[One Day 10,000 Steps One Day 1,000 Characters] Opening of Gyeonggi Old Road Bonghwa-gil... From Hanam to Icheon

Gyeonggi Old Road is a new type of historical and cultural exploration trail that reveals the original form based on historical verification and connects local cultural heritage through walking paths.

During the Joseon Dynasty, there were transportation routes connecting Hanyang and the provinces. Among these, six major road networks passing through Gyeonggi-do started with Uijuro as the first route, followed clockwise by Gyeongheung-ro, Pyeonghae-ro, Yeongnam-ro, Samnam-ro, and Ganghwa-ro. The historical geography book "Dorogo (道路考)" written by the Joseon scholar Shin Gyeongjun contains detailed records about the Six Great Roads. Based on these records, the newly established path is the "Gyeonggi Old Road." The Gyeonggi Old Road incorporates storytelling elements such as local cultural heritage, folktales, legends, and place name origins throughout the route. It was created to connect cultural heritage sites, which had been isolated as points, into a line so that people can experience history and culture while walking the trail.

On November 11, citizens participating in the opening ceremony of the Gyeonggi Old Road Bonghwa-gil are walking along Bonghwa-gil.
[Photo by Gwangju City]

The Gyeonggi Old Road opened the Samnam-gil (Gwacheon to Pyeongtaek, 98.5 km) and Uiju-gil (Goyang to Paju, 60.9 km) in 2013, Yeongnam-gil (Seongnam to Icheon, 116 km) in 2015, Pyeonghae-gil (Guri to Yangpyeong, 133 km) in 2020, Gyeongheung-gil (Uijeongbu to Pocheon, 88.8 km) in 2021, Ganghwa-gil (Ara Gimpo Passenger Terminal to Ganghwa Bridge, 52 km) in 2022, and the seventh route, Bonghwa-gil (Hanam to Gwangju to Yeoju to Icheon, 138 km), was recently opened.

On November 11th, at the opening ceremony of the Gyeonggi Old Road Bonghwa Trail, Mayor Bang Se-hwan of Gwangju is delivering a greeting.
[Photo by Gwangju City]

On the 11th, the opening ceremony for the Gyeonggi Old Road Bonghwa-gil was held at Cheongseok Park in Gwangju City. Bonghwa-ro is a total of 138 km and is an exploration trail created to allow people to experience history and culture based on the Daedongjiji compiled by Joseon scholar Kim Jeong-ho. At the opening ceremony, about 500 participants including walking festival attendees and volunteers gathered to walk the third section of Bonghwa-gil, Neoreungo-eul-gil (Gyeonggi Gwangju Station to Gonjiam Station). Through the dedicated app for Gyeonggi Old Road, visitors can listen to audio guides about nearby cultural heritage and receive completion certification. However, this year, certification for Bonghwa-gil is only available via stamp certification, and app certification will be applied from February to April next year. A limited edition master badge will be given to 135 people in the order of completion.

Bang Se-hwan, mayor of Gwangju City, said, "We celebrate the opening of Bonghwa-gil, which contains the history and culture of Gwangju City where a thousand years of history breathes. We will make every effort to host the World Gwanak Conference in July next year and the 2026 Gyeonggi-do Comprehensive Sports Festival, and we will strive to make Gwangju a city of culture, arts, and sports, becoming a famous spot in Gyeonggi-do and, furthermore, a world-renowned destination."

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