Hwajeogyeon Pool

Where the Hantangang River makes a sharp bend it has carved out a deep pool, and from the water rises a pale granite rock 13 m high. Because it looks like a stack of rice sheaves, locals called it Byeotgariso, "rice-stack pool", rendered in Chinese characters as Hwajeogyeon. In the Joseon era it was a place of rain rituals, and the painter Jeong Seon put it on paper. It became a national Scenic Site on 4 January 2013.

Where granite meets basalt

What makes Hwajeogyeon interesting is that two very different rocks share one view. At the bottom lies Mesozoic Daebo granite; on top sits a layer of basalt from lava that flowed down from Orisan, a volcano in Pyeonggang to the north, during the Quaternary. The lava filled the old valley and formed a broad plateau; the river then cut a new course through it and down into the granite. Over time the river cut through both, exposing the light granite rock next to dark basalt cliffs and columnar joints. Where the bend slows the current, sand and gravel from upstream have piled up into a broad bar, while the outer side keeps eroding into cliffs. For these features Hwajeogyeon is managed as a geosite of the Hantangang UNESCO Global Geopark, certified in 2020. While most of the Hantangang canyon is lined with basalt, here you can see the granite typical of the Pocheon area up close.

What to see

• The rice-stack rock: the star of the scene. Depending on where you stand it looks like a pile of sheaves or the head of an animal rising from the water. The pool below covers about 1,300 m².
• Basalt cliffs and columns: dark basalt walls run behind the rock; notice how sharply they contrast with the pale granite.
• Sand bar and pebbles: a wide sand bar on the inside of the bend gives a front-row view of the rock, and the shore is covered with pebbles of many sizes and colours.

Rain rituals and paintings

The pool was said never to run dry, even in drought, so people prayed for rain here; such rituals are recorded in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty. A legend tells of a dragon that rose to the sky and brought rain after seeing a farmer lament the drought. In 1747 Jeong Seon included Hwajeogyeon in Haeak Jeonsin-cheop, an album of scenes on the road to Geumgangsan that is now a national Treasure, and scholars such as Bak Sun, Bak Se-dang, Hong Yang-ho and Yi Hang-ro left poems and essays about it. Choe Ik-hyeon compared the rock to a dragon in one of his verses.

Tripto tips

• Time needed: 30 minutes to 1 hour to see the rock and walk the sand bar.
• When to go: late spring to autumn, when the water is clear and the woods are green. After heavy rain the river turns murky and rises, so check the weather.
• Safety: the pool is deep where the river bends, so keep an eye on children near the water.
• Location: it belongs to Yeongbuk-myeon in Pocheon, but it is actually closer to Cheorwon. A campsite operates right next to it.
• Nearby: combine it with Goseokjeong in Cheorwon, about 8 km away, for a day of canyon landscapes.