Scenic emerald green lake and rocky cliffs formed by remnants of an abandoned quarry Pocheon Art Valley     Since long ago, granite was found in abundance in Korea, and due to its natural beauty and weather resistance it was widely used as masonry for hanok (traditional Korean house), fortress walls, and gates and stonework in royal palaces. Even today, granite is popular as an exterior material in buildings for its unique properties. Since the 1970s, the granite found in the Pocheon area was particularly known for its quality and abundance and was called “Pocheonseok” (Pocheon stone). Pocheonseok became synonymous with high quality granite and was used in the construction of important national facilities, such as the State Reception Hall at Cheong Wa Dae (The Blue House), the National Assembly building, the Supreme Court and the Korean National Police Agency, as well as national restoration projects like Gwanghwamun Gate and Cheonggyecheon Stream.     With the revival of the Korean construction industry and the overflowing demand of Pocheonseok in the 1980s, many people worked in quarries. Compared to other regions of Pocheon, a particularly large amount of Pocheonseok was produced in Sinbuk-myeon, where Pocheon Art Valley is currently located. However, due to decades of quarrying, by the 2000s the amount of granite decreased remarkably, and local residents worried and complained about the environmental damage caused by quarrying. Companies started to leave one by one, and the environment was damaged and destroyed beyond restoration. Eventually the area became a regional eyesore.      

The city of Pocheon was concerned about the neglected quarry and possible accidents and negative image it may cause. As a result, Pocheon met up with experts to find ways to regenerate the quarry and the environment, and also benchmarked similar cases in Europe. Such efforts were concluded with the decision to transform the abandoned quarry into an environment-friendly multi-cultural art space, and the key point of the restoration was to take advantage of the rocky cliff created by decades of quarrying.

The renewal project started in 2005 filling the massive pit naturally created by quarrying with rainwater to form a lake. A sculpture park and an outdoor stage were created utilizing the natural topography of the quarry. Finally a monorail was installed to transport visitors and the Pocheon Art Valley opened its doors in October 2009.

            To go up to Pocheon Art Valley, visitors must take the monorail at the entrance, and remnants of the quarry can still be seen on the way up.     The mystical landscape created by the steep rocky cliffs hugging the astonishing Cheonjuho Lake is quite amazing. Cheonjuho Lake is so beautiful that it is impossible to think it was a result of a fiercely excavated granite quarry, and having been filled with rainwater it can be said to be a gift from nature. Cheonjuho Lake and the surrounding sculpture park, which exhibits many sculptures made with Pocheonsoek, were featured in many movies and dramas.     TIP: The Stone Culture Exhibition Center within Pocheon Art Valley describes how Pocheon Art Valley was formed, and you can also learn about the characteristics of the Pocheonseok granite.  

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Address │ 234 Art Valley-ro, Sinbuk-myeon, Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do Gen │ 1668-1035 → │ 15-minute taxi from Pocheon Intercity Bus Terminal Time │ 09:00–19:00 (Closed every first Tuesday of the month)artvalley.pocheon.go.kr