Jiseok Stream
[South Jeolla Province]

However, the actual bike trail *starts Neungju – 능주.  At first, it follows the Gyeongjeon Train Line up near Hwasun – 화순, then it veers west and passes through Nampyeong – 남평, which is in Naju County – 나주군. Soon after that, it intersects with the Yeongsan River Bike Path at a large junction that requires being able to read a little Korean to avoid getting super lost.

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The trail is about 26 kilometers. It’s a very pretty trail, full of farmland, camping spots, and it’s nice and flat.

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Click here to download the GPX route information. 

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*I’ve only cycled as far south as Neungju where the main bike path ends. Farm roads follow the stream much further south down to its source, and there may be stretches with more bike paths – not sure.

 

Getting there

Bus. Neungju is a super small farming village. It doesn’t have its own bus terminal, just an express bus stop. So, getting here is a bit confusing. Times don’t show up online well, and the information here might be a bit outdated, but here is the main information.

• Gwangju U Square (to Gwangju, 08:15, 13:00, 19:20; to Neungju, unknown, but you likely get on a bus bound for Jangheung and get off at Neungju).

• Seoul Central City – Honam Line (to Seoul 08:45, 15:45, or on weekends 14:45, 16:45; to Neungju, 09:00, 15:30).

 

If you’re heading to Neungju, make sure you tell the bus driver to let you off at Neungju. He’ll only stop here for a moment and then move on. He’ll most likely remember since they don’t like stranding foreigners in the middle of nowhere.

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Train. Neungju does have a train station. It’s on the Gyeongjeon Line. It has once-daily trains that go far east to Jinju which is in the South Gyeonsang Province (to Jinju, 11:15; to Neungju, 08:38). And going the other direction, it has four daily trains up northwest to Gwangju Songjeong Station (to Songjeong, 07:42, 11:16, 15:46, 20:47; to Neungju, 06:07, 10:31, 15:41, 19:13). The train technically doesn’t allow bikes, but since it’s a slow Mugunghwa train, you might have pretty good luck getting on. Just be sure to board at the back of the train and smile real big.

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Try these websites for booking tickets:

• Kobus

• Bustago

• Korail

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Starting the ride

Once you make it to Neungju, take a moment to appreciate just how utterly rural the place is. Then head north to find the stream. Keep heading north. Pretty soon you will start moving west.  There will be some pretty rock-faced mountains, not terribly tall ones, but still pretty.

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Midway

The midway spot is a large camping area that goes along the stream, named Jiseok Stream Forest Park - 지석천 숲밭유원지. It can get a bit crowded on weekends, but it’s a really beautiful place to camp in this area. It's free to pitch a tent. There are nice restrooms here, too. Note that the trail gets a bit confusing in this area since the extended park area has several walking paths. Head to Nampyeong.

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Soon after that, you’ll reach Nampyeong. It’s a small town that is in Naju County. It’s got a good number of restaurants and coffee shops. The main street can get insanely bogged down with bad traffic because there’s nowhere to park, so people just park anywhere. Stop there for a meal and then keep heading west.

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Finishing up

After that, you’ll head through grasslands. Eventually, you’ll spot a junction with signs showing your different directions to go. The signs are only in Korean. You want to head to Seunchonbo – 승촌보, which is a checkpoint on the Yeongsan River Trail. From there, you can either head 30 minutes west to Naju or 30 minutes east to Gwangju. From those places, you can pretty easily catch a train or bus back home.