pocheon vibes: coffee, hills, and a weird sculpture garden

so i ended up in pocheon after a friend swore the art valley there was "worth the trip" and honestly? they weren't wrong. i rolled in around lunchtime, the temp was hovering just above freezing but the sun was out so it felt less brutal. i just checked and it's 1.93°c there right now, hope you like that kind of thing.

first stop: *sanjeong lake. it's this huge reservoir surrounded by pine trees and walking trails. i didn't hike the whole thing-too cold-but the views were worth the stop. someone told me that the best photos are from the eastern ridge at sunset, but i missed that window by like two hours. next time.

"don't eat at the first cafe you see near the lake," a local warned me. "they charge tourist prices for instant coffee."

then i drove over to pocheon art valley, which is basically an old stone quarry turned into this massive outdoor sculpture park. there's a monorail that takes you up if you're lazy (i was), and the views from the top deck are ridiculous. i spent two hours just wandering between the weird metal installations and reading the plaques-half in korean, half in broken english. charming in that "what does this even mean" way.

for food, i hit up matna golmok (the traditional market) because someone on tripadvisor said the bindaetteok there was the best in town. they weren't lying. crispy, greasy, perfect with makgeolli. i also grabbed hotteok from a street stall-sugar everywhere, hands sticky, totally worth it.

if you get bored, yeongweol and yangju* are just a short drive away. i didn't make it to either, but i heard yangju's got a killer craft beer scene now. maybe next trip.

last thing: the humidity was weirdly low-like 19%-so my skin felt desert-dry by the end of the day. pack lip balm if you're visiting in winter.

would i go back? absolutely. it's close enough for a day trip from seoul but feels like a different planet. just bring layers and an appetite.