Seomjingang Train Village

This railway theme park grew out of the old Gokseong Station, built in 1933, and the former Jeolla Line track beside the Seomjingang River. You walk in through the old station building, and from the platform a steam-style tourist train runs 10 km along the river to Gajeong Station. Inside the park there is a rail bike loop and a rose garden with 1,004 varieties, so a day with train-loving children fills up quickly.

History: a second life for a closed station

The old Gokseong Station was built in 1933 on the Jeolla Line and opened as a regular station on 15 October that year. When the line was double-tracked in 1999 the station moved to a new site and the old one closed. Gokseong County bought the building and the land around it and turned them into the Train Village, while the surviving track became the route for the tourist train and rail bikes.

The station building was listed as a Registered Cultural Heritage, Old Gokseong Station, in 2004. It is a single-storey timber building with a gabled roof and one of the larger of Korea's registered small stations. Inside, a heating stove sits between the waiting room and the office, with a brick chimney rising through the roof.

By steam train to Gajeong Station

The tourist train leaves the Train Village and follows the old Jeolla Line along the river to Gajeong Station, 10 km away. The ride takes 30 minutes each way, with a 15-minute stop at Gajeong, so the round trip lasts about 1 hour 15 minutes. It carries up to 324 passengers (172 seated). At Gajeong you can ride the Seomjingang Rail Bike on a 3.6 km loop along the river to the Bongjo turning point, so you can go down one way, ride the rail bike and catch a later train back.

What to see in the park

• Old station and platform: past the 1933 station building, used as the main gate, lies a platform styled after the 1960s. The two pine trees on the platform are a favourite backdrop for group photos.
• Rose Garden: 1,004 rose varieties, at their best during the Gokseong World Rose Festival every May.
• Train Village Rail Bike: four-seat rail bikes on a 1 km loop inside the park; one lap takes about five minutes.
• Indoor attractions: an ecology hall on the river's insects and wetland life, Yosul Land on the river's goblin legends, and Chichi Ppuppu, a train-themed children's playroom.
• Dreamland and animal farm: fairground rides such as a Ferris wheel and carousel, plus a petting area where children can feed rabbits and goats.

Tripto tips

• Admission: park entry is KRW 5,000 for adults and KRW 4,500 for children (48 months to 12 years) and over-65s. The steam train, rail bikes and rides are paid separately.
• Steam train: adults pay KRW 10,000 return or KRW 7,000 one way (seated). Departures from the Train Village at 11:00, 13:00, 14:30 and 16:00 run every day of the year; the 09:30 first train runs daily only from April to October.
• Rail bikes: the park's own loop costs KRW 10,000 per bike, 09:00–17:30, first come, first served. The Seomjingang Rail Bike at Gajeong starts at KRW 20,000 for two and sells same-day tickets on site only.
• Planning: the park is open 09:00–18:00 every day. With a return train ride, the rose garden and a rail bike, allow half a day. Parking is free.
• Getting there: Gokseong Station on the Jeolla Line is about 800 m from the main gate in a straight line, roughly a 15-minute walk.
• When to go: the roses peak during the May festival. They flower again in autumn, and the Gokseong Simcheong Children's Festival takes over the Train Village in late October.