Dolsando Island

Just one bridge from central Yeosu, Dolsando is the tenth-largest island in Korea. A coastal road loops around it past pebble beaches, small harbours, fields of mustard greens for kimchi and a hermitage perched on a sea cliff. It deserves a day of its own on any Yeosu trip.

The island

Dolsando belongs to Dolsan-eup in Yeosu and covers 70.31 km². Eight rocky mountains, including Daemisan, Bonghwangsan, Geumosan and Cheonmasan, fill the island, and local belief holds that its name, from dol (stone), refers to all this rock. Facing Gamak Bay to the west and the open South Sea to the south, it has always lived from fishing; today aquaculture and tourism share the load.

The island was joined to the mainland when Dolsan Bridge was completed on 15 December 1984. The 450 m cable-stayed bridge has become part of Yeosu's skyline, and at night its lights colour the water below.

What to see

• Dolsan Park: a hilltop park right by Dolsan Bridge, looking over old Yeosu, the harbour and the bridge. The Yeosu Maritime Cable Car crosses the sea from here.
• Museulmok: a beach of large, smooth pebbles stretching about 700 m in front of a coastal pine forest. It is a well-known sunrise spot, and tradition holds that Admiral Yi Sun-sin defeated a Japanese force here during the Imjin War.
• Bangjukpo Beach: a small sandy beach backed by pines, popular for swimming in summer.
• Yulrim and other small harbours: along the coastal road you pass fishing villages with small boats moored beneath the hills.
• Hyangiram: a hermitage on the cliffs of Geumosan at the island's southern tip, famous for sunrise over the sea.

The story of Dolsan gat

The island's signature food is Dolsan gat, a leaf mustard. Grown in mild sea air and alkaline soil, it is less fiery and more tender than mustard greens elsewhere, and gat kimchi made from it has become one of Yeosu's best-known dishes. Between Bangjukpo Beach and Hyangiram there is a mustard-growing village where you can harvest the leaves and make kimchi yourself. Driving the coastal road, you will see the green fields on the hillsides.

Under the bridge and around the island

A full-size replica of a turtle ship floats by the shore beneath Dolsan Bridge, so Admiral Yi Sun-sin's Yeosu greets you as soon as you cross. Raw-fish restaurants line the waterfront around the bridge, good for a meal with a sea view.

Further south, besides Hyangiram, there is the small hermitage of Eunjeokam, and the sea off Pyeongsa-ri is known as a wintering ground for swans. The coastal road alternates between the island's two faces: the open South Sea to the south and east, and the calm Gamak Bay to the west, dotted with islets and fish farms. Which side you drive makes the island feel completely different.

Combine Hyangiram and Museulmok, which face the sunrise, with the Gamak Bay shore, which faces the sunset, and you can see both the beginning and the end of the day on Dolsando.

Tripto tips

• Driving: the coastal road around the island is about 60 km — 1–2 hours non-stop, or a comfortable half day with stops at beaches and viewpoints.
• Getting there: from central Yeosu, buses 111, 111-1 and 116 cross the island to the Impo stop below Hyangiram. Services are infrequent, so check the timetable first.
• Best time: sunrise at Hyangiram and Museulmok is lovely all year, but roads jam badly around 1 January with New Year sunrise crowds. Mustard greens are in season from autumn to spring.
• Time needed: one hour for the view from Dolsan Park; half a day to a full day for the loop and Hyangiram.
• Night views: stay in Dolsan Park from sunset and you can watch Dolsan Bridge and Yeosu harbour light up.