Waterfalls 2020 p1: Moonwon Falls
Well well, that was some monsoon this year! I don’t think I have seen so much rain and floods in the years I have been in Korea, even in 2011 when 우면산 (Woomyeon mountain) suffered serious landslides. Though these floods have caused a huge amount of damage and claimed lives, I want to focus on the brighter side of things: this summer hasn’t been so hot and nature has never been so lush!
Nature is where I’ll take you today; flowing streams and roaring waterfalls. Of course I wasn’t able to go everywhere in Korea but I’ll show you water from several places in the country. Maybe that will inspire you to put on your rain coat and go challenge the rain to witness those fragile monsters of nature only alive during the monsoons and typhoons.
I will start with a personal favorite: 문원폭포 (Moonwon falls) in Gwanaksan, on the Gwacheon side. It’s a roughly 20 minutes hike from Gwacheon government complex trail’s entrance, composed of actually 2 very different falls, separated by a few minutes walk. The first/lower one is a great place to cool down during a hot summer afternoon but isn’t very interesting photography wise. The second/higher one (Moonwon falls proper) is the opposite. In fact, when it’s at full power it is simply majestic.
I have come to this waterfall a good amount of time so far because it has many different components that make it special. The drop at the top is quite conventional for falls though being not really high (maybe 4-5 meters). However the way the water zigzags down the rock face underneath, creating a chain of curves, is particularly elegant. It is precisely that finesse in motion nature achieved miraculously here which creates a stark contrast between it and the sheer roaring power this fall has in person. It is really loud, there are so many impact surfaces for water to crash on, and yet those rounded angles make the water trail look more like a waltzing ballerina than an angry monsoon beast.
The second feature of this place isn’t really the falls themselves but the grotto that is connected to them. Taking pictures of it isn’t really interesting so I haven’t but imagine that the cliff the water drops from extends further to right and creates a natural overhang deep enough to sit a small group of hikers but not enough to protect them from the rain. That space is not maintained but a sign says it is for all to use as they please. It’s quite remarkable because usually those places are used for religious purposes in Korea. The fact that it is meant for all makes me feel part of a sharing mountain lover community at a libertarian spot. Though that may all be only my fantasizing, I still feel a welcoming air to this area.
The last feature is “all in the details.” Maybe you are like me, before I came to Korea and contemplated its waterfalls: when you think “waterfall” you probably imagine a high, straight down powerful high amount of water plummeting from a cliff down to a deep blue pool in an epic open scenery. Or perhaps a staircase-like mossy wall on which water would slither down every step. Well you don’t get much of those here in Korea! Most falls here are hidden in the forest, aren’t massively high and aren’t straight down drops. Instead they are often rocky faces at a steep enough angle so that water flows down on rather than crashes down from. That often makes for beautiful water shapes like in the following shot. It’s almost as if the face had veins, drawn by water on rocky skin.
But rushing water and hard rocks aren’t the only sources of details. The living flora around falls can also be another source of contemplation.
But it isn’t only the flora. Considering the impressive amount of rain water Korea got this summer and the extended amount of time it rained for, you wouldn’t be surprised to find mushrooms sprouting left and right. Indeed, I don’t think I have seen so much fungi! So I had to include one in this post.
This is where we leave this waterfall, a vibrant ecosystem gem, hidden just off of a well-hiked Gwanaksan trail. Before I go I wanted to add one last photograph. This time I shot fairly straightforward images of water and life, but I also have one last that is a little artsy. I am not a black and white shooter, I love my colors. However I want to try out that different esthetics, broaden my panel so to speak. So I looked for a texture, a shadow, something more intimate. Then I found that rock. Battered on by plunging water, sanded by the force of H2O and time, but yet standing strong, firmly in place. I’ve seen huge rocks obviously moved by the power of a stream, not this one. This one plays the long game, splitting the stream in half, waiting for the end of the monsoon. An ode to resilience.
Thank you very much for reading this far! Next post will also be about waterfalls but we will be outside of Seoul!
If you want to visit the Moonwon falls (and see the lower one I voluntarily hid from you in this post so you get curious about it and go see it for yourself) follow my alltrail recording. Also follow me on instagram @romainphoto_outside (or the link at the top of this page) for more photography than I can blog about!
Feel free to leave a comment below and share my blog so that, one day maybe, I can meet you during a hike here!
A bientôt!
