천동굴

Cheondong Cave - Ch'ondong Cave - Danyangcheon Cave - Cheondong-gul


Useful Information

Location: 189 Cheondong-ri, Danyang-eup, Danyang-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do.
Ch'ondong-ri, Cheondong village, 4 km from Danyang town. From Danyang, pass Gosudaegyo (Bridge), turn right, 6 km.
(36.972910, 128.417990)
Open: All year daily 9-17.
[2022]
Fee: Adults WON 4,000, Children (10-18) WON 2,500, Children (0-10) WON 1,500.
Groups (+): Adults WON 3,500, Children (10-18) WON 2,000, Children (0-10) WON 1,200.
[2006]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst cave
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension: L=300 m, T=15 °C.
Guided tours: self guided, L=470 m, D=30 min, MaxWeight=220 kg, MaxSize=1.90 m.
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography:  
Address: Cheondong Cave, 189 Cheondong-ri, Danyang-eup, Danyang-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do, Tel: +82-43-422-2972.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

FEB-1977 discovered by an inhabitant of Cheondong village.
08-DEC-1977 cave designated regional monument No. 19.

Description

단양 천동굴 (Dan-yang Cheondong-gul, Danyangcheon Cave) or short 천동굴 (Cheondong-gul, Cheondong Cave). It is named after the village Cheondong, where it is located at, and the nearby town Danyang. The town, on the other hand, was called Saemgol or Cheon-dong because there was a spring in the middle of the village and formed a long water. It was discovered in 1977 by a villager or villagers, according to legend while chasing bats. We are not sure what they wanted to do with the bats, and if they ever got them. The cave was declared a National Monument in the same year.

Only 470 m in length this cave is famous for the delicacy and beauty of its speleothems. It is also narrow and or low at some points, according to the operators size of visitors is limited to 1.90 m height ein 220 kg weight. But actually the main obstacle is that this cave is rather vertical, there are numerous narrow staircases and narrow trails. But the visitors are rewarded by exceptional rimstone pools, calcite crystals and other speleothems.

The cave was originally hard to explore, there were numerous low passages which required crawling. It seems the first development was rather rudimentary, because the cave is still described as being narrow. Today there is a wide entrance tunnel which allows easy access, and the trails inside