Chiaksan Baramgil Forest, an urban woodland built on a disused railway site, has been transformed into a space that looks straight out of a science-fiction film after dark.
The makeover adds yet another distinctive draw to Wonju travel. Wonju city completed the nighttime infrastructure and opened it to residents and visitors on Monday.
According to Wonju city, Chiaksan Baramgil Forest is an urban trail that opened along its full 11.3-kilometer stretch last October, running from in front of the Halla Vivaldi apartment complex in Usan-dong to Bangok Station.
The trail was developed along the former Jungang Line railway corridor and has been shown to help ease the urban heat-island effect and reduce fine-dust levels.
Key spots along the route include Wonju Central Park, a remodeled version of the old Wonju Station; Pyeongwon-dong Central Plaza; Bongsan Garden in Bongsan-dong; the Wonju Tunnel; Beonjae Village Forest; and Yugyo Station Plaza in Haenggu-dong.
Timed to coincide with the summer hydrangea bloom, photo zones featuring the flowers have been set up at Usan Railway Bridge, Pyeongwon-dong Central Plaza and Yugyo Station Plaza, with themed lighting installed to create colorful nighttime scenery.
At the entrance to the Wonju Tunnel in Bongsan-dong, the city created a space-themed nighttime photo zone. Inside the tunnel, landscape lighting shaped like whales gliding through the ocean has been installed.
Pyeongwon-dong Central Plaza features spherical sculptural lighting that serves as a nighttime photo spot, and pedestrian overpasses within the forest trail have been fitted with illuminated signs carrying storytelling inscriptions.
Wonju city plans to keep maintaining and upgrading Chiaksan Baramgil Forest so it can establish itself as the city's signature green space and a new landmark — one that stitches together a fragmented urban core through a continuous woodland path.
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