Whooper Swan Wintering — Cheorwon Plains

About this spectacle

Each winter, the broad agricultural plains of Cheorwon in Gangwon-do become a gathering ground for thousands of whooper and Bewick's swans. Visitors arriving at dawn are greeted by vast white flocks spread across harvested fields, gleaning grain against a landscape rimmed with snow-dusted mountain peaks. The air fills with the resonant bugling calls that give whooper swans their name — a wild, carrying sound unlike the silence most people associate with swans. As early light catches the birds mid-flight, wings catching the cold air, the spectacle offers genuine wildlife drama at relatively accessible range. The proximity of the Demilitarized Zone has left this region unusually undisturbed, creating a de facto refuge. Frost clings to the grass in the early hours, and the collective movement of thousands of large white birds lifting into a pale winter sky is one of East Asia's most arresting avian events.

When to go

Nov — Mar, peak Dec — Feb

Getting there

Nearest airport: GMP. Nearest city: Cheorwon.

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