We began our exciting trip with a visit to the famous Hwacheonhyanggyo Local Confucian School. Situated near the Hwacheon Bus Terminal, this is one of the best places to visit.

Front view of the beautiful Hwacheonhyanggyo Local Confucian School

From the Parohohanok Pension, it takes only 40 minutes by foot. So, we went there by foot and enjoyed the panoramic view of the Bukhangang River on our way. Hwacheonhyanggyo Local Confucian School is said to have been built as Nangcheonhyanggyo Local Confucian School at the beginning of the Joseon Dynasty, but the exact date of establishment is unclear. In the 14th year of the reign of King Yeongjo (1738), it was rebuilt by Kim Simin. After that, several repairs were made. It was totally burnt down by fire during the Korean War in 1950. It has been restored to its present condition in 1975. The semiannual services in honor of Confucius are performed on May 11th and September 28th by the solar calendar. It was indeed one of the best places to visit for our trip in Hwacheon.

Historic background board of Hwacheonhyanggyo Local Confucian School by Gangwon-do Cultural Organization

After spending one and half hour we came back to hotel. While the hotel staff was very polite, helpful, and welcoming, we enjoyed the rest of the day by enjoying barbecue and sightseeing and revived our energies for the next day.

On the morning of the 2nd day, we checked out from our hotel and left our journey to Sancheoneo Coffee Museum located nearside Hwacheon Bus Terminal. It generally takes a 30-35 minute walk from Parohohanok Pension to the museum.

Different types of coffee maker and coffee pot inside the museum

I really like coffee and coffee is such a big part of Korean culture, so I figured that the coffee museum would be an interesting place to visit. We bought the ticket from the counter (6,000 won per person) and entered into the museum. Most of the items in the museum have been donated by the private collector and coffee enthusiast, and include beautiful old coffee canisters, coffee pots and numerous tools and utensils for coffee roasting and preparation. After the guided tour through the museum, it was time for the coffee tasting and it was free. We choose Americano coffee bean and prepared the coffee by ourselves. There is a beautiful café inside the museum. We enjoyed our coffee there. It was really a great experience.

Café inside the Coffee Museum where you can enjoy free coffee

Later on, we went to visit the Hwacheon Folk Museum which is located nearside of Hwacheon Bus Terminal. It has mainly three exhibition halls with over 1,000 artifacts. The museum was opened on March 28, 2006.

Beautiful front view of Hwacheon Museum

First exhibition hall (1st floor), shows Korean War History from old stone age to modern age. On the second exhibition hall (2nd floor), with over 500 artifacts, History of Korean People features materials of everyday life from prehistoric times to the Joseon Dynasty; Korean way of life, which depicts Korean villagers in ancient time; and life cycle of the ordinary Koreans, which shows the Korean customs. The outside view of the museum is also amazing. There is one musical instruments (drums) exhibition hall inside the museum on 3rd floor. So, it was really a special experience for us.

History of Korea depicted in the wall

At last we went to visit the beautiful Bungeoseom Island. Amongst all the places to visit in Hwacheon, Bungeoseom Island is one place that you can’t afford to not visit. It is popular resting place located near Hwacheon downtown for the residents and tourists visiting Hwacheon.

The 90,000 m2 Bungeoseom Island was created as a result of the construction of the Chuncheon Dam. There are a lot of activities to enjoy in the Bungeoseom such as zip-line, bicycles, kayaks, water bicycles, cart rails and others. The island is used as Jjokbae festival place in July every year. We enjoyed a happy rest under the shimmering lakes and green trees in the island. We explored it for a while, sat hand in hand, and captured a zillion memories, both with our camera and our eyes. It’s indeed a must-see place in Hwacheon County.

Beautiful small Bungeoseom Island surrounded by Bukhangang River

Natural view inside the Bungeoseom Island

It was a great end to our holiday trip in Hwacheon County. We went back to Hwacheon Bus Terminal at around 4 PM and bought tickets from the counter. The bus from Hwacheon to Dong Seoul is available after every 20 minutes from 7.30 AM to 9.00 PM. The ticket fare is around 13,900 won (per person). My wife and I had a long list of experiences on our trip in Hwacheon County and brought back a huge bundle of memories from our trip. Thanks to Korean Tourism Organization, it could not have been better.

Mind-blowing view of Bungeoseom Island

Bungeoseom Island

More Information

For me, travel is like a golden gateway to reach out to new people, explore the unexplored places, and learn about different cultures & lifestyles.

Beautiful face view of the Parohohanok Pension

And since we (me and my wife) are both adventure lovers, we were looking for a place where we can stay for our Hwacheon County tour which is filled with natural beauty, mountains, and river. It was then I came across Korean Tourism Organization’s website on the internet and I found that Parohohanok Pension is one of the best places to stay in Hwacheon County. Perhaps there’s no better way to experience Korean culture than staying in a traditional house like Hanok. It was also our first time to stay at any hanok house. So, Parohohanok Pension was the clear choice for both of us. Immediately I booked one room by phone. It was very easy to book the room as they provide English phone service. Here’s some good information about the Parohohanok Pension I want to share.

Inside view of the pension room

The Parohohanok Pension is a traditional Korean house offering traditional facilities of its guests with comfort and first-rate services. It is located on 167, Pyeonghwa-ro, Hwacheon-eup, Hwacheon-gun, Gangwon-do. The pension is surrounded by tall green mountains and in front of the pension the beautiful Bukhangang River flows. Accessibility of the Pension is high. Hwacheon Bus Terminal is within 2.5 Km from the pension and by taxi it takes only 15 minutes. The Pension authority also provides pickup services from the Bus Terminal. It takes only a 30-35 minute walk from the pension to downtown Hwacheon where you can enjoy traditional Korean breakfast, lunch and dinner. The location of the pension is perfect to visit tourist spots like Bungeoseom Island and Hwacheon Folk Museum-3.5 Km away from the pension, Hwacheonhyanggyo Local Confucian School-2.5 Km away, Sancheoneo Coffee Museum-2.3 Km away. At present, the pension consists of six rooms that all face the Bukhangang River, so the guests can see the river just by opening the door.

The pension is also very popular among the visitors to this island. There is a pavilion in front of each stand-alone guesthouse including barbecue facilities for the guests to use.

Different type of tea pot inside the tea shop

All the guestrooms are furnished with television, refrigerator, air conditioner, internet connection, bathroom, and cooking utensils for the convenience of the guests. There is a traditional tea house beside of the pension where guest can enjoy the flavor of different Korean tea.

We stayed there for one night and our experiences were amazing and unforgettable. It's really important for me to emphasize that the room and rest room was extremely clean and all the staff were really friendly and helpful. So, if you are looking for peace and tranquility from your busy life, I would recommend everyone to plan their tour stay at Parohohanok Pension. We hope we can stay there again in the future.