๐๐ Series 2: "Switzerland of Korea" The Baekdudaegan Canyon Train (V-Train): Deep into Korea’s Hidden Valleys, ๋ฐฑ๋๋๊ฐ ํ๊ณก์ด์ฐจ (V-Train): ํ๊ตญ์ ์จ๊ฒจ์ง ๊ณ๊ณก์ผ๋ก ๋ ๋๋ ์ฌํ
If you followed our Series 1 guide, you’ve already enjoyed the sparkling East Sea on the Donghae Santa Train. But the adventure doesn't have to end at the final stop!
The beauty of this route is that Buncheon Station (๋ถ์ฒ์ญ)—the terminus of the Santa Train—is also the starting point for your next destination: The Baekdudaegan Canyon Train, better known as the V-Train. In this guide, we’ll show you how to seamlessly transition from the festive Santa Village into the heart of Korea’s most dramatic mountain canyons.
1. What is the V-Train (๋ฐฑ๋๋๊ฐ ํ๊ณก์ด์ฐจ)?
์ ๋ฒฝ๊ณผ ๋ฐ์์ฐ์ผ๋ก ๋๋ฌ์ธ์ธ ๋ฐฑ๋๋๊ฐ ํ๊ณก ์ฌ์ด๋ฅผ ์ฌํํ๋ฉฐ ์ค๊ฐ์ผ๋ก ์์ฐ์ ๋๋ผ๋, ๋ฐฑํธ์ ๋ชจ์ต์ ํ ๋ณต๊ณ ํ ํ ๋ง ๊ด๊ด์ด์ฐจ
The "V" in V-Train stands for "Valley." This train travels through the steep V-shaped gorges of the Baekdudaegan mountain range, reaching areas that are nearly impossible to access by car.
From Santa Village to the Canyon (๋ถ์ฒ์ญ์์ ๋ฐ๋ก ์ฐ๊ฒฐ๋๋ ์ฌ์ )
Once you step off the Donghae Santa Train at Buncheon Station, you are already at the doorstep of the V-Train. This makes it incredibly easy to combine a coastal trip with a mountain adventure in a single day. While the Santa Train is all about festive joy, the V-Train is a retro, eco-friendly journey that brings you face-to-face with untouched nature.
Key Highlights for 2026
The Retro Vibe: With its bright pink exterior and 1970s-style interior (complete with charcoal stoves for winter and fans for summer), the train feels like a moving time machine.
Panoramic Views: The oversized windows offer an unobstructed view of the Nakdonggang River and the rocky cliffs.
Eco-Conscious Travel: The V-Train is powered largely by solar energy for its internal functions, preserving the clean air of the canyons it traverses.
2. The 2026 Route Map & Scenic Stops
The V-Train covers a 27.7km stretch that is widely considered the most beautiful railway section in Korea.
Yangwon Station (์์์ญ): The smallest station in Korea, built by villagers. The train stops for about 10 minutes—just enough time to buy a cup of local makgeolli or seasoned acorns from the platform vendors.
Seungbu Station (์น๋ถ์ญ): A station tucked so deep in the mountains that it’s famous for the quote: "Even the garden and the sky are tiny here." It’s the ultimate spot for peace and quiet.
Cheoram Station (์ฒ ์์ญ): The final destination. Explore the Cheoram Coal Mine History Museum to see how this town powered Korea’s industrial growth in the 20th century.
3. Insider Tips for Travelers (์ฌํ์๋ฅผ ์ํ ๊ฟํ)
Seamless Transfer: Check the KORAIL schedule to time your arrival at Buncheon on the Santa Train with the departure of the V-Train. There is usually enough time to grab a quick snack at the Santa Village in between.
Open the Windows: In the V-Train, you can actually slide the windows down. Don’t miss the chance to feel the cool mountain breeze as you pass through the valleys.
Photography: The rear of the last carriage has a large glass window, perfect for capturing the tracks receding into the mountains.
4. Learn Korean: Essential Travel Phrases (ํ์ ์ฌํ ํ๊ตญ์ด)
Since this route takes you into more rural areas, knowing a few phrases will make your trip smoother and more rewarding.
Conversation: Confirming the Transfer at Buncheon Station
Traveler: ์ฌ๊ธฐ์ ํ๊ณก์ด์ฐจ๋ก ๊ฐ์ํ ์ ์๋์? (Can I transfer to the Canyon Train here?)
Staff: ๋ค, ๋ฐ๋ก ์ ์น๊ฐ์ฅ์์ ํ์๋ฉด ๋ฉ๋๋ค. (Yes, you can board at the platform right next to this one.)
Traveler: ๋ค์ ๊ธฐ์ฐจ๋ ๋ช ์์ ์ถ๋ฐํด์? (What time does the next train depart?)
Staff:3์ 20๋ถ์ ์ถ๋ฐํฉ๋๋ค.(It departs at 3:20 )
5. Booking & Practical Information
To secure your spot on this unique retro train, we recommend booking via the KORAIL Talk app or the official website.
Official Link:
KORAIL V-Train Information Travel Note: Since the V-Train uses natural ventilation (fans instead of A/C), it is most comfortable during the breezy days of April and May.
Conclusion
Linking the Donghae Santa Train and the V-Train is the ultimate way to see the diverse landscapes of Korea. From the crashing waves of the East Sea to the silent majesty of the Baekdudaegan canyons, this "train-to-train" journey at Buncheon Station is a must-do for 2026.
