Samcheok Miin Falls trail 90% built; 346m bridge and 2028 opening planned
Version 2: New reports add that the trail section is about 90% complete, name 2027 for the operating ordinance and second-half 2028 for opening, and give detail on the falls’ height and the surrounding gorge.
In short
Samcheok in Gangwon Province is pushing ahead with a 21.539 billion won project to build trails, a 346-metre suspension bridge and a 134-metre cliff path at Miin Falls in Dogye-eup, aiming to turn the former coal-mining area into a stay-type tourism hub. Kyunghyang Shinmun reported the trail section is about 90% complete, while the city says it will enact an operating ordinance in 2027 and begin operation in the second half of 2028.
Read the full story 2 min read
Samcheok in Gangwon Province said on 6 October that it is pushing ahead with the Dogye Miin Falls trail project, a tourism infrastructure programme in the former coal-mining Dogye area. The city said the site is at San 115-1, Simpo-ri, Dogye-eup, and that the total project cost is 21.539 billion won. [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]
According to the city, the works cover 2,401 metres in total: a walking deck and trail of 1,921 metres, a 346-metre suspension bridge and a 134-metre cliff path known as jando. Eight viewing areas are to be installed and the existing entrance reorganised so that visitors can take in the scenery safely and conveniently, the city said. [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]
Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that the trail section leading to the falls is currently about 90% complete. The same report said the upper part of the 30-metre falls had been difficult to reach because of a steep slope, and that the bridge and trail are expected to make the surrounding rock formations easier to view. [ 5 ]
The city plans to enact an ordinance in 2027 for operating the tourist site and to carry out the remaining construction stages so that completion and operation begin in the second half of 2028, according to Yonhap and Kyunghyang Shinmun. [ 3 , 5 ]
Kyunghyang Shinmun described the location as Tongni gorge, on Tongni-jae between Samcheok and Taebaek. It said the gorge is formed of red sedimentary rock, stretches 10 kilometres and is nicknamed “Korea’s Grand Canyon” for geological features compared with the Grand Canyon in the United States, and that the area around the falls is popular with photographers. [ 5 ]
Choi Yong-cheol, head of the city’s Coal Industry Transition Region Project Division, was quoted by Yonhap as saying the falls are “an important tourism resource that can create new tourism demand by using the natural environment of the former mining area”, and that the city would build a stay-type tourism base so that it leads to local economic revitalisation and an inflow of living population. Kyunghyang Shinmun quoted a city official using the same wording, without naming the official. The reports describe the aim of linking the trail with other tourism resources in Dogye and of increasing the time visitors spend in the region, thereby encouraging spending there. [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]
Why it matters
The documents present the project as a way to convert a former coal-mining district’s natural scenery into new tourism demand and longer visitor stays. If it opens as scheduled in the second half of 2028, Dogye-eup would gain a large piece of tourism infrastructure intended to link nearby attractions and keep spending inside the region.
Key facts
- The site is at San 115-1, Simpo-ri, Dogye-eup, Samcheok, Gangwon Province. [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]
- The total project cost is 21.539 billion won. [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]
- The works total 2,401 metres: a 1,921-metre walking deck and trail, a 346-metre suspension bridge and a 134-metre cliff path (jando). [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]
- Eight viewing areas are planned and the existing entrance will be reorganised. [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]
- Kyunghyang Shinmun reported the trail leading to the falls is about 90% complete. [ 5 ]
- The city plans to enact an ordinance in 2027 for operating the site and to begin operation in the second half of 2028. [ 3 , 5 ]
- The city says the trail is meant to be a stay-type tourism hub linked to other attractions in the Dogye area. [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The project’s total cost is 21.539 billion won. [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]
- The works cover 2,401 metres in total, comprising a 1,921-metre trail, a 346-metre suspension bridge and a 134-metre cliff path, plus eight viewing areas and a reorganised entrance. [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]
- The site is at San 115-1, Simpo-ri, Dogye-eup, Samcheok. [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]
- The city plans an operating ordinance in 2027 and completion and the start of operation in the second half of 2028. [ 3 , 5 ]
- The city says the aim is a stay-type tourism hub that links Dogye-area attractions and revives the local economy. [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]
Still unclear
- How the 21.539 billion won is funded and whether any of it comes from central or provincial budgets. None of the documents names a funding source.
- Whether the roughly 90% figure covers the whole project or only the trail section leading to the falls. Kyunghyang Shinmun attributes the figure specifically to the trail construction, and no other document gives a progress rate.
- How many visitors the city expects or what economic effects it projects. The documents state the goal of longer stays and local spending but give no targets or forecasts.
- The substance of the Newsis report on the falls project. The article text attached to the Newsis item is about a Supreme Court hearing and does not match its headline, so only its headline framing can be used.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Asia Economy reports the Samcheok project, citing the 346-metre suspension bridge, the trail and the 21.539 billion won budget. [ 2 ]
- Yonhap reports the city is accelerating the project and adds the planned 2027 ordinance and second-half 2028 completion and operation. [ 3 ]
- Newsis headlines the falls as a Dogye stay-tourism base. [ 4 ]
- Kyunghyang Shinmun reports the trail section is about 90% complete and describes the falls and Tongni gorge. [ 5 ]