Mureung Valley & Mureung Byeolyucheonji

Character

For centuries, Mureung meant a granite valley of broad rock sheets, temple paths and inscriptions comparing the landscape to a terrestrial paradise. A few minutes away, the same name now belongs to a former limestone quarry whose cut faces and flooded pits have become a public leisure park

Mureung Valley runs between Dutasan and Cheongoksan. Near the entrance, Mureung Rock spreads into a broad granite platform covered with names and verses left by visitors across generations. Farther in, the route passes Samhwasa Temple and follows the water toward pools, Ssangpokpo and Yongchu Falls

Byeolyucheonji carries a different set of marks. Limestone extraction cut large faces into the mountain and left deep quarry voids that filled with water. The redevelopment retained the old crusher building, sections of conveyor infrastructure and quarry roads, then added a lavender garden, viewing areas and outdoor rides around them

The experience

The two sites operate separately. Mureung Valley is a linear mountain walk: broad rock near the entrance gives way to temple grounds, narrower gorge scenery and waterfalls farther upstream. The full scenic corridor extends for roughly four kilometres from the lower valley toward Yongchu Falls

Byeolyucheonji is a managed campus spread across the former mine. Visitors move between the quarry lakes, retained industrial structures, gardens and activity zones; some attractions use the quarry's scale directly, including a sky glider, alpine coaster, luge and zipline. Internal transport links parts of the large site

Their physical contrast is immediate. One follows water through granite that has been admired and inscribed for centuries; the other occupies terrain excavated by industry and deliberately kept legible after mining ended

History

Mureung Valley was a celebrated scenic landscape long before modern tourism. Its large granite slab became a place for calligraphy and inscriptions, while Samhwasa added an active Buddhist presence to the valley. The area was designated a national tourist site in 1977 and the valley became a nationally designated Scenic Site in 2008

The neighboring quarry belongs to a much shorter industrial chronology. Limestone mining began in 1968 at Ssangyong's Mureung District 3 and continued for more than half a century. Extraction reshaped the slopes, created deep pits and left heavy industrial structures across the site

Donghae began planning large-scale reuse of the closed mine area in the late 2010s. From 2019 to 2021, the former crusher was remodeled as a cultural and viewing facility while keeping parts of its concrete frame and conveyor system. Quarry roads and pits were folded into the new leisure landscape, and Mureung Byeolyucheonji opened the industrial site to public use

Before you go

Mureung Valley and Mureung Byeolyucheonji have separate entrances, admissions and operating systems. Byeolyucheonji has two parking and entry areas; its ticketed rides cost extra beyond general admission. The valley is organized around a walking route, while the quarry site uses internal transport across a much larger managed campus