Gangwon State’s November travel picks: Pyeongchang Highland Kimchi Festival and Goseong’s Songjiho Sea Sky Road

【Financial News, Pyeongchang and Goseong = Reporter Kim Gi-seop】A travel itinerary has been recommended that lets visitors make kimchi themselves with highland produce at Odaecheon Stream in Pyeongchang and walk along a path over the East Sea in Goseong, enjoying the mountains and sea in late autumn.
According to Gangwon State and the Gangwon Tourism Organization on the 28th, the two organizations selected the Pyeongchang Highland Kimchi Festival in Pyeongchang County and the Songjiho Sea Sky Road in Goseong County as their recommended travel destinations for November. This month’s itineraries center on hands-on experiences and nature and ecotourism: Pyeongchang is promoting eco-friendly kimchi-making and mountain tourism, while Goseong is offering routes that pair the East Sea’s spectacular scenery with history and ecotourism.
The Pyeongchang Highland Kimchi Festival will be held from November 4 to 16 in the area around Odaecheon Stream in Jinbu-myeon, Pyeongchang County. The hands-on festival gives visitors the chance to make kimchi themselves using produce grown in Pyeongchang.
After exploring the festival grounds, visitors can ride the Balwangsan Mountain cable car to the summit and look out over mountain ridges colored by autumn foliage. Camping amid the pristine nature on the slopes of Gyebangsan Mountain and a variety of dishes made with trout raised in clear stream water also add to the appeal of a trip to Pyeongchang.
The centerpiece of a trip to Goseong is the Songjiho Sea Sky Road. Built over the East Sea, the path stretches to Jukdo Island, which is covered in dense bamboo forest. With land, sea and sky all coming together in one vista, visitors can also encounter traces of nature and history.
At nearby Songjiho Lake, visitors can take in the scenery created by the lake and pine forest, climb the Songjiho Observation Tower or take part in a beach cleanup to experience ecotourism. The Unification Observatory and the Korean War Experience Exhibition Hall are also places to reflect on the reality of division and the meaning of peace.
The Hwajinpo Marine Museum brings the East Sea’s marine ecosystem to life through digital exhibitions and a variety of hands-on programs. To stave off hunger during the trip, visitors can try makguksu, Goseong’s signature buckwheat noodles.
“Pyeongchang and Goseong are places where you can experience the mountains and sea of Gangwon State all at once in late autumn—from a highland kimchi-making experience and the views from the summit of Balwangsan Mountain to the Sea Sky Road leading to Jukdo and the Hwajinpo Marine Museum,” said Choi Seong-hyeon, CEO of the Gangwon Tourism Organization. “I recommend visiting the two areas this month to enjoy both hands-on experiences and ecotourism.”

[email protected] Kim Gi-seop Reporter