[One Day Ten Thousand Steps, One Day One Thousand Characters] Becoming a Barefoot City... Wonju's First Opening Shot

On Course 1 of the Chiaksan Dullegil Trail in Wonju, called Kkotbatmeori-gil, there is the burial site of Master Un-gok Won Cheon-seok, where you can walk barefoot through the premium pine forest path known as Ungok Solbaram Forest Trail. Master Un-gok Won Cheon-seok was a childhood teacher of King Taejong of Joseon and played a significant role in spreading Neo-Confucianism. The Ungok Solbaram Forest Trail is 2.7 km long, entirely covered by a dense pine forest, making it a place where people of all ages can comfortably walk barefoot. Barefoot walking is known to help improve blood circulation and boost immunity through acupressure effects.

Wonju City, which declared itself the "City of Barefoot" and "City of Trekking," hosted the "1st Wonju Barefoot Walking Festival" on September 2. Over 500 participants walked barefoot along approximately 3.5 km of fragrant pine forest trails, including routes from Wonju Eol Education Center Parking Lot to Ungok Won Cheon-seok Burial Site, Ungok Pass, and Dolgae Samgeori, enjoying forest bathing after the opening ceremony and trekking city proclamation. The festival reached 500 participants within three days of registration opening, with 230 applicants coming from other regions. The event also featured performances, face painting, and barefoot games as side activities.

The scene of the "1st Wonju Barefoot Walking Festival" held on the morning of September 2 in the Ungok Solbaram Forest Trail area, Haenggu-dong, Wonju City.
[Photo by Wonju City]

Won Kang-su, Mayor of Wonju, said, "It is very meaningful that we have taken the first step toward becoming the birthplace of trekking cities," adding, "Next year, we will return with richer programs at new barefoot walking spots."

Earlier, in July, Wonju City became the first in the nation to declare itself a "Trekking City" and decided to actively promote itself as a healthy and tourist city through trekking. Wonju has developed over 50 walking travel courses totaling more than 600 km, including Chiaksan Dullegil, Wonju Gubi-gil, Seomgang Birch Forest Dullegil, and Innovation and Enterprise City Dullegil, along with urban park forest trails.

Citizens visiting Ungok Solbaram Forest Trail in Haenggu-dong, Wonju-si, are walking barefoot.
[Photo by Wonju-si]

Wonju plans to brand itself as a "City Good for Barefoot Walking." The city will select barefoot-friendly courses easily accessible to citizens, such as urban forests and parks, and expand convenience facilities by maintaining the courses and installing foot-washing stations. It will also cooperate with the Wonju Office of Education to promote barefoot walking within local schools.

Through theoretical and practical education on proper barefoot walking, Wonju will open a "Barefoot Walking Instructor Course" to train leaders equipped with the skills and capabilities to guide barefoot walking. The city plans to encourage participation from various institutions, including public organizations in the Innovation City, and run campaigns to create a broad civic movement.

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