Hwanseon Cave
Encyclopedia
Hwanseon Cave is a cave located in Gangwon province
, South Korea
. It is one of the largest limestone caves in Asia, and the biggest in Korea, with 6.2 km of known passages and a total suspected length of 8 km, 1.6 km of which are visited by over 1 million people per year. In 1966 the South Korea government designated this cave and a neighboring cave not open to the public, Gwaneum cave (관음굴), National Monument 178. Hwanseongul was opened to the public in 1997.
Situated in a rugged karst
range near the city of Samcheok
, the cave's 10 m tall entrance is a grueling 30 to 45 minute uphill hike from the ticket office. Once inside, the temperature varies between 10° and 14°C. The walls spout water from innumerable cracks and seeps, which join to make good-sized streams, waterfalls and ten large pools. Some rooms in the cave are vast, 100 m tall, and bridges have been built across chasms in them. The usual fanciful names have been given to the various formations, but the high rate of water flow has prevented the building up of many stalagmite
s or stalactite
s. Flowstones, rimstones, popcorn, pipes and curtains are more abundant. There are 47 species of wildlife found in the cave, including the lungless Korean clawed salamander Onychodactylus fischeri
, the spider Allomengea coreana, the cave cricket Diestrammena japanica, the millipede
s Epanerchodus kimi and Antrokoreana gracilipes, the moth Apopestes indica, and a species of amphipod in the genus Pseudocrangonyx. Four species are unique to Hwanseon Cave, including the beetle Kurasawatrechus latior.
The cave is open year-round, and the self-guided tour costs ₩
4000, about $
4, and takes about an hour to traverse 1.6 km on steel catwalks, not including the 1.3 km long, 200 m climb to and from the entrance.
Gangwon-do (South Korea)
Gangwon-do is a province of South Korea, with its capital at Chuncheon. Before the division of Korea in 1945, Gangwon and its North Korean neighbour Kangwŏn formed a single province.-History:...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. It is one of the largest limestone caves in Asia, and the biggest in Korea, with 6.2 km of known passages and a total suspected length of 8 km, 1.6 km of which are visited by over 1 million people per year. In 1966 the South Korea government designated this cave and a neighboring cave not open to the public, Gwaneum cave (관음굴), National Monument 178. Hwanseongul was opened to the public in 1997.
Situated in a rugged karst
Karst topography
Karst topography is a geologic formation shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite, but has also been documented for weathering resistant rocks like quartzite given the right conditions.Due to subterranean drainage, there...
range near the city of Samcheok
Samcheok
Samcheok is a city in Gangwon-do, South Korea.-Ancient age & Three Kingdom:* It was called "Siljikguk or Siljikgokguk"* 102 under the rule of Silla * 468 under the rule of Goguryeo...
, the cave's 10 m tall entrance is a grueling 30 to 45 minute uphill hike from the ticket office. Once inside, the temperature varies between 10° and 14°C. The walls spout water from innumerable cracks and seeps, which join to make good-sized streams, waterfalls and ten large pools. Some rooms in the cave are vast, 100 m tall, and bridges have been built across chasms in them. The usual fanciful names have been given to the various formations, but the high rate of water flow has prevented the building up of many stalagmite
Stalagmite
A stalagmite is a type of speleothem that rises from the floor of a limestone cave due to the dripping of mineralized solutions and the deposition of calcium carbonate. This stalagmite formation occurs only under certain pH conditions within the underground cavern. The corresponding formation on...
s or stalactite
Stalactite
A stalactite , "to drip", and meaning "that which drips") is a type of speleothem that hangs from the ceiling of limestone caves. It is a type of dripstone...
s. Flowstones, rimstones, popcorn, pipes and curtains are more abundant. There are 47 species of wildlife found in the cave, including the lungless Korean clawed salamander Onychodactylus fischeri
Onychodactylus fischeri
Onychodactylus fischeri is a lungless salamander found on the Korean peninsula, as well as in the Russian Far East and adjacent regions of China. It is also known as Fischer's Clawed Salamander and the Long-tailed Clawed Salamander...
, the spider Allomengea coreana, the cave cricket Diestrammena japanica, the millipede
Millipede
Millipedes are arthropods that have two pairs of legs per segment . Each segment that has two pairs of legs is a result of two single segments fused together as one...
s Epanerchodus kimi and Antrokoreana gracilipes, the moth Apopestes indica, and a species of amphipod in the genus Pseudocrangonyx. Four species are unique to Hwanseon Cave, including the beetle Kurasawatrechus latior.
The cave is open year-round, and the self-guided tour costs ₩
South Korean won
The won is the currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit. The jeon is no longer used for everyday transactions, and appears only in foreign exchange rates...
4000, about $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
4, and takes about an hour to traverse 1.6 km on steel catwalks, not including the 1.3 km long, 200 m climb to and from the entrance.