Seongbak Forest Park: A Healing Sanctuary

It was of great privileged to be invited by the #Seongju County Government’s Tourism Department to participate in the summer-end famtour held last August 31- Sept 1.

I was hesitant to go at first because of some hurdles regarding transportation but good thing the weather didn’t disappoint me and made it to Seongju after two hours of drive from Gyeongju.

The organizers behind the event were so gracious in hosting us that made the trip even more gratifying. They treated us scrumptious meals and castle-like accommodation.

Tourism executives, professional photographers and travel bloggers gathered at Seongbak Forest Park on the first day of the event to promote the unspoiled beauty of Seongju.

Behold the Seongbak Forest’s willow trees surviving five centuries of existence, surrounded with purple lily turfs.

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Families having a picnic and people simply taking a stroll in the park to take a break from their daily routines while enjoying the invigorating breeze at Seongbak Forest Park on a weekend.

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A history preview of the forest:

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After exploring the willows and replete snap shots of the park’s landscape, we headed on to another experience- The Healing Concert.

The singers delighted the audience with different genres of Korean folk songs; throat, ballad, acoustic, rock, among others. My personal pick was that of the male singer who sang Pavarotti’s “Sole Mio” and a female singer’s acoustic version of “Nae Na-i ga Ottaeso” (내 나이가 어때서).

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Visiting Seongju proved to me that some good things await off the beaten paths.

The ancient willow trees at Seongbak Forest had as much given me the feeling of solemn wonder about our living world. That each one of us is fortunate to be in a generation where splendid works of nature still exist.

Stunning sunset @ Seongbak Forest Park

Address: 1503 Munjang-ro, Hwabuk-myeon, Sangju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do

경상북도 상주시 화북면 문장로 1503