I had heard for ages that there was a cave in Gwangmyeong that makes for a good day out, and on this day I somehow ended up going.

On the way

It is a cave, so good weather does not really make a difference, but anyway.. the line of cars was so, so long. The road leading into the cave was jammed solid with them. Shouldn’t they add more lanes? was the thought that came to me. It was summer and the day was hot, so demand for a cool cave had probably exploded.

The experience hall

There is a hands-on space next to the cave, and since we had come all this way we stopped in. Doing only Gwangmyeong Cave ends the day too quickly, so visiting somewhere like this is a good idea.

Gemstones

Getting to see what the gems I knew from Minecraft really look like made it educational too.

Near the entrance

Once you have parked, everything after that is easy going.

The entrance

Gwangmyeong Cave is not a natural cave but a man-made one where all sorts of minerals were dug out, and after it was abandoned as a mine they turned the whole thing into a theme park.

The tank

There was even a robot fish.

The performance space

We rested here for a bit, and they were running an event.

A star decoration inside the cave

Some kind of monster..

Gollum..

The inside of the cave is fairly wide, but it is also deep. The stairway down is long, and every level you descend brings a different theme. That is fun and all, and the way it gets colder the further down you go is another point in favor of a summer visit. You do need to come prepared for the cold, though. But there really are too many stairs. It would not be easy going for older visitors.

The Hulk

Anyway, there was so much fun stuff that I came away satisfied. It was perfect for a hot summer day in particular.

Gwangmyeong Cave Korean Wines

Wines from all sorts of regions around the country are on display. I suppose the wine is here because it is a cave.

The wine tasting bar

So there really are this many wineries scattered all over Korea. It was fascinating, and it was not just the range of them but the fact that you can taste them that surprised me. I had company that day so I could not have a glass, but coming back another day to try a variety of wines sounds good. And if a tasting is good, buying a bottle to take home is nice too.

Gwangmyeong Cave was a wonderful place to spend half a day sightseeing somewhere cool in the hot summer. The idea of putting an abandoned mine to use is a good one, and I was fascinated by how they managed to display things like Gollum and the Hulk. It was a tourist spot anyone could enjoy, young or old.

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