Biryongpokpo Falls and Surroundings in Seoraksan Mountain

Biryongpokpo Falls is a waterfall formed where a tributary of the Ssangcheon Stream — which drains the outer Seorak (Oeseorak) area and flows into the East Sea (Donghae) — descends the northern foot of Hwachaebong Peak. It lies in Towanggol Valley, between Yukdampokpo Falls downstream and Towangseongpokpo Falls upstream, and its cascading water forms a spectacular sight resembling a dragon soaring into the sky. Biryongpokpo Falls is a mountain stream flowing over bedrock; it stands 16m high with a gradient of 44°, at an elevation of 370m, and its plunge pool is 16m wide. Biryongpokpo Falls is one of the many varied landforms of Seoraksan Mountain. Differences in rock quality and the development of joints there have produced distinctive rock features such as Gwimyeonam Rock and Ulsanam Rock, and, through differential erosion along the direction of the joints, river landforms such as waterfalls, potholes, rapids and pools. Towanggol Valley, where Yukdampokpo, Biryongpokpo and Towangseongpokpo Falls have all formed, is a strikingly beautiful and distinctive granite landscape, shaped over a long period by the uplift, weathering, erosion and transport of the Seoraksan granite that intruded during the Cretaceous period; it has developed erosional landforms such as waterfalls, plunge pools, sharp rock peaks, pools, gorges, rocky streambeds and gravel streambeds. About 1km beyond Yukdampokpo Falls, a powerful stream of water some 16m high plunges down, its roar echoing through the valley and inducing a state of utter, thoughtless calm. Seorak-ilgi (a travel journal on Seoraksan Mountain) by Kim Chang-heup, and Yuseorak-rok (Record of a Journey to Seoraksan Mountain) by Kim Mong-hwa, both describe the spectacular scenery of Seoraksan Mountain that its authors admired while touring the area.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Sokcho, Gangwon

Designation

Scenic Site · 명승