Location: Dongducheon
Top Things to do in Dongducheon
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5 Things to Do in Dongducheon That You Shouldn't Miss
Dongducheon in South Korea, from Asia region, is best know for Sacred & Religious Sites. Discover best things to do in Dongducheon with beautiful photos and great reviews from traveller around the world here!
Restaurants in Dongducheon
1. Jajaeam Temple
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 18 reviews
Reviewed By kakos_theo - Dongducheon, South Korea
Soyosan is an amazing mountain hiking experience and Jajaem Temple is one of the first things you get to from where you start at the bottom. It's an ancient Buddhist temple, hundreds of years old although it was of course rebuilt several times, most recently after the Korean war. There are various temple complexes and a shrine occupying a cave in the mountainside right next to one of the breathtakingly beautiful Waterfalls that the mountain is known for.
There is an area outside the shrine to make offerings with water and candles and so on, and I believe monks currently live here and worship and maintain the area. In any event, you will see monks. The normal way to get here is to park at the base of the mountain, which you'll pay a couple thousand won for (about two dollars) and then I think once you start walking up the road that goes up the mountain you have to pay another thousand won per person to gain access to the temple complex. I don't think it's exactly wheelchair accessible, but the entire area and climbing experience is full of very sturdily built stairs so it's definitely a very approachable climb up to the temple area.
There is also a small Buddhist shrine near another waterfall that you'll pass getting up to the main temple complex, and then right after Jajaem temple is the rocky stairway that leads up to the trails that go to Soyosan's peaks. If your thing is just checking out ancient Buddhist temples and enjoying the peace and mystery and atmosphere, I would still recommend paying the entrance fees to get in, because it's worth it, and there are also many great restaurants and street vendors and so on around this area when the weather is good. But if you are fairly fit and can handle lots of stair climbing and some scrabbling around and up rocky paths, I would strongly recommend taking three hours or so to visit at least the nearest, shortest of Soyosan's peaks before leaving.
The entire mountain is breathtakingly beautiful, especially in the fall when the leaves are changing, but if you can only make it to the temple complex, it's worth a trip just for that.
2. Pocheon Art Valley
Overall Ratings
4 based on 37 reviews
A stone mountain, once an abandoned ans forgotten stone pit, has been recreated as a lake with rainfalls and streams flowing into it. You can enjoy culture and art Performances at the outdoor concert hall and dream of becoming an astronaut in the astronomical science hall with a beautiful view of starlit skies.
Reviewed By Bobby091 - Seoul, South Korea
This old quarry turned park is a great place to check out. It is a small park but very beautiful. There is a stage for Concerts as well as a little coffee shop on the grounds. A perfect place to just relax for a nice afternoon~~
3. Freedom Protection Peace Museum
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 12 reviews
Reviewed By kakos_theo - Dongducheon, South Korea
The Freedom Protection Peace Museum is at the base of Soyosan, one of the most popular outdoor mountain hiking/general recreation areas in Dongducheon. So if you are in the area long enough to get out and about, you should definitely head this way. You can actually take the Seoul Metro to the Soyosan station, which is the last, northernmost stop on Line 1, and walk basically across the street to this area. If you drive, I think you have to pay to park in the museum parking lot, or you could pay to park in the bigger parking lot closer to the mountain if you want to go hiking as well, or you could even not pay to park, I believe, and park somewhere along the street if a spot is available, and just walk to the museum.
The museum grounds are beautiful and they have some nice tanks and planes and artillery pieces scattered around, as well as a series of monuments for each country that helped South Korea during the Korean War. The museum itself is a fairly new and quite beautiful building situated on top of a little hill at the foot of Mount Soyo, from which you can see some amazing views of the surrounding area on a clear day. Admission is cheap, a few thousand won per person I think (a dollar or two), and the inside of the place is as amazing as the outside. They have lots of pictures of the surrounding area and Camp Casey and so on from during the Korean War, when everything was dirt roads and rice paddies and little huts, and they have some of them situated next to modern pictures taken from the exact same location and angle yet just in the last few years so you can see how dramatically the area has changed and become very developed and advanced.
If you are a war museum buff, like I am, you'll be in heaven because they have absolutely amazing pictures of the war and the fighting and the local area at that time, as well as some weapons and a nice hall displaying the various uniforms and equipment of all the different countries that came to South Korea's aid. There are other museum amenities such as a movie room and Libraries and various sculptures and so on that combine to make it quite a nice little museum. It's not like the National Museum in Seoul or anything huge and outrageous like that, but it's actually so well done that I believe even an unbiased normal person without a specific interest in history and war would find the place enjoyable.
4. Herb Island
Overall Ratings
4 based on 48 reviews
Reviewed By Paddington F
Quite a long journey out (abt 1.5-2hrs) travelling time by car.. The venue is not as interesting as expected, although pictures have colourful background, nice flowers n herbs. Bakery, herb experience are the little shops to pop by. Do download the Korea voucher for discounted entry fee.
5. Imjin Pub
Overall Ratings
5 based on 2 reviews
Reviewed By Fred A - Seoul, South Korea
This is a great place for adults who want to relax, listen to some rock and roll, and have a few drinks. The people here are very friendly and from every background to include bikers, businessmen, and university students. Everyone gets along well and there is absolutely no drama in the place. I recommend it if you don’t want the juvenile atmosphere of the Ville but you still want a place that feels like home.
