Reporter Soo Jeong Ki of Aju News = Korean pine trees grow in the area around the summit of Mt. Balwang in Pyeong Chang, Kangwon-Do. This forest was designated and announced as a natural heritage forestry reserve in November of 1997. Approximately 260 of the oldest Korean pines, as well as many other firs and deciduous trees grow in this natural forest.

In this forest, a hiking path winds among the Korean pines that have survived for a thousand years. However, I would like to specially recommend the gondola lift, which runs along a 7.4-kilometer path—the longest gondola path in the nation.

Passengers who take the 18-minute gondola ride to the 1,458-meter summit of Mt. Balwang, the 14^th tallest mountain in the nation, are able to experience the refreshing feeling of flying through the sky as their senses are greeted with the brisk scents of the changing seasons.

Yong Pyong Resort manages 100 of the largest eight-passenger gondolas, and oversees all operations from departures at the resort’s Dragon Plaza platform all the way up to the summit.