Mongsanpo Beach

Twice a day this beach changes shape: at high tide it is a shallow sandy bathing beach, and at low tide a broad mudflat where people dig for clams and catch crabs. Stretching about 3 km along the west coast of Nam-myeon on the Taean Peninsula, Mongsanpo Beach is backed by a thick forest of black pines, which makes it a favourite for camping among the trees and walking straight out onto the sand. Being inside Taeanhaean National Park, it has stayed fairly undeveloped, and the sunsets over the Yellow Sea are lovely.

A beach in Taeanhaean National Park

Taeanhaean National Park was designated on 20 October 1978 as Seosan Haean National Park and renamed in 1990. It is Korea's only coastal-type national park, following an intricate shoreline from the Taean Peninsula to Anmyeondo Island, with beaches such as Hakampo, Mallipo, Yeonpo, Mongsanpo and Kkotji along the way. The large tidal range of the Yellow Sea builds wide mudflats, while the peninsula juts out far enough to take the full force of the waves, so mudflats and sandy beaches form side by side. Mongsanpo is a good example of both.

What to do

• Swimming: the beach slopes gently, at about 5 degrees, and the water stays shallow, which suits families with children.
• Mudflat experience: at low tide you can gather clams and crabs on the exposed flats. Well-developed sand dunes also make it a good place to look at mudflat wildlife.
• Camping in the pines: a national park campground and auto-camping sites sit in the pine forest that runs along the beach. The shade keeps the forest noticeably cooler even in midsummer.
• Mongdae Harbour: at the right-hand end of the beach, a road through a tunnel of pines leads about 1 km to Mongdae Harbour, where fishing boats come and go. You can fish from the breakwater rocks or join a boat trip, and the harbour has a cluster of raw-fish restaurants.
• Sunset: the beach faces west, so the sun sets straight into the sea in front of you. The light is especially good when it falls across the wet flats at low tide.

What to eat

Taean's seafood follows the seasons. In spring people come for silchi (tiny whitebait) sashimi; in summer for baksok milguk nakjitang, an octopus soup made with gourd flesh, and grilled conger eel; in autumn for grilled king prawns; and in winter for blanched cockles and a mild snailfish soup known locally as multeombeongitang. Gegukji, a local kimchi seasoned with crab-sauce broth, is another Taean speciality.

Tripto tips

• Check the tides: mudflat activities depend on low tide. The Mongsanpo Beach association website posts a tide table. The tide comes back quickly, so don't wander too far out on the flats.
• Camping: the national park campground and private campsites sit side by side but are run and booked separately. Decide where you want to stay and check with that operator.
• Parking: there is a beach car park.
• Time needed: 1–2 hours for a walk and the sunset; half a day if you add the mudflats.
• Nearby: in Mongsan-ri stands the Stone Seated Sakyamuni Buddha of Mongsan-ri, a 103 cm figure thought to date from Unified Silla and listed as a provincial heritage item. Add Cheongsan Arboretum, with around 600 plant species, and Anmyeondo to the south for a full day in southern Taean.