대금굴

Daegeumgul - Transverse Flute Cave


Useful Information

Location: Daei-ri, Singi-myeon, Samcheok-si, Gangwon-do.
Expressway 65 exit Pyeongjeon-Dong, National Road 38 towards Taebaek, after 20 km at Daepyeong-ri towards Gangwonnambu, then left and up the valley. Signposted.
From Tong Seoul Bus Terminal take a Samchok-bound bus, a 4:50 ride. At Samchok, take a bus to Taei-ri (55 minutes).
(37.323367, 129.018394)
Open: Only by reservation. ExplainPost-pandemic Aftermath
MAR to OCT daily 9-17.
NOV to FEB daily 9:30-16.
Closed 18th every month.
Tour every 30 minutes.
Reservation for the following month starts on the 1st every month at 10:30.
Please arrive at the ticket office 30 minutes before the reservation time.
[2022]
Fee: Adults KRW 12,000, Children (13-18) KRW 9,000, Children (7-12) KRW 6,000, Children (0-6) free, Disabled KRW 6,000, Soldiers KRW 6,000, Seniors (65+) KRW 6,000.
Groups (30+): Adults KRW 10,000, Children (13-18) KRW 8,000, Children (7-12) KRW 5,000, Soldiers KRW 5,000.
[2022]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst Cave
Light: LightIncandescent
Dimension:  
Guided tours: L=1,600 m, D=90 min.
Monorail: L=610 m, VR=200 m, Max=40, D=7 min.
Photography: forbidden
Accessibility:  
Bibliography:  
Address: Daeyi Cave Tour Center, 800, Hwanseon-ro, Singi-myeon, Samcheok-si, Gangwon-do, Tel: +82-33-541-9266, Tel: +82-33-541-7600, Fax +82-33-541-7181.
Daegeumgul, Gangwon-do, Samcheok-si, Singi-myeon, Daei-ri San 25, Tel: +82-33-541-1330 (English 한국말 - Korean Japanese Chinese).
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

15-JUN-1966 Daeiri Karst Area including the cave was designated a National Monument (#178).
2000 cavers begin search for the cave.
25-FEB-2003 cave discovered.
01-NOV-2004 permission by the Cultural Heritage Administration, begin of development as a show cave.
20-JUN-2006 cave officially named 대금굴 (大金窟, Daegeumgul).
05-JUN-2007 opened to the public.

Description

대금굴 (Daegeumgul, Transverse Flute Cave) is the youngest Korean show cave, discovered in 2000 and developed to open in 2007. Modern cave development tries to protect the cave as much as possible. The development took almost seven years, for four years the cave was excavated to rescue the archaeological and paleontological content. Then the actual development with trails and electric light took three years. As a result this cave is visited on a monorail system with 42 seats, which results in a maximum number of 720 visitors daily. The ride takes 10 minutes and brings visitors to the cave entrance and through a 140 m long tunnel into the Waterfall Chamber. Here the train ride ends and the underground tour starts.

The tour follows the 730 m long main passage, which is a fossil passage with a wealth of speleothems including stalactites, stalagmites, cave coral, and cave pearls. The tour ends at an underground lake, 60 m long, 30 m wide, and 9 m deep.

Daegeumgul is named after the Daegeum, a large bamboo flute, a transverse flute which is a traditional Korean instrument. Visitors have to pre-book online, unfortunately the official website is only in Korean, as well the tours. The park also has a visitors center with two exhibitions, called Cave Mystery Hall, Cave Exploration Hall. They are located at the Expo Town.

The existence of the caves was rather obvious, there are numerous karst caves in the area and during high water levels, after heavy rains or in spring, a thundering sound was emanated from underground. The reason for this sound was a wild river in an underground passage which was only partly filled, otherwise there would be no sound. Such a passage would be mostly air filled during times of low water level. The cavers got permission from the mayor of Samcheok, Kim Il-dong in 2000, and started to search for cave entrances. They started to dig in very promising places, but it took three years, and they were about to give up. On 25-FEB-2003 they actually opened a shaft, and after descending 100 m they reached a river passage with a 20 m high waterfall and named it Waterfall Chamber. The cave was explored through this natural entrance, and even the underwater passages behind the lake at the end of the passage were explored by cave divers. As it was not possible to enter the show cave down a 100 m high shaft the tunnel into Waterfall Chamber was built.