Cheongju Jungang Park

Cheongju Jungang Park is the central downtown park of Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do, anchored by the famous Cheongju Apsabal — the over-thousand-year-old zelkova tree that has stood at the heart of the old city since the late Goryeo period and is now designated a Natural Monument. The park sits inside what was once the inner walled city of Cheongju, and several Joseon-era civic monuments stand around the great tree: a stele pavilion, a memorial monument to the Eulsa Restraint petition (a landmark 1905 protest against the Japanese protectorate treaty), and stone markers connecting the modern park to the old administrative center. The park is small enough to absorb in 30-45 minutes and works as a quiet downtown break for travelers exploring central Cheongju, pairing naturally with the Munhwa Jejochang culture complex (a repurposed 1930s tobacco factory now hosting galleries and cafés), the Heungdeoksa-ji ruins where the Jikji Buddhist text — the world's oldest surviving movable-metal-type-printed book — was published in 1377, and the Cheongju Early Printing Museum that anchors the city's printing-heritage tourism circuit. Access: about a 15-minute walk from Cheongju Bus Terminal, or by local buses from anywhere in central Cheongju. Best on a clear spring or autumn afternoon when the Apsabal's canopy fills the plaza with dappled light.