From the East Sea to the Baekdudaegan mountain range
From General Isabu to poet Songgang Jeong Cheol
From BTS filming locations to the village of marathon champion Hwang Young-jo
From snow crab and rockfish to corn and canola
Samcheok, cradled between the East Sea coast and the spine of the Baekdudaegan range, is emerging as a premier destination for rural study-abroad programs and for city dwellers seeking a new life in the countryside.
The city offers an exceptional range of natural and cultural learning resources. Its landmarks include Jukseouru, a rare pavilion designated a national treasure and celebrated as the finest in the Gwandong region, along with the literary sites associated with the classical poem "Gwandongbyeolgok" by Songgang Jeong Cheol and the 500-million-year-old Hwanseon Cave. The area also preserves historical traces of the power dynamics among the ancient states of Saroguk, Silljikguk — whose capital was present-day Samcheok — and Usanguk, which mainstream academic historians identify with Ulleung Island and Dokdo. Visitors can follow the footsteps of Silla general Isabu, who unified those kingdoms, and explore Cheoneunsa Temple in Miro, where Yi Seung-hyu wrote "Jewang Ungi," a work that documents in sweeping detail how Korean history extended deep into the heart of the Silk Road. Samcheok snow crab and rockfish anchor its seafood offerings, while clean-farmed corn, potatoes, mushrooms and canola round out its agricultural bounty.
Beyond the Baekdudaegan's rich ecology, Samcheok stands apart from other rural study-abroad destinations in the breadth of what it offers. The city is home to a switchback railway system built to carry trains over the mountain range from the coastal plain, and to the seaside hometown of marathon champion Hwang Young-jo — the first Korean to win Olympic marathon gold after Son Gi-jeong — with a scenic coastal trail at Chogok and Yonggul. It also boasts the Samcheok handball team, a municipal-level club that dominates provincial rivals to rank as the strongest in the country, and Sono Sol Beach, a Santorini-style resort widely regarded as the most beautiful in South Korea. Together, these assets give students a rare chance to experience coastal and mountain ecosystems, academic enrichment and leisure tourism all in one place.
Two scenes recently captured the spirit of successful urban-rural exchange in Samcheok.
One was a sports festival for students enrolled in Samcheok's rural study-abroad program; the other was a welcome and integration event where new rural settlers and long-time residents came together to celebrate community.
According to Samcheok city officials, urban youth enrolled in the city's rural study-abroad program gathered at Samcheok Gymnasium for a joint sports festival organized by the program's participating schools, competing with pride as Samcheok exchange students.
The event, organized by the Edupia Samcheok Education Development Agency, was designed to bring together students from the program's partner schools. About 160 people took part, including students from Sindong Elementary School, Ojeo Elementary School and Jangho Elementary School, along with parents, teachers, university student mentors and representatives from related organizations.
The day opened with a ceremony, followed by warm-up exercises, a safety briefing and icebreaker activities before the sports competitions began. At lunch, food trucks served rice bowls, snacks and drinks, and a photo-booth program let participants take home commemorative portraits. The afternoon wrapped up with an awards ceremony, cool-down exercises and a group photo.
Teams were formed by mixing students across schools and grade levels, giving participants time to interact and collaborate. Events focused on solving shared challenges rather than winning or losing, and teachers and parents joined in, bringing the whole educational community together.
Forty-two university student mentors from Gangwon National University, working under teacher supervision, helped students move between events and take part in activities, assisted with safety management and program logistics, and supported crowd control and cleanup before and after the festival.
The sports day gave rural study-abroad students a chance to get moving together, grow closer and build teamwork and a sense of community. It also broadened ties among the program's partner schools and helped foster a positive image of rural study-abroad education.
Meanwhile, Samcheok's comprehensive support center for rural and agricultural resettlement held a village welcome and integration event for new arrivals and long-time residents. The gathering was organized to warmly receive newly settled residents, create space for natural conversation with established community members, deepen mutual understanding and trust, and promote stable rural settlement and village harmony.
The program targets villages that have welcomed new settler households over the past three years. This year it covers three villages: Hamaengbang 1-ri in Geundeok-myeon, Sadun 2-ri in Miro-myeon and Beoncheon-ri in Hajang-myeon.
Maengbang village, where BTS filmed the jacket for their "Butter" album, has a long tradition of producing talented individuals — a legacy traced to a brilliant young Joseon-era scholar who was exiled there and whose descendants have populated the village ever since. Miro, whose name evokes the idea of never growing old, sits at the heart of a valley where crystal-clear water rising from the Samsuryeong watershed of the Baekdudaegan winds through fifty bends before reaching the East Sea, its mountains and river in beautiful harmony. The ancestral tomb of Yi Seonggye, founder of the Joseon dynasty, stands here, guarded by a grove of Korean red pines.
The integration events are being held in turn across several villages. On Saturday, the gathering took place in Sadun 2-ri, Miro-myeon.
Samcheok Mayor Park Sang-su made a personal visit to the village, joining about 40 residents in giving a warm welcome to two newly settled arrivals.
At the event, the new residents received welcome gift packages, and a series of hands-on programs led by professional instructors gave everyone a relaxed setting to mingle, learn about one another and build a sense of closeness.
"For new arrivals to put down successful roots, communication and harmony with existing residents are just as important as administrative support," an official at the Samcheok resettlement support center said. "We will continue to develop a wide range of integration programs where new and long-time residents can respect each other and grow together, building a vibrant and warm rural community."
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