Gusugok Natural Recreational Forest

This description was machine-translated from the Korea Tourism Organization's Korean original.

Gusu Valley (Gusugok) is so named because nine valley streams that gather along the watershed of Maebongsan Mountain join into one valley, called Gusu Valley (Nine-Water Valley). According to an old legend, a person from Bonghwa went to Deokgu Hot Springs’ original bathhouse, lost the way while walking along the Maebongsan Mountain watershed, yet found the scenery so fine that he spent his days picking wild grapes and actinidia fruit before leaving—a tale still told by word of mouth. Gusu Valley is a 10 km pristine valley where rare trees such as Korean red pine (Geumgang pine) and Korean birch stands grow, natural monument species such as the long-tailed goral inhabit, water sources are abundant, and there are 18 pools and 10 waterfalls, with two waterfalls at the ends of the two valleys adding a supreme sense of mystery. Moreover, with National Route 7 and the pristine East Sea nearby, it is drawing attention as a recreational tourist destination where one can enjoy hot-spring bathing, sea bathing, and forest bathing at the same time.