Gwanggyo Column Gwanggyo Reservoir Loop Trail, a Cool Path to Walk Through the Heat

Even after the last of the summer heat passed, it was still scorching.

I was heading to my regular restaurant on the Gwanggyo Mountain Trail, a barley rice restaurant called Jayeonnongwon. This restaurant is included in the 'Suwon's 100 Best Restaurants' selected by Suwon City. My favorite dish at this place is soybean paste stew. When I mix barley rice with all sorts of vegetable side dishes and eat it with soybean paste stew, I can clearly feel my body appreciating it.

The homemade Hyudong makgeolli also stimulates the appetite, but these days I only have a little bit due to fear of blood sugar spikes.

As always, I walked.

The sun was fierce and the air was full of moisture.

I found myself missing the weather in Kunming and Lijiang, China, where I traveled on a summer overseas study trip with the Hwaseong Research Institute from August 6 to 10.

These cities are at high elevations. Similar to the height of Baekdu Mountain, they always show spring weather. That's why Kunming is also called the "City of Spring," or 'Chunseong.'

Some higher areas are at 3,500 meters, and the viewpoint of Bingquan Park on Yulong Snow Mountain, which we could climb to, was as high as 4,680 meters.

I climbed up wearing thin early autumn clothing and thought I would freeze to death. The oxygen was thin and I felt dizzy. It was altitude sickness, which I had only heard about in stories. I had to use oxygen bottles frequently.

Although only a portion, I also walked the Tea-Horse Road. It was a path I had always dreamed of. A path where you walk with the majestic and beautiful Yulong Snow Mountain within reach, overlooking the thousand-meter cliff of Hutiao Gorge. It was a surreal landscape as if this place were the realm of the immortals.

I don't know if I can go back there again, and I'm worried about whether my physical strength will hold up, but if the opportunity arises later, I want to walk this path again. I want to walk to Shangri-La behind the snow mountain.

I stopped reminiscing and started walking the Gwanggyo Reservoir deck trail again.

As I have explained through this column before, my favorite trails are the course along the Hwaseong Fortress walls and the Gwanggyo Reservoir loop trail in lower Gwanggyo.

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

I participated in planting the cherry blossom trees that were created along the approximately 1.5-kilometer deck trail.

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

I still vividly remember planting trees with Mayor Shim at that time. The trees I planted then had a diameter of about 10 centimeters, but now they have grown thick as an adult's waist and their branches have flourished.

Mayor Shim said this to those who participated in the tree-planting work:

"This may look shabby now, but in just 10 years, this will become a famous landmark of Suwon, and huge numbers of citizens and tourists will flock here to see the cherry blossoms."

Mayor Shim was accurate in his prediction. When spring comes, this place is crowded with visitors eager to see the spring scenery.

Mayor Shim launched a restroom culture movement, attracted the World Cup, registered Hwaseong as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, restored Hwaseong Haenggung Palace, and revitalized the Suwon Stream and Seho 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 often.

And I returned to the Gwanggyo Maru Trail after a long time.

It's wonderful. The lush, grown trees create a cool shade across the entire path.

The water of the lake and the shadow of the mountains across the way refreshed my eyes, which had become tired from writing. Along the walking path, there are rest stops here and there, and small gardens are created, so there's no room for boredom. In fact, it's a shame that this path ends so quickly.

Moreover, you can hear an orchestra of cicadas—true cicadas, hushed cicadas, small cicadas, and speaking cicadas—sounds that are difficult to hear in the city.

If you want to walk more under the cool shade, you can cross a small suspension bridge at the upper part of the reservoir and enter the mountain trail.

The scenery here is excellent. While the Sanmak Old Path in Goesan-gun, North Chungcheong Province is also nice, the mountain trail landscape of Gwanggyo Reservoir can be easily visited anytime you wish and is in no way inferior.

Wooden board walks have been built here and there to allow you to experience the charms of both mountains and lakes at the same time, making for a pleasant walk. Though it's called a mountain trail, it's not rough, so you can walk it comfortably in regular sneakers without hiking boots and light clothing.

Now it's the end of summer. But the sun is still hot.

I recommend experiencing the summer turning toward autumn on the Gwanggyo Reservoir loop trail.