On the afternoon of July 4, Gangwon-do, Taebaek-si, Gangwon-do, Geomnyongso closed circuit (CC) TV was watched by an official at the Taebaeksan National Park Office of the National Park Service, who was suspicious of his eyes.



This is because three men bathing in the water of Geomryongso were caught on CCTV.



Geomryongso, the source of the Han River, is a place where water that springs from an unknown limestone hole forms a small 20m in circumference and flows into the Changjukcheon Stream.



However, as a national park, natural environment protection area and Baekdudaegan protected area, it is strictly prohibited to enter other than designated trails according to the Natural Park Act.



Currently, Geomryongso has a wooden deck for exploration in order to preserve the natural environment.



The 'Geomryongso Illegal Bathing Incident' occurred again on the afternoon of July 18, two weeks later.



The second was a case in which a man in his 60s used Geomryongso as a poison bath.



It is known that all of them went into the water of Geomryongso to cool off after hiking.



The Taebaeksan National Park Office fined them for violating the Natural Parks Act.




Perhaps due to the heatwave this summer, illegal and disorderly activities in Taebaeksan National Park such as unauthorized entry to valleys, night hiking, and illegal camping have also increased rapidly.



The Taebaeksan National Park Office has detected 37 illegal and disorderly acts from the beginning of this month until today (28th), imposed fines (16 cases), and issued a guide (21 cases).



This is quite a number compared to the 28 cases caught in the two months of July and August last year.



Concerned that such illegal and disorderly acts would increase rapidly during the summer vacation season, we decided to carry out intensive crackdowns for a month from the 30th to the 29th of August.



If caught illegally in a national park, a fine of 50,000 to 2 million won is imposed according to the Natural Parks Act, and the judicial authorities are notified depending on the case.



Jang Yun-bong, head of the resource conservation division at Taebaeksan National Park Office, said, "We will do our best to protect resources in the national park and establish a proper visiting culture through intensive enforcement," and asked for active cooperation from visitors.



(Photo = provided by Taebaeksan National Park, Yonhap News)