Ravaged by floods, Gapyeong’s Yongchu Valley reopens its entire trail after repairs

Yongchu Valley, one of Gapyeong’s popular mountain destinations, will reopen its full 9.2-kilometer trail on September 11 after flood damage forced the route to close completely.

The valley was hit by extreme rainfall in July last year, when Gapyeong recorded 76 millimeters of rain in a single hour. Major sections of the trail washed away, while safety and visitor facilities were damaged. The entire route was then closed.

Gyeonggi Province began restoration work in April. To prevent further landslides and improve visitor safety, workers reduced the steepness of damaged slopes and used a method known as “stacking and anchoring,” which firmly secures natural stones in place. Retaining structures along the stream also used stone from the surrounding area. Workers connected the stones with wire to limit movement and reinforced only their rear sections with concrete so the structures could withstand intense rainfall.

The project focused on improving safety without changing Yongchu Valley’s existing scenery. The National Forestry Cooperative Federation carried out the work, drawing on its experience with disaster recovery, including repairs after the Umyeonsan landslide in Seoul. Before reopening, park staff entered the valley and removed about seven tons of wire, concrete and other debris left by the flooding.

The one-way walk takes about one hour from the visitor information center to the Jungsan-ri entrance and about two hours and 30 minutes to the end of the scenic valley trail. Lee Tae-seon, a Gyeonggi official, said the park had been restored to a safer condition than before the floods and that officials would continue inspecting the facilities.

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We have reopened the entire route after making Yeoninsan Provincial Park, a resting place for residents, safer than it was before the floods.