Chubongdo

Linked to Hansando by a red bridge, Chubongdo is a small island of about 3.8 km² off Tongyeong. Looking at its quiet fishing villages and pebble beach, it is hard to imagine, but during the Korean War roughly 10,000 communist prisoners of war were held here. Together with the Jeseungdang shrine on neighbouring Hansando, it makes a good day of walking through the history of two islands.

A stopover on the way to Tsushima

The island's recorded history goes back to the early Joseon dynasty. In 1419, the first year of King Sejong's reign, General Yi Jong-mu's expedition against the pirate bases on Tsushima used the bay then called Juwonbangpo, today's Chubongdo, as a staging post. The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty record that the fleet of 227 ships set out from here, was driven back by a southerly wind, and then sailed again for Tsushima.

An island of prison camps

During the Korean War, some of the prisoners from the huge POW camp on Geojedo were moved to Chubongdo, Yongchodo and other islands. From May 1952, a camp ringed with double fences and coils of barbed wire stood around the villages of Yegok and Chuwon, holding about 10,000 communist prisoners, and the villagers had to leave their homes. When the camp closed after the armistice of 27 July 1953, they returned, reportedly without compensation, and broke up the concrete floors to turn the land back into fields.

In Yegok today, a single pillar from the camp's main gate and an information board are all that mark the site. There is no grand memorial, yet that lone pillar standing between fields and houses brings the period vividly to mind.

What to see

• Yegok village: home to the camp gate pillar and information board. The village was once called Yeogok and took its present name, written with the character for "courtesy", in 1925. Geojedo looks almost close enough to touch across the water.
• Bongam pebble beach: a beach of black pebbles mixed with stones of many colours. Local haenyeo (women divers) work these waters, and the beach is fairly busy with holidaymakers in summer.
• Gokryongpo: a small harbour with houses clustered below the hills, where a car ferry from Jeogu port on Geojedo has called since 2009.
• Chubong Bridge: opened on 4 July 2007, it links Hansando and Chubongdo. From the bridge you look down on the narrow channel between the islands and its fish farms.

Tripto tips

• Getting there: take a ferry from Tongyeong Ferry Terminal to Hansando, then cross Chubong Bridge on the island bus that loops around Hansando and Chubongdo, or by car. There has also been a car ferry from Jeogu port in southern Geoje, so check whether it is running and its times before you set off.
• Time needed: a full day combined with Jeseungdang on Hansando, or half a day for Chubongdo alone. Check the time of the last boat first.
• When to go: summer for lazing on the pebble beach, spring or autumn for walking, when the wind is gentler. Boats can be cancelled in bad weather.
• Worth knowing: there are few shops and restaurants on the island, so bring water and snacks. The fields and houses in the villages are private, so look around quietly.