When you were little, did you ever look up into the starry night sky and dream about it? Did you ever close your eyes after seeing a shooting star and make a wish? Today, it’s true that it has become ‘practically impossible’ to see stars in the night sky because of all the bright city lights and the polluted atmosphere.

In northern Gyeonggi, a region that boasts a well-preserved natural environment, you’ll be able to find beautiful evening hotspots featuring stars clearly visible in the night sky. Shall we go and find out where in Gyeonggi Province you can travel to if you want to see stars shining brightly in the sky?

1. Art Valley Astronomical Science Museum

(Image source: Chang Hye-ri’s Social Locker)

Known as a comprehensive cultural venue, Pocheon Art Valley is an up-and-coming landmark in Pocheon that incorporates an abandoned stone quarry. This abandoned stone quarry, with what appeared to be a patch of useless land, was developed into a venue for culture and art.

The Astronomical Science Museum, from which people can observe stars in the night sky, has opened in Pocheon Art Valley. The museum is attracting many people as a place to observe stars in the clear sky of Pocheon, a city in northern Gyeonggi renowned for its pristine natural environment.

The Art Valley Astronomical Science Museum has been designed so as to enable visitors to engage in activities on each floor. The first floor offers features through which visitors can learn about the Earth we live on including its birth and structure. If you walk up to the second floor while enjoying the Hubble Space Telescope, you can experience the constellations of each season via a motion sensor system. Visitors can learn about the planets in our solar system as well as different types of space telescopes; this is something they can’t see on an everyday basis. They can also see stars using an infrared system and space voyage simulator.

Additionally, the planetarium – which shows 4D stereoscopic image and constellations – offers nine shows a day. Visitors who wish to participate in these sessions can receive free tickets on the first floor. There are six telescopes on the astronomical observatory on the rooftop. You can observe the sun and other celestial bodies, so I’d recommend a visit if you want to really learn about stars rather just look at them.

(Source: Art Valley Astronomical Science Museum Website)

You can take a cyber tour via the Pocheon Art Valley Astronomical Science Museum website before you go, so please take a look.

Website: http://astro.pcs21.net/

2. Sanjeong Lake

 (Image source: Gyeonggi Tourism Organization (web portal))

Sanjeong Lake is one of the most famous lakes in northern Gyeonggi. It was named ‘Sanjeong’ because the lake resembles a ‘well (‘jeong’) in the middle of a mountain (‘san’)’. Originally an irrigation reservoir built in 1925, it’s beautiful scenery surrounded by beautiful rocky mountains helped it become a major vacation spot.

Accordingly, Sanjeong Lake is known as a mecca for water sports and as an ice sledding venue in winter. It’s a great destination for family vacations. In addition, the area offers great access to restaurants near Sanjeong Lake as well as tourist destinations like the National Arboretum and Herb Island. Therefore, it’s a nice vacation spot for you to visit.

Not only that, you can enjoy the beautiful scenery at night, which is as beautiful as the view during the day, and starts in the sky. A combination of the lake and starlight in the night sky… Isn’t that so romantic?

(Image source: Gyeonggi Tourism Organization (web portal)) 

Website: http://www.sjlake.co.kr/

3. Herb Island

Herb Island began as an herb garden in Pocheon City back in 1998, but has now become a tourist attraction with a wide range of things to see and enjoy including an indoor herb garden, outdoor garden, herb restaurant, and herb café. At the ‘Herb Village’, you can enjoy herbal flowers such as rosemary, lavender, geranium, and jasmine all year long.

The reason why Herb Island’s nightscape is so beautiful is because it hosts a Light Festival featuring three million lights from November to March. The colorful glittering lights on the ground and stars in the sky create a beautiful scene you won’t forget. 

I recommend that you visit Herb Island, where you can enjoy the indoor garden with numerous herbs and taste various dishes using a wide range of herbs on a sunny spring day, and take in a beautiful nightscape during the night.

 (Image source: Gyeonggi Tourism Organization (web portal), Writer: esilvia)

Website: http://www.herbisland.co.kr/

4. Hantangang River Tourism District

 (Night view of the Hantangang River auto campsite, source: Hantangang River campsite)

The Hantangang River tourism district (located in Jeongok-ri, Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province) is a well-known vacation spot since being designated as a tourist location in 1977. In particular, it was reorganized as an eco-friendly, family culture, and recreational tourist location with close ties to projects to take advantage of the region’s historical and cultural attractions since restoration of the prehistoric site in 2005.

With the Hantangang River auto campsite stretching 1.5km between Hantangyo Bridge and Saranggyo Bridge, the Hantangang River tourist district offers plenty of attractions including shops, sport fields, an outdoor concert hall, places for water games, a children’s character hall, and Hantangang River Children’s Traffic Land. It offers so much that a single day isn’t enough.

In particular, hidden locations that hold geological significance and the beauty of stars in the clear night sky near Hantangang River, which begins in Pyeonggang County in North Korea and flows all the way through Cheolwon County and Pocheon City to reach Jeongok-ri, are more than enough to impress you. I recommend that you stop at different spots along Hantangang River and put the cherry on top of your trip to Hantangang River looking at the stars at night. 

5. Yumyeongsan Mountain natural Recreation Forest

 (Source: Gyeonggi Tourism Organization (web portal), Writer: Gangbuknyeo)

Opened in 1989, Yumyeongsan Mountain natural recreation forest is a tourist destination inside the entrance of the Yumyeongsan Mountain valley. More specifically, it’s located in Gail-ri of Seorak-myeon, Gapyeong County. The recreation forest, featuring a natural forest zone with oak trees as well as an artificial forest zone with larches and nut pines, invites visitors to enjoy the soothing scenery and a walk through the forest.

Also, the uniquely shaped rocks, the valley, and other things to see in the forest surrounding the hiking trail show you the joy of visiting the forest. Moreover, the forest offers the perfect break from your exhausting day with a romantic log cabin as well as amenities like an auto campsite, a place for forest therapy, a campfire site, and an exercise zone.

At night, you can enjoy the nightscape under the skylight inside the forest full of tall trees, so I recommend a trip to Yumyeongsan Mountain natural recreation forest this weekend!

Website : http://www.huyang.go.kr/forest/contentIntro.action?dprtmId=0101

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