Just north of Seoul lies the city of Pocheon and it’s Art Valley, a previous quarry that provided building materials for inner city projects. After being abandoned, the city launched a regeneration project in 2005 to turn it into the culture and arts space we can visit today.
Entrance to the area was 17,000W for 2 people, including the price of the monorail! I would advise taking the monorail to the top and working your way down – the whole valley is built on a mountain so wear comfortable walking shoes!
A map of the valley 
Admission ticket
The monorail is quite small but comfortable, and air conditioned for summer months! (and of course it wouldn’t be Korea without a cute character assigned to it!)
At the top of the park is a little area with some sculptures and the astronomical science centre, which unfortunately was closed when we went due to the pandemic. There is a lot of art around to see so it was still nice to have a little stroll around!
Walking just a minute down the mountain will take you to the main event: Cheonjuho Lake!
Pocheon Art valley has been part of the setting for many Korean dramas, including Melting Me Softly (2019); My First First Love (2019); Hwayugi (2017-18); Legend of the Blue Sea (2016-17); Moon Lovers (2016) and Can You Hear My Heart (2011) (Source), so it is a very popular attraction for tourists who enjoy watching dramas!
The main attraction of the valley is Cheonjuho Lake (which despite being shown on tv, visitors are not allowed to enter to protect the water and wildlife, so please don’t pack your swimsuit)
The beautiful spring water lake is surrounded by towering cliffs of granite, and really can’t be done justice with a camera!
There are two ways to view the lake: The front view as you see here, and there is also a small viewing platform at the back right near the cafe!
Right next to the lake is a staircase you can climb up to get to the Sky Park. This will allow you a different view of the lake, as well as a beautiful view of the surrounding countryside! The park also has a little garden atop it with some benches for a little rest if you need it.
From there you can head back down the big staircase, or if you’re a little braver you can go for the quicker route to the cafe, down some very narrow winding stairs down the side of the cliff. We chose the latter!
The cafe at the bottom is quite small, but it was easy for us to get a seat once we arrived. The drinks were about the same as other places in Korea but honestly nothing fancy.
From there we headed out to make our way back down to the entrance. All in all it was a nice trip out but the place is quite small (I think maybe we spent just over an hour there?) There was a little sculpture park where the roses were all blooming nicely and a couple of koi in the lake!
Getting to the area is quite easy by car, however it could be quite difficult by public transport so keep an eye out for trips on sites such as Trazy!
A Slice of Korea 