The river, which flows around the rocky cliffs of Jeongseon and Pyeongchang, is a spot where people of all seasons stop because of the clear stream of snow and the surrounding scenery that unfolds for a moment. But the most exciting time for Donggang is spring. This is because Donggang Pasqueflower, a Korean plant, blooms in the limestone rocks. Let's leave now to see this flower that blooms from mid-March to April.

The traditional nursery rhyme “Ghalmi Flower” has a simple song that shows our emotion well.

‘Invigorating flower in the back garden, white-tailed pale-flowered flower, young and old pale-flowered flower, even when it is old, … ’

The pasqueflower, though, is still so beautiful that the tears fall into tears. But why is it called 'Halmiflower'? There are very sad stories about the name of the pasqueflower. In the old days, there was a grandmother who lived with two granddaughters in Dumesan Valley. The granddaughter was pretty but ill and nasty. In time, the granddaughter became a rich man in a neighboring village, and the little granddaughter was married to a poor farmer over the mountain. In time, the old and sick grandmother visited her granddaughter, but soon afterwards she was driven out. He lived beyond the mountain to find a little granddaughter, who tried to die to the ridge, but he could not endure the cold and hunger on his sick body. A little granddaughter rushed over to hear the news and buried her grandmother in her place. People called the paschal flower because it was the grandmother's soul.

Contrary to this sad story, it is actually called a pasqueflower because the flower cover covered with white hair is bent and the pistil after the flower swells resembles an old man with white hair. In oriental medicine, pasqueflower roots are used as a Buddhist temple called Baekduong.

In Korea, about 10 species, including yellow pale flowers, pink pale flowers and fine leaf pale flowers, grow wild and all have strong toxicity. Once upon a time, from the spring to the fall, the roots of pasqueflower were dug up and sprinkled with raw and boiled water on conventional toilets, where they were used as insecticides to kill insects.

After the first thunder and the sound of bugs awakening from a long hibernation, a light chip (Spring-March 5 or 6) passes and Donggang Paschal blooms. Unlike Pasqueflower, which grows mainly in sunny graveyards, Donggang Pasqueflower is rooted in the crevices of limestone cliffs along the river. In addition, it is usually characterized by the comfort of the flower without bending it. It is a perennial plant where the first buds bloom and the first flowers bloom, and two flowers bloom in the following year, and the flowers increase as the years go on. It grows to about the height of an adult's hand and is covered with soft fluffy wool. The flowers are usually pinkish in color but vary in bluish purple, reddish purple and white, and bloom in various colors at the root.

In fact, those who lived in the Donggang called this flower “pale flower”. This is the story that got the cool name of “Donggang pale flowers”. In the spring of 1998, plant photographer Kim Jung-myung took an ecological picture back up the Donggang, discovered the flower and announced it to the world for the first time through a calendar of his own photos. It was revealed by Dr. Lee Young-no, a researcher of the Korea Institute of Plant Research, who, after the research, turned out to be a Korean specialty plant found only in the Donggang region. As a result, Pulsatilla tongkangensis Y.N. Lee et T.C. Lee has become a rare and special flower that shows its habitat, Donggang.

At that time, Donggang Pasqueflower was a strong opposition to the government's policy of building the Donggang Dam, and added enormous power to the environmental groups and the local people who made efforts to revive the Donggang River. The construction plan of the Donggang Dam was finally blanked in June 2000 by the low-level forces that introduced Donggang Pasqueflower, a Korean plant. This has led many to become interested in ecological and natural environment issues, and it is true that efforts for conservation and protection have taken place like wildfire. Numerous East River flora and fauna, and limestone caves, which are almost likely to be buried, all owe a great debt to Donggang Pasqueflower.

Donggang Pasqueflower survived the crisis and survived, but the following times were not smooth. With better traffic and more widespread use of high-performance digital cameras, fellow hobbyists came to the swarms to visit the Donggang Pasqueflower habitat, causing some damage, while some ignorant people took photographs to remove all the stems and leaves that are essential for hydration and survival of flowers. After taking a photo, he even went to the endangered species, committing a brutality to cut flowers at all. This is not only the case. Natural disaster also played a part. This is due to the huge typhoons “Rusa” and “Cicada” that followed in August 2002 and September 2003. Park Jae-yeol, the director of Gyul-Am-ri Village, tells the situation at that time.

“Then the river suffered a lot of damage. The level of the Donggang in front of the village has risen to a record high, and most of the Donggang Pasqueflower rooted in the ridges here are uprooted and washed down, reducing the number of people noticeably. ”

In the midst of the crisis, the people who pulled their arms together for the preservation of Donggang Pasqueflower are the residents of Gyulam-ri called Donggang Pasqueflower Village. Since 2005, the village residents have formed the Donggang Pasqueflower Conservation Society, which has become a member, and have been seeding them for 10 years. At the same time, the “Donggang Pasqueflower Festival” is held in April every year, and the festival has already reached 10 times this year. On April 1 (Friday) to 3 (Sunday), the 10th Donggang Pasqueflower Festival, held at the Donggang Ecological Experience Center in Gul-Am-ri, is home to a variety of exhibitions, food fairs, and traditional games. The paschal flower is announced and the thought sharing for preservation continues.

In Gangwon-do, the government has also made efforts to conserve the Donggang ecosystem, including the Donggang Pasqueflower. Every two to three years, a natural rest year was proclaimed in Donggang. Its content is to control access to the valley by June 15 so that the animals and plants that live in the Donggang River can bloom, seed, and lay eggs. Naturally, rafting is also prohibited at this time. This year is the year when the natural rest year is enforced. To overcome many crises, the Donggang Pasqueflower left by us, sprouting in the cracks of the rocks, washing our faces in the blue Donggang, and lovingly and caring for the beautiful flowers that live on our side, we must strengthen our efforts for conservation. It's up to us all to buy it.

▶ The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization are continuously pursuing projects to discover and nurture areas where our wildflowers, such as Jeongseon Donggang-gil, can be activated as local tourism resources. to be.

Donggang Pasqueflower Village (Donggang Pasqueflower Preservation Society)
Address: Gyulam-ri, Jeongseon-eup, Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon-do
Contact: 033-563-3365

Donggang Eco Experience Center
Address: 2908, Donggang-ro, Jeongseon-eup, Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon-do
Contact: 033-560-2056

Leave Skywalk and Zipwire
Address: 34, Bongyang 7-gil, Jeongseon-eup, Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon-do
Contact: 033-563-4100, 033-563-3600

1. Nearby restaurants

Sarigol Restaurant: Gondrenamulbap / 1312, Jeongseon-ro, Jeongseon-eup, Jeongseon-gun

http://www.ssarigol.com/

Dongbakgol Restaurant: Gondenamulbap / 1314, Jeongseon-ro, Jeongseon-eup, Jeongseon-gun / 033-563-2211

Country: Herbal Herbs Healthy Rice, Gondre Meals / 10 Noksong-ro, Jeongseon-eup / 033-563-9967

2. Accommodation

Donggang Four Seasons Pension B & B: 2517, Donggang-ro, Jeongseon-eup, Jeongseon-gun / 033-563-8161
Lohas Donggang Bed & Breakfast: 2498-3, Donggang-ro, Jeongseon-eup, Jeongseon-gun / 010-2638-8763

※ The above information was updated in March 2016. It may change afterwards, so please check before you travel.
※ The information such as text, photos and videos used in this article is copyrighted by Korea Tourism Organization, so unauthorized use of the article is prohibited.