K-26 Dive pool

K-26 Dive Pool is South Korea's premier purpose-built indoor diving facility, located in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, approximately 90 minutes northeast of Seoul. With a maximum depth of 26 metres, this artificial diving pool provides a controlled environment for training, practice, and recreational diving regardless of weather or ocean conditions. The facility features a large cylindrical pool that descends in stages, with platforms at various depths allowing divers to practice skills at progressively greater depths. The water is heated and filtered to maintain comfortable temperatures year-round, a significant advantage in a country where ocean temperatures can drop below 10 degrees Celsius in winter. Visibility within the pool is typically excellent, often exceeding 15 metres in the filtered water. K-26 serves multiple purposes within South Korea's diving community. Technical divers use the deep section for decompression practice and equipment testing before ocean expeditions. Recreational divers maintain their skills between ocean diving trips, particularly during the cold winter months. Instructors conduct certification courses from Open Water through to advanced specialties, taking advantage of the predictable conditions and safety infrastructure. The pool includes several submerged attractions to enhance the diving experience, including artificial structures, sunken objects, and platforms that simulate aspects of ocean diving. These features create points of interest during practice dives and provide visual references for buoyancy training and navigation exercises. Freediving has a growing presence at K-26, with the pool's depth making it suitable for competitive training and depth discipline practice. The facility hosts regular freediving competitions and training events that attract participants from across East Asia. While K-26 cannot replicate the thrill of ocean diving, it fills a crucial role in South Korea's diving infrastructure, providing a year-round, weather-independent venue for training, skill maintenance, and the pure enjoyment of being underwater.