[Gwanggyo Column] Gwanggyo Reservoir Loop Trail, a Refreshing Walk in the Summer Heat

Even after the last of the summer heat, it remained sweltering.

I was heading to my regular restaurant, Jasonongwon, a barley rice eatery on the Gwanggyo Mountain trail. This establishment is included in the "100 Best Restaurants of Suwon" selected by Suwon City. The dish I especially love here is doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew). After mixing barley rice with various greens and vegetables and eating it with doenjang-jjigae, I can clearly feel my body appreciating the meal.

The homemade makgeolli (rice wine) sold here also whets the appetite, but these days I only take small sips due to concerns about blood sugar spikes.

I walked as I always do.

The sun was scorching and the air was thick with humidity.

I found myself missing the weather of Kunming and Lijiang in China, which I visited from August 6 to 10 for a summer overseas study trip organized by the Hwaseong Research Society.

These cities are situated at high altitudes. Because the elevation is similar to that of Baekdu Mountain, they always experience spring-like weather. That is why Kunming is also called "Chunsheng," the City of Spring.

Some higher elevations reach 3,500 meters, and the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Ice Sky Park observation deck, which we were able to climb, reaches as high as 4,680 meters.

Dressed in thin early autumn clothes, I thought I would freeze to death. The air was so thin that I felt dizzy. It was altitude sickness, something I had only heard about before. I had to use oxygen tanks frequently.

Although only a section of it, I also walked the Tea and Horse Road (Chamagodao). It is a path I have always dreamed of. Walking with the magnificent and beautiful Jade Dragon Snow Mountain within reach, overlooking the treacherous Walnut Gorge from a height of thousands of feet. It was such an unreal landscape that one might wonder if it was paradise itself.

I do not know if I will be able to return there, and I worry whether my physical strength will hold up, but if the opportunity arises later, I wish to walk this path again. I want to walk beyond the snow-capped mountains to Shangri-La.

I stopped reminiscing and resumed walking the Gwanggyo Reservoir deck trail.

As I have mentioned through this column before, my favorite trails are the course that follows the Hwaseong fortress walls and the loop trail around the Lower Gwanggyo Reservoir.

In particular, the Gwanggyo Maru Trail, the cherry blossom tree path of Gwanggyo Reservoir, has a connection with me.

This is because I participated in planting cherry blossom trees along the approximately 1.5-kilometer-long deck trail.

It was during the tree-planting ceremony "Planting One Million Trees of Life" on March 23, 2000, during the tenure of Mayor Shim Jae-deok, who has since passed away.

The memory of planting trees with Mayor Shim at that time remains vivid. The trees we planted then had a diameter of about 10 centimeters, but now they have grown to be as thick as an adult's waist, and their branches have flourished luxuriantly.

At the time, Mayor Shim said the following to those who participated in the tree-planting work:

"This may look unimpressive now, but in just ten years, this place will become a famous landmark in Suwon, and enormous numbers of citizens and tourists will flock here to see the cherry blossoms."

Mayor Shim was accurate in his words. When spring arrives, this place becomes crowded with visitors eager to see the blossoms, with hardly a spot to stand.

Mayor Shim initiated the toilet culture movement, attracted the World Cup, and had Hwaseong registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. He restored Hwaseong Haenggung Palace and revived Suwon Stream and Seo Lake. His foresight extended to the cherry blossom tree planting project at Gwanggyo Reservoir.

This summer, due to extreme heat, I was unable to walk this trail frequently.

And it has been a long time since I returned to the Gwanggyo Maru Trail.

It is truly wonderful. The lush trees have created refreshing shade throughout the entire trail.

The shimmer of the lake water and the shadows of the mountains across from it provided relief to my tired eyes from writing. Resting spots are set up along the walking path, and small gardens have been created, leaving no room for boredom. Rather, it is a shame that the trail ends so quickly.

Furthermore, one can hear an orchestra of cicadas—true cicadas, bushwillows, brown cicadas, and robust cicadas—sounds rarely heard in the city.

If you wish to walk longer in the cool shade, you can cross a small suspension bridge upstream of the reservoir and enter a mountain trail.

The scenery here is excellent. While the Sanmaki Old Trail in Goesan-gun, North Chungcheong Province, is also fine, the landscape of the Gwanggyo Reservoir mountain trail, which can be easily accessed whenever one wishes, is equally impressive.

Wooden walkways (zandao) have been constructed in various places so that one can simultaneously enjoy the beauty of mountains and lakes, adding to the joy of walking. Although it is called a mountain trail, it is not rough, so one can walk comfortably wearing casual athletic shoes instead of hiking boots.

Now we are at the end of summer. Yet the sun still burns hot.

I recommend experiencing summer as it transitions to autumn on the Gwanggyo Reservoir loop trail.