About Yongmun Falls (yongmun pokpo [용문폭포])
Yongmun Falls (Yongmun Pokpo [용문폭포]) was a modestly-sized idyllic waterfall situated a short distance uphill from the Gapsa Temple in Gyeryongsan National Park.
This was really a side attraction or a waterfaller’s excuse to check out the Gapsa Temple, which is one of Korea’s oldest temples (founded by the monk Adohwasang in 420).
This temple also runs a temple stay, which is a program where you can stay at the temple while also opening up the possibility of volunteering as well as speaking with monks (assuming you know Korean) to learn a little more about Buddhism.
A visit to the Yongmun Waterfall involves walking up from the car park (see directions below) through a marketplace and up to the Gapsa Temple Complex.
The waterfall itself is actually another 700m walk beyond the Gapsa Temple.
It turned out that we inadvertently “cheated” by driving up to a small car park by the Gapsa Temple, but I suspect that this car park was reserved for temple stay guests or staff.
I’m not sure how we managed to end up there, but I think we might have gotten here before the staff were setting up because when we were done with our visit, we saw people directing traffic to the designated car park closer to the marketplace.
Therefore, we wound up going about 1.4km round-trip just to do the falls while checking out the Gapsa Temple for a bit, but normally, this excursion would be 3.4km round-trip (accounting for the 2km round-trip distance that we were supposed to do).
As for the Yongmunpokpo Waterfall, it had a pretty light flow during our visit, which kind of made it a bit of an anticlimax.
It was definitely a far cry from the notion of a dragon flying out of the gate (Yongmun means “dragon gate”).
There were also cages clinging to the neighboring cliff face to prevent rockfalls into the plunge pool and viewing area.
In front of the viewing area, I noticed some inscriptions in Hangja that said 龍門瀑布 or “Dragon Gate Waterfall”, which also translates directly in Chinese.
By the way, the Hangja kind of gave this place more of an ancient feel to it since that form of writing has been replaced by Hangeul to improve literacy in Korea (so we haven’t really seen it in most places around Korea).
Authorities
Yongmun Falls resides in Gyeryongsan National Park near the city of Daejeon in Gongju-si County, Chungcheongnam-do Province, South Korea. It may be administered by the Korean National Park Service as well as local authorities of Gongju. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting this website for leads.
Related Trip Reports
Related Top 10 Lists
No Posts Found
Related Itineraries
Trip Planning Resources
Nearby Accommodations
This content is for subscribers only. See Membership Options.Featured Images and Nearby Attractions
This content is for subscribers only. See Membership Options.Visitor Comments:
Got something you'd like to share or say to keep the conversation going? Feel free to leave a comment below...No users have replied to the content on this page
Visitor Reviews of this Waterfall:
If you have a waterfall story or write-up that you'd like to share, feel free to click the button below and fill out the form...No users have submitted a write-up/review of this waterfall
Nearest Waterfalls
