Songam Cavern
{{Short description|Tourist venue in North Korea}}
{{coord|39.47675|N|125.605316|E|display=title}}
{{Infobox Korean name|context=north|
hangul=송암동굴|
hanja=松巖洞窟|
rr=Song-am Donggul|
mr=Song'am Tonggul|
img=Songam Cave (5063216873).jpg
}}
Songam Cavern (also rendered Songam Cave) is a large show cave situated on the boundary between Sonam-dong and Kaechon City in South Pyongan Province, about 40 km north-east of Pyongyang in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Geology
Geologically, the system is hosted in thick, dolomitic limestone formed during the late Proterozoic era; Korean geologists estimate the host rock to be roughly one billion years old, giving the cave exceptional antiquity within the Korean Peninsula's karst record.
Karstification by subterranean streams produced one main trunk passage and "dozens of branches", which have been developed for visitors as more than ten named sections—including Kuanmun (Gate), Phokpho (Waterfall) and Kiam (Curios Rocks)—each noted for contrasting speleothem assemblages.
A 2021 study documented an unusual abundance of aragonitic anthodites alongside more familiar calcite features such as stalactites, stalagmites, flow-stone sheets, rimstone dams, botryoidal clusters, pool spar (crystals that grow underwater in cave pools) and stone columns, together with an active underground waterfall and several clear pools.
Those formations have high scientific value because the aragonite needles and "stone-flower" clusters are extremely sensitive to changes in cave microclimate, making them useful archives for speleogenetic (cave formation) and palaeo-environmental research.
In 2000 the government of the DPRK placed Songam Cavern on UNESCO's Tentative List as part of the "Caves in Kujang Area" serial nomination, citing its "mysterious figures of stalagmites and stone flowers" and its outstanding aesthetic qualities under World Heritage criteria (vii) and (viii).
The geoheritage study subsequently concluded that the cavern merits formal geoheritage protection because the density and diversity of its speleothems are rarely matched in temperate Asia and are vulnerable to visitor pressure if not carefully managed.
Tourism
Tourism infrastructure was installed by the early 2010s, including paved walkways, extensive electric lighting and an air-conditioning system that keeps summer temperatures near 16 °C to reduce condensation on the formations. Domestic tour operators market the cave as an "underground flower garden", and it is promoted by state agencies in conjunction with nearby Ryongmun Cavern to diversify regional tourism beyond the mountainous Myohyang and Kumgang clusters.
Access is via a gently sloping portal at the foot of Ch'ŏlsŏk Peak, allowing most of the 1.5-hour visitor route to be walked without technical equipment; however, geoheritage specialists have warned that heavy footfall and artificial cooling could accelerate desiccation and micro-fracturing of the delicate anthodite clusters unless stricter capacity controls are enforced.
References
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See also
External links
- [http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/new_window.php?10+10124 Songam Cavern picture album] at Naenara