The Jeju Island World Heritage Headquarters urgently restricted access to Manjanggul Cave from 11:05 a.m. on the morning of the 29th as a rockfall occurred at one point in the upper part of the entrance to Manjanggul Cave. The railing at the entrance to the Manjanggul Cave trail was damaged due to falling rocks./Jeju Island World Heritage Headquarters
A rockfall accident occurred at Manjanggul Cave in Jeju, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site and a famous tourist destination, and it has been completely closed until July 2025.
According to the Jeju Island World Heritage Headquarters on the 31st, a stone block measuring approximately 66cm in length and width fell from the middle of the stairs at the entrance to the Manjanggul trail, a lava cave, and part of the stair railing was damaged. The stone fell from a height of about 5 meters above the entrance to the top room, hit the stair railing, and then rolled down toward the entrance to the undisclosed section. Fortunately, there were no casualties due to the falling rock.
As a result of checking the security camera video installed at the entrance to the trail, it was confirmed that the rockfall occurred during the night, not during the trail time.
The World Heritage Headquarters closed the trail from 11:05 a.m. Then, at 2 p.m. on the same day, three cave experts and geological researchers from the World Heritage Headquarters inspected the site and estimated that it occurred when ice loosened at the entrance, which is vulnerable to temperature changes.
The World Heritage Headquarters decided that additional rockfall prevention measures would take two to three months and that the trail would be closed from this day until July 2025 for trail maintenance work.
On January 27th, a total of 4 rocks fell at Manjanggul Cave, 2 of which were 7cm long and 2~3cm. The World Heritage Headquarters closed the trail at the time for reasons such as investigation of the cause of the rockfall and safety measures, but reopened it on March 24, about two months later.
Manjanggul Cave, a lava cave located in Gujwa-eup, Jeju City, was designated as a natural monument in 1962. Manjanggul Cave is also part of the Geomun Oreum Lava Tube System, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. Of the total length of Manjanggul Cave, which is 7.4 km, only a 1 km section is open. It is Jeju’s representative tourist attraction, visited by about 550,000 people as of last year.
2023-12-31 02:34:15
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