Damyang Metasequoia Lane Guide

Damyang's Metasequoia Lane is usually described as a free country road, but the stretch you walk is a ticketed attraction run by the county. Adults pay 2,000 won. Since 21 March 2026, though, the county refunds all of it in Damyang Love gift vouchers. It has not become free; it has become money you can only spend in Damyang.

At a glance

2,000 won, refunded in full
2,000 won for adults, 1,000 for students, soldiers and children. Refunded on the spot in local gift vouchers since 21 March 2026.
09:00-18:00, all year
Per Damyang County's admission table. No closing day is listed.
1972, 1,300 saplings
Planted along a 5 km stretch of National Route 24; the tree-lined road now runs about 8.5 km.
Walkable from Juknokwon
1.8-2.6 km past Gwanbangjerim. Two county walking routes string all three together.

What paying 2,000 won and getting 2,000 won back actually means

Metasequoia Land appears on Damyang County's table of attraction charges: 09:00-18:00, 2,000 won general, 1,000 won for students, soldiers and children, telephone 061-380-3149. Free entry covers under-6s, over-65s, holders of national merit, disabled visitors and Damyang residents, on production of ID.

What the table does not say is this: since 21 March 2026 the county has refunded the whole admission on the spot in Damyang Love gift vouchers. Buy a ticket and you receive the same amount back in vouchers, usable first at shops inside Meta Land and along Jungang-ro in Damyang town, with the county saying it will widen the list in stages. It calls the scheme "mutual-growth payback."

The rollout ran like this. From 1 February to 20 March 2026, roughly two months, it operated on temporary refund coupons because the 1,000-won Damyang Love note was still in production at the Korea Minting Corporation. Proper vouchers took over on 21 March, and the trial coupons were not exchangeable for them.

The catch is that the county's own admission table has not caught up. It shows 2,000 won and says nothing about a refund. That is why you will keep meeting write-ups that report "admission 2,000 won" and stop there — the page they are quoting really does stop there.

One more thing. The refund began life as a festival device. Damyang issued refund vouchers for Metasequoia Land and Juknokwon tickets during the 2025 Bamboo Festival and again at the December 2025 Santa Festival. Only Metasequoia Lane has it as a standing policy; Juknokwon still gets it only during festivals.

1,300 trees planted in 1972, and the motorway that moved

The county's Ten Scenes of Damyang entry is precise about where the lane comes from. In 1972, under the 19th county governor Kim Gi-hoe, 1,300 five-year-old saplings went in along a 5 km stretch of National Route 24 between the county office and Wonyul samgeori. Money was tight and the county set aside its own budget to plant and tend them; planting continued afterwards along the main roads out to each township, which is how the present avenue came to be. It now runs about 8.5 km along both sides of the road, with trees 10-20 m tall.

The next sentence is the one that defines the place. When a motorway plan was announced years ago the road was at risk of disappearing — and local opposition made the motorway route move instead. The alignment of a national road was changed to keep an avenue of trees. Most people walking it today do so without knowing that.

Recognition followed. It took the grand prize at the Beautiful Forests of Korea awards run by the Korea Forest Service and Yuhan-Kimberly in 2002, and the avenue is one of South Jeolla's twelve National Forest Culture Assets. The opening of the film May 18, in which the taxi driver Min-woo drives happily through sunlight falling between the metasequoias, was shot here.

The part you walk and the part you drive are different places

Two things of different character share one name, and not separating them is how an itinerary goes wrong.

The walking part, on the Hakdong-ri side of Damyang town, is the ticketed area the county runs as Metasequoia Land. No traffic, an earth surface, a marker and a ticket point at the entrance. In summer 2025 the county overhauled the facilities inside: the children's playground was wholly replaced with a combination play structure meeting current safety standards, the accessible toilet in the Children's Provence area was remodelled with an automatic door, and the surface and soil of the barefoot earth path were renewed, with insect-repellent dispensers installed along the main routes. Hydrangeas, crape myrtle and lotus flower together through the summer.

The driving part is the remaining roadside stretch running towards Geumseong-myeon. That is still an ordinary road, and it is the part the Ten Scenes entry calls a "dream drive."

Which is why the cycling that the Ten Scenes text recommends needs reading with care. That sentence dates from when the whole thing was an open road; the walking part is now a park you buy a ticket to enter on foot. The county's own Obang-gil notes keep the cycle route separate: they say the stretch from Geumwol Bridge to Damyang Resort uses the cycle path and the embankment track — not this one.

The Meta Provence next door is a separate area. The names are close and the two adjoin, so they read as one place, but the county names them side by side in its own bulletins ("the Metasequoia avenue and the Meta Provence area") and Meta Provence does not appear on the county-operated list in the admission table.

Walking here from Juknokwon — two routes, two distances

Damyang County has built two routes linking this lane with Juknokwon and Gwanbangjerim, and filed both under Themed Travel rather than Attractions.

The walking course A World of Green runs Korea Bamboo Museum → 2.8 km → Metasequoia Lane → 1.8 km → Gwanbangjerim → 1.6 km → Juknokwon → Sigamunhwachon, about 9 km. The Obang-gil tree route goes the other way from Juknokwon: Gwanbangjerim (0.8 km / 20 min) → Chuseong Stadium (1.0 km / 25 min) → Metasequoia Lane (1.6 km / 30 min) → Geumwol Bridge → Damyang Resort, 8.1 km in 2 hours 35 minutes.

They give different distances to the lane because they take different lines: 1.8 km straight from Gwanbangjerim, 2.6 km if you go via the stadium. Either way, walking here from Juknokwon is a realistic plan, and the Obang-gil notes add that at the halfway point — this lane — you can buy water and snacks and there are flush toilets. It is the only point on the route that gets that annotation.

By public transport, plan around Damyang town. Limited-stop coaches between Gwangju and Damyang run every 15 minutes from 05:50 to 22:45, and it is a short hop from Damyang bus terminal. The county's bus information system is at bis.damyang.go.kr.

When to go

Spring
A green tunnel coming into leaf
The county's April bulletin calls the lane a 'tunnel of green.' Before the leaves are fully out more light comes through, and it is the most comfortable temperature for walking on to Juknokwon.
Summer
Deep shade, hard on the trees
Hydrangeas, crape myrtle and lotus bloom together, and the barefoot path and playground help with children. Summer is punishing for the trees, though: on 5-7 August 2026 the county ran spraying vehicles from 01:00 to 04:00 to treat spider mites and apply foliar feed.
Autumn
This lane's season
Metasequoia is a deciduous conifer, so the whole avenue turns rust-red in autumn. It is also the busiest time, which argues for arriving right at the 09:00 opening.
Winter
The Santa Festival, and road salt
The Damyang Santa Festival takes over Meta Square on 24-25 December, with night lighting across the site. Winter brings salt damage from de-icer: the county reported feeding and soil treatment on some 116 metasequoias and bald cypresses.

Decide where you will spend the voucher before you buy the ticket

The refund vouchers work first at shops inside Meta Land and along Jungang-ro in Damyang town. Two people means 4,000 won and four means 8,000 — a lunch on Noodle Street. Damyang town's market days are the 2nd and 7th. Conversely, if you are only passing through Damyang, that 2,000 won is simply 2,000 won. Which is exactly what the scheme is designed to do.

Within walking distance

Gwanbangjerim
1.8 km back towards Juknokwon. Natural Monument No. 366, an embankment forest, free and with no gate.
Juknokwon
The bamboo garden past Gwanbangjerim. 3,000 won for adults, open every day. Its ticket discounts the Korea Bamboo Museum the same day.

Frequently asked questions

Is Damyang Metasequoia Lane free?

The stretch you walk is a ticketed attraction the county runs as Metasequoia Land: 2,000 won for adults and 1,000 won for students, soldiers and children. Since 21 March 2026 the county refunds the whole amount on the spot in Damyang Love gift vouchers, so if you plan to spend money in Damyang the real cost is nothing. Under-6s, over-65s, holders of national merit, disabled visitors and Damyang residents were already free.

Where can I spend the refund vouchers?

At shops inside Meta Land and along Jungang-ro in Damyang town first, with the county saying it will widen the list in stages. They cannot be used outside Damyang County.

What are the opening hours, and is it ever closed?

09:00-18:00 according to Damyang County's admission table. No closing day is listed.

How long is Metasequoia Lane?

Damyang County describes the full roadside avenue as about 8.5 km. The ticketed walking section is only part of that, on the Hakdong-ri side of Damyang town; the rest, running towards Geumseong-myeon, is still an ordinary road.

When were the trees planted?

It began in 1972, when Damyang County planted 1,300 five-year-old saplings along a 5 km stretch of National Route 24 between the county office and Wonyul samgeori. Planting continued afterwards on the roads out to each township.

Can I cycle it?

The walking section is a pedestrian area you buy a ticket to enter. The county's Obang-gil notes keep the cycle route separate, saying the stretch from Geumwol Bridge to Damyang Resort uses the cycle path and the embankment track — not the avenue itself.

Can I walk here from Juknokwon?

Yes. By the county's walking course it is 1.8 km via Gwanbangjerim, or 2.6 km by the Obang-gil route via Chuseong Stadium. The Obang-gil notes say you can buy water and snacks at the lane and that it has flush toilets.

Is Meta Provence the same place?

No. It is a separate area immediately next door, and the county names the two side by side in its own bulletins. Meta Provence does not appear on the county-operated list in Damyang's admission table.