▲ The 2014 Korea Hot Springs Festival

In the dead of winter, nothing beats taking a bath in a hot spring to heal your body and mind. Since 2007, the “Korean Hot Springs Festival” has been held for 8 years. The 2014 Korean Hot Springs Festival was held around Duksan Hot Springs which serves as a hotspot for hot spring tourism between October 2nd and 5th.


Duksan Hot Springs with Best Water Quality
The Duksan Hot Spring has been recognized for a long time with 600 years of history. It was also described as possessing “very effective mineral water” in an old book.

The Duksan Hot Spring is already known as a health spring with germanium, an element said to be effective against various illnesses such as arthritis, neuralgia, blood circulation, and cell restoration.

Yulgok Lee recorded the hot spring as a sacred place on which legend has it that a crane landed and healed its broken leg over a period of four days before flying away, hale and hearty. It is said that at the end of King Sunjo’s reign, a large quantity of people with dermatitis and arthritis from all over gathered here.

 

Satisfying Five Senses, Healing Festival to Warm Body and Soul
The 2014 Korea Hot Springs Festival ended by drawing much attention from the public. It is estimated that about 160,000 people attended the festival.

With the catchy slogan, “The healing of 1000 thousand years, Duksan Hot Springs soars up to the sky with healing and well-being,” the festival was reviewed as a success, full of entertainment, foods, and performances.

A handful of exciting events were prepared to charm visitors. Some of the notable events with hot springs were trying foot baths, boiling eggs in hot spring water, passing a healing and well-being tunnel, and applying a hot spring mask pack.

This festival entertained visitors with various special events, including a trot music contest, student pageants, and bubble soccer.

On the second day of the festival, a bike parade took place to celebrate the venue relocation of Chungnam so as to commemorate its 2nd anniversary. Total 641 cyclists’ parade was another special event for visitors.

The beauty part of the festival was gourmet foods. The food booths with representative local farm products of Yesan such as apples, apple bread, mushroom, chestnut, and ginkgo were very crowded. Families, lovers, and friends who visited the festival looked gleefully toward all the interesting events.

 


Duksan Hot Spring Became a Popular Tourist Attraction in Korea
Since 1917, The Duksan Hot Spring has been open to the public. From 1980 onward, more hot spring facilities entered in the hot spring tourism complex. About 50 hotels, tourist hotels, and motels with many restaurants and convenient facilities are located nearby.

As a result, the number of foreign visitors continues to increase. Since there are some other tourist attraction such as Suduksa (temple), a memorial hall called Chungeuisa, and the house of Bonggil Yun, the best known Korean independence activist, visitors can enjoy both hot springs and historic sites.

Through the successful festival, Yesan County had a great opportunity to promote the excellence of the Duksan Hot Spring. They plan to make Yesan more attractive to visitors by linking Duksan Hot Spring and Suduksa.

 

Tip: Catching Health and Romance at One Place, Chungnam’s Attraction Hot Spring
Asan City, the biggest hot spring city, sits adjacent to Yesan County. Depending on personal tastes and health conditions, people can choose between the Yonyang Hot Spring, the Dogo hot spring with a sulfur spa, or the Asan Hot Spring with a germanium spa.

The history of hot springs in Korea spans 1,300 years. It was recorded in literature that King Sejong of the Chosun Dynasty also visited these hot springs after fighting battles or in an effort to heal himself from sickness.

The water quality of the hot spring is examined to be excellent. The nearby which is well-furnished with accommodations hosts 5 milllion visitors annually. The Dogo hot spring, famous for its sulfur spa, was designated as the ideal recuperation hot spring (boyang oncheon) in 2009.

The water at the Asan hot spring contains sodium bicarbonate which produces alkaline, so it is said to be very effective for health treatments. Both the Dogo and Asan Hot Springs have spas with a large-scale water parks and other leisure facilities.

Dogo Paradise is particularly popular because of the outdoor event spa, the Hinoki spa and the couple spa. As the largest hot spring leisure facility, Asan Spavis accommodates up to 3,000 people at a time.