off of things,
when I need strength from the nature,
I will return to this place again.
The inconvenience of long commute was nothing, compared to the reward I received.

Address: Wonnam-ro, Inje-eup, Inje-gun, Gangwon-do

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This story is translated by @ciceron.
@ciceron help steemians to break language barrier.

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◈ Travels in my country by Writer Kim

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#1. [Seoul] A Cultural Space for People. Olympic Park

#2. [Suncheon] A Path Along Suncheon Bay Garden

#3. [Suncheon] Strollilng in Suncheon Drama Film Set

#4. [Inje] Wondae-ri Birch Forest