Dutasan’s Mulung Valley: Legends, Rock Plateaus and Timeless Forest Scenery
Creatrip Team
2 days ago
Dutasan (headland mountain) in Gangwon Province, on the border of Donghae and Samcheok, is famed for dramatic rock formations, ancient pines and cultural sites. Its signature attraction, Mulungbanseok, is a single rock slab about 1,500 pyeong (Korean unit of area) that can hold over 1,000 people; countless Joseon-era scholars carved inscriptions there, including calligrapher Yang Si-eon. Nearby are Batteul Rock (named after a weaving-board shape and tied to a fairy legend), twin and dragon-drop waterfalls, and the historic Samhwasa temple, home to national treasures. Designated one of Korea’s “100 premium forests,” the Mulung Valley area reopened to the public in 2019 and now draws roughly 600,000 visitors a year under strict conservation management as part of the Baekdudaegan mountain ecosystem. The landscape blends natural scenery with layered history—from Buddhist hermitages and folk legends to engraved scholar inscriptions—making Dutasan a living Korean landscape painting.
