December 2021

The Yellow Dragon River
South Jeolla Province

Summary

Region: South Jeolla Province

Distance: 51.3 km

Time: 3 hrs

Difficulty: Easy

The *Yellow Dragon River - 황룡강 starts at Jangseong Lake - 장성호, not too far from the border between the North and South Jeolla Provinces.

It flows south through Jangseong City - 장성시, nicknamed the Yellow City. This section of the bike path goes along the site where they host(ed) the Yellow Dragon River Flower Festival, which I’d argue is one of the best festivals in the South Jeolla Province. Even though it hasn’t been held for a couple of years due to covid-19, the gardens along the way are still incredibly well maintained, and there are almost always food trucks on the trail who cater to the crowds of onlookers who come to look at the beautiful cosmos flowers, sunflowers, chrysanthemums, and pink mulley that bloom in early October. Needless to say, fall is the best time to do this trail.

It continues south and passes through West Gwangju and then Naju City, where the river merges with the larger Yeongsan River, one of the Four Great Rivers. Click the link to read more about it.

The Jiseok Stream, another tributary of the Yeongsan River, has a great bike path, too. Click the link to read more about it, too. Additionally, since we’re talking about the South Jeolla Province, take a look a this sample chapter from a book I wrote on cycling Aphae Island, which is in the Shinan Archipelago, not too far away from Jangseong.

Getting there

To start, you’ll want to head to Jangseong City. It is a cute little town. It has a train station, simply named Jangseong Train Station - 장성역; it’s on the Honam Line and has periodic bike-friendly trains that run up to Yongsan Station in Seoul and down south to Mokpo. It also has a bus terminal, Jangseon Bus Terminal. The bus terminal only handles routes up to Seoul or around the province.

From both places, you’ll head due west about one kilometer to get to the river. Then, you’ll want to ride 7.4 kilometers up north to the start of the trail. This place is 1.5 kilometer south of Jangseong Lake. To get to the actual lake, you do have to ride through a bit of hairy traffic, but it is a pretty site if you want to invest the time to ride up there.

There are several coffee shops, restaurants, and convenience stores in this area. Be sure to stock up on supplies here or in Jangseon City because there’s nothing else immediately on the trail until the very end.

Try these websites for booking tickets:

Starting the ride

After you get to the starting place just south of the lake, you’ll then double back and ride back down south to Jangseong City. As mentioned this section of the trail is incredibly beautiful, especially in the fall. You’ll probably have to stop a lot to take photos. Stay tuned for a future post I'm writing which is on the history of Korean dragons.

Keep going south. As you leave Jangseong, you’ll pass a small hobby airport. And the trail will gradually get more rural.

Midway

As you near the midway point, the garden atmosphere will slowly end, and it'll turn into more of rural countryside. There is some construction in this area, too (so maybe my GPX route has some mistakes. Sorry).

About ¾ of the way, the trail will abruptly stop and turn east across the river going over a small weir and an island park, known as Songsan Resort. You'll know you're here because you'll see this strange-looking walkway leading down to a weir (see Figure 2).

The walking path over the weir washed away, so you have to cut through the island park and walk to the eastern bank of the river over a footbridge.

Note that form this point, the next 6 kilometers will be very confusing. Immediately after the island, you’ll ride on the roadway for a short time, albeit on a sidewalk. You’ll see a bike path over the embankment. It doesn’t show up on Kakao Map, but you’ll want to head there. About 5 kilometers later, you’ll be near Honam University. It’s not immediately on the trail, but it is a nice detour because there are cheap restaurants nearby.

Figure 2: Stairs leading down to Songsan Resort

However, this area around what’s called Seonunjigu Park is incredibly confusing. You’ll see a skate / BTX park. You’ll want to head over the bridge to get to the southern bank of the river.

*Note: This area is near the subway and Gwangju’s Songjeong Train Station - 송정역; keep that in mind if you’re ready to head home.

Finishing up

Anyway, after that park, you’ll continue to head south on the southern bank of the river 11.5 kilometers until you reach Seungchonbo - 승촌보, one of the checkpoints on the Yeongsan River Bike Path. This area has a convenience store, parking, and camping (to make reservations, you use the River Guide website).

From there, you can ride on the Yeongsan River southwest to Mokpo or northeast to Damyang. You could also head home from Songjeong Station, *mentioned earlier.

*Language note: In Korean, dragon is 용. However, if that word is used with another, it changes to 룡. The more know...