There are many Yongso Falls in Korea, two in fact are quite close to our Serpent's Tail Tour.
The Serpent's Tail Tour was our most popular canyoning trip, last year - probably because it is the closest and most accessible from Seoul. The tour however, does not feature any real jumps - and certainly not in low water conditions.
With this in mind, we've been looking at a way of introducing this almost essential element of canyoning tours into our Gapyeong offering.
Yongso Falls, on the Gapyeong stream, is a venue we first visited back in 2015. At the time, it was the third and final spot we visited on that day, and whilst it offered the widest selection of jumps, our enjoyment was spoiled a little by the way the riverside was treated by other users. We were lucky to have it to ourselves then, owing to some foul weather, but there was a lot of trash.
Yesterday, we returned to Yongso, to explore the option of adding it as an optional, additional extra on the Serpent's Tail Tour. It is within 10 minutes drive, on the way back towards Gapyeong, so there is no real inconvenience. It certainly gets busy in Summer, but if jumps are what you are after, then it does deliver.
Unfortunately, there has been no improvement in how the venue is treated over the years. We found a lot of trash - and government banners warning of the dangers of swimming were numbering into ridiculous digits.
Discarded on the beach were also some lifejackets - that are freely loaned by the local government on the assumption that they are returned. This lack of respect and care is very saddening.
We do think we'd like to use this venue. Our plan is to return and do a thorough tidy up - and possibly open up a dialogue with the local government.
We just wish the local business took more of a lead to tidy this place up. We have watched the carpark triple in size over the years, and we've seen new pensions spring up, but whilst people seem happy to profit from the natural beauty of the area, they seem less willing to protect it.
As we develop the tour, we'll keep you up to date with the news.
Comments