La Vie est Belle (Old)

La Vie est Belle Country Club (life is beautiful in French) is known as “the Korean themed club” since its grand opening in 2015. The club is situated in the hilly, mountainous area of Chuncheon, Gangwon-do Providence, which is one hour’s drive away from Seoul.

The architect, Ahn Moon Hwan, is a local Korean specialist and developer, who dreamed of making an old-fashioned Korean paradise.

There are two 18-hole courses at La Vie est Belle, the 6,515-metre Old course and the Dunes course, which each have separate clubhouses. The Old course clubhouse and golf facilities were designed and built in the traditional and historic Korean style known as the “Hanok” concept.

Each hole has its own “unique” theme that harks back to old traditional Korean landscaping. The signature par three 4th has a magnificent greensite along rocky cliffs, three rocks (shaped naturally) rise out of the water on #12 and the 15th hole features terraced rice paddy fields.

According to Hwa Young Nam, our South Korean Correspondent: “The Old course at La Vie est Belle looks back towards the old Korean heyday of the Cho-sun Dynasty. There are similar forms to be seen at Nirwana Bali in Indonesia. The Kolon Group owns the La Vie est Belle facility and also the sister clubs at Woo Jeong Hills in Cheonan and Mauna Ocean in Kyoungju.