Valley swimming and garden BBQ at Gurye pension Jirisan Secret Garden

Which do you like best for water play — the sea, a water park, or a valley stream!? I'm definitely a valley person haha, I love just lazing around watching the water. But this year I hadn't gotten a proper swim in at all, which was so disappointing ㅠㅠㅠ so before it got too late I headed to Gurye — to Jirisan Secret Garden, a Gurye pension that's also pet-friendly at the foot of Jirisan. I had such a great time that I wanted to write up a review haha.

Jirisan Secret Garden

The weather was amazing right from the start, which was a great sign haha.

What rooms does Jirisan Secret Garden in Gurye have?

Jirisan Secret Garden has Rooms 1 through 6 plus what looks like a separate caravan!!!! We stayed in Room 4 ^^ We got there a bit before check-in time so we wandered around the pension grounds haha.

Inside Room 4: layout and amenities

Let me show you the inside. There's a microwave, induction stove, rice cooker, and electric kettle, plus a whole range of dishware from soju glasses to beer glasses!

The bathroom had plenty of towels too, and there was zero smell or dampness, so it felt fresh the moment we walked in haha.

The bed was soft and plenty big enough for two! There were spare blankets and pillows too, which was nice. And since it's summer, the blanket was thin so it didn't feel stuffy while sleeping. The AC had no smell and worked well, and the TV was positioned somewhere comfortable to watch — all great haha.

The fridge was bigger than I expected!! Even with all the food we brought, there was still room left over haha. Bliss~!

There's a table to sit at too, and outside is a view of Piagol Valley... it really felt healing haha.

Private barbecue area and picking vegetables from the garden

Jirisan Secret Garden has a private barbecue area for each room!! I'll walk you through it with photos in a bit!!

And here's what I really, really loved! There's a path from the pension that connects straight to the valley haha. On the way down there are tomatoes, perilla leaves (they said the season had already ended for those ㅠ), eggplants, and peppers, and we were told to pick and eat as much as we wanted!!

So on the way back up I dutifully picked three eggplants (for grilling...) and some peppers too!

What is swimming in Piagol Valley like?

From Jirisan Secret Garden, a walking path leads straight down to the valley. The weather was so good and the scenery so beautiful that I just felt happy.

Honestly, no exaggeration, this is the clearest water I've seen in any valley I've been to, and it wasn't too deep either — just right... My husband is 180cm, and even at the deepest spot it only came up to about his chest. The water was incredibly clean and cool... and there were rocks scattered around to rest on, and it was even private... I was so, so satisfied. Why did I wait so long to come here ㅠ, I thought, and we decided to come back again next year haha.

And badminton in the front yard too...♥ It was pure healing!! (Not gonna lie, 30 minutes in and my muscles were already sore ㅠㅠ)

Evening barbecue and the pension cats

And then it was time for the evening barbecue!! We torched the fire up and set the grill on top, and got things set up in a hurry haha.

I didn't take photos, but ㅠㅠ we grilled pork belly, beef, onions, garlic, and eggplant... why didn't I take pictures... I'm such a fool... we also grilled blue crab!!!!! It was pure healing, honestly.

And there were a ton of cats around... I think I saw about seven. Having the cats around made the day even better haha.

Finally, we headed back into the room for round two.

This stay by Piagol Valley in Gurye was so satisfying, I'd highly recommend it as a healing getaway!