Yeongam-Gun: Wolchulsan, History, and Gayageum

Yeongam-Gun offers travelers several distinct reasons to stay: the rocky landscape of Wolchulsan National Park, the history of Yeongam Fortress, and the traditional musical culture surrounding the gayageum. If you are looking for a hotel in Yeongam-Gun, it may help to decide whether you want to focus your stay on landscapes, history, or culture.

Wolchulsan: Rock Formations and Hiking Route

Distinctive rock formations shape the landscape of Wolchulsan National Park. Depending on the viewing angle, they can resemble human faces or animal shapes. The park’s natural diversity also includes more than 700 plant species and 800 animal species.

The main ridge trail in Wolchulsan National Park runs from the Cheonhwangsa temple site or Baramgyegok Valley, over the peaks of Cheonhwangbong and Gujeongbong, to Dogapsa Temple; the hike takes about six hours. Conditions may vary by season. If you plan to take this route, check the current situation in advance. A red suspension bridge on a route in the park is 120 meters high and 54 meters long. It offers a scenic view of Wolchulsan and of the fields and rice paddies below the mountain.

History and Musical Culture

The seated Buddha carved into the rock at Wolchulsan in Yeongam is a National Treasure of South Korea. It dates from the late Unified Silla period and is located in Hoemun-ri, Yeongam-eup.

Yeongam Fortress was the site of the Victory of Yeongam on May 25, 1555. General Yang Dalsa and Yeongam residents repelled Japanese pirates who had besieged the fortress during the Eulmyo Waebyeon. This precise date places the fortress in a specific chapter of Yeongam’s history.

The fortress wall is 2,010 meters long in total and extends through Dongmu-ri, Seonam-ri, Nampung-ri, and Yeok-ri in Yeongam-eup. About 400 meters remain today behind the Mudeung Apartment complex and behind the cathedral. The total length and the preserved section are different measurements: the first figure refers to the entire wall, while the second refers to the remains that still exist today.

The Gayageum Theme Park displays artifacts and materials related to the gayageum, a traditional Korean string instrument with twelve strings. Its focus is therefore on a specific instrument and the objects displayed alongside it—another cultural emphasis than fortress history and architecture.

Planning Your Stay

The park’s address is 280-43 Cheonhwangsa-ro in Yeongam-eup, Yeongam-gun. For planning your trip, the main ridge trail, at about six hours, gives you a specific time frame for a hike; the fortress history and the gayageum exhibition, by contrast, appeal to different cultural interests. This can help you decide whether a route or a cultural theme should be the focus of your stay before you look for hotels in Yeongam-Gun.

For the broader travel overview: Jeollanam-Do.