[Joyongjun's Travel Journey] Untact (Contactless) Travel, Enjoying a Drive in My Car

Running along Imshil Okjeongho Local Road 749 - A Picturesque Premium Road to Shake Off COVID-19 Stress

The local road No. 749, winding along Okjeongho Lake, famous for its spring and autumn mist, is a popular lakeside driving spot. Okjeongho Lake and Road No. 749 as seen from Guksabong Observatory.

[Asia Economy, Cho Yong-jun, Travel Specialist] Usually around this time of year, the news of spring festivals from all over the country would be bustling. However, this year, all festivals have been canceled. There is hardly any peace of mind to even notice if the flowers have bloomed. This is the spring scenery of 2020 changed by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Social distancing, represented by a 'temporary pause' until the virus is eradicated, continues. We are just hoping COVID-19 will retreat quickly. The journey of travel is no different. With social distancing spreading, I cannot recommend going out for spring outings. Because contact with people can occur anytime and anywhere. So this week, it is an untact (non-face-to-face) trip. I took a drive route where you can enjoy the spring breeze while minimizing contact through non-face-to-face means. Using your own vehicle, you drive along famous spots or roads with beautiful scenery. There are many roads nationwide, but among them, I head to Imsil in Jeonbuk, which is quiet and full of healing. The local road No. 749, which runs along Okjeongho Lake, famous for its misty waters, is the destination. If you stop your car by the roadside while driving along the lakeside road and take a deep breath while looking at the lake, you will feel your blocked chest open up. If you have time, I also recommend climbing the Guksabong Observatory, where you can overlook Okjeongho. Don't forget to wear a mask.

Local road No. 749 connects Sanwoe-myeon in Jeongeup City, Jeonbuk, and Dongsang-myeon in Wanju County. Among these, Okjeongho, today's destination, appears right after crossing from Jeongeup to Imsil.

The Okjeongho lakeside road (11 km) is a scenery in itself. The road connecting Unam-ri and Maam-ri has perfectly curved bends, giving the illusion of being sucked into the lake. The picturesque road is the charm of driving, and the ever-changing scenery captivates travelers' hearts. Even driving leisurely, it takes only about an hour. Especially, this road was selected as one of the '52 Scenic Roads of Korea' by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. A 13 km walking trail along the waterway has also been created.

The lakeside road repeats uphill and downhill. Driving along the winding road reminiscent of a 'nine-bend sheep intestine' (a Korean idiom for a winding road), the low sunlight and sparkling waves create a postcard-like scene.

Opening the window and putting out your hand, the spring breeze touching your face and hand feels fresh. The stress accumulated from the suffocating life under a mask all day disappears in an instant. I open the window for a long time and slowly pass along the riverside road. The peaceful scenery is created as the rural villages such as Suam-ri and Bara Mountain overlap on the mirror-like water surface.

Okjeongho, adjacent to the road, is famous as a four-season tourist spot with cherry blossoms in spring and autumn foliage in fall. Although traces of winter remain, I look forward to driving along the cherry blossom-filled lakeside road in late spring after COVID-19 retreats. Park your car briefly on the roadside where the lake view is secured and take a rest. Appreciate the curved beauty created where the mountain slope meets the waves and do some stretching.

Okjeongho is also famous for its water mist. If it were not for COVID-19, photographers from all over the country would gather early in the spring mornings to see the mist.

To enjoy the water mist and the panoramic view of Okjeongho, you need to get out of the car. From the Guksabong Observatory parking lot located midway along the Okjeongho drive route, it takes about 15 minutes to climb up. From the three observatories installed on the way up Guksabong, you can enjoy the refreshing view of Okjeongho. The local road No. 749 you just passed winds between mountains and valleys. To reach the summit (5th peak) of Obongsan (513 m), where you can meet even more spectacular scenery, you need to hike about an hour from the observatory.

From the observatory, the view of 'Oeatnal' (Carp Island) floating at the point where Okjeongho's waterway curves from Ipseok-ri to Yongun-ri is breathtaking. The water mist rising here is famous.

Oeatnal became an island when the Seomjin River multipurpose dam was built in 1965, creating Okjeongho (Unam Reservoir and Galdam Reservoir). Residents call it 'Oeatnal,' meaning 'ridge of the outer mountain ridge,' but hikers started calling it Carp Island because it resembles a goldfish.

The water mist is fantastic, but the sight of Carp Island slightly revealed within the mist is also beautiful. When the fog clears, you can see the golden Carp Island sparkling in the sunlight.

After descending from the observatory and getting back in the car to drive along the lakeside road, the blue sky and the clouds that have not yet fully cleared are reflected in the lake, moving along with the car as a companion on the road.

In Imsil, there is also the fun of finding secluded and quiet scenery rather than noisy tourist spots. One such place is 'Tiger Rock' in Duryu Village, Hoam-ri, Sinpyeong-myeon. Tiger Rock is a rock carved into the shape of a tiger, with a round face and a smile showing all its teeth, reminiscent of the humorous tigers in folk paintings. Seeing it naturally brings a slight smile.

Tiger Rock is near the Duryu intersection in Hoam-ri, Sinpyeong-myeon, but it is hidden deep along a rice paddy embankment path, so it is hard to find without asking local residents.

The charm of the Seomjin River in Deokchi-myeon should not be missed. Among them, the scenery of the Seomjin River section from Cheondam Village to Gudam Village fully shows the original form of our river. The representative landscape of this section is on the hill with a zelkova tree at the end of the riverside road in Gudam Village, past Cheondam Village. The view of the Seomjin River waterway bending there is so moving it makes your heart ache. Also, there is Sangiam, where King Taejo Yi Seong-gye left the inscription 'Samcheongdong' after dreaming of a dragon washing its body following his prayer.

Imsil = Text and photos by Cho Yong-jun, Travel Specialist jun21@

◇ Travel Notes

△ Getting there =From the metropolitan area, take the Gyeongbu Expressway ~ Cheonan-Nonsan Expressway ~ Honam Expressway ~ Iksan-Pohang Expressway (Iksan Junction toward Jangsu) ~ Jeonju-Gwangyang Expressway (Wanju Junction toward Namwon) ~ exit at Imsil Interchange. After going from Imsil Station to Gwanchon Station intersection, turn left toward Sinpyeong-myeon and Unam-myeon. From Honam Expressway, exit at Taein Interchange.

△ Food =As the hometown of the Seomjin River, many restaurants serve freshwater snail soup (Dasulgi Tang, Dasulgi Sujebi). It is a clear soup with pumpkin and chive slices. Two noodle shops inside Gangjin Market are also popular. There are Halmae Noodle House and Haengun House, which serve medium-thick noodles (not thin somyeon) with fresh kimchi side dishes.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.