Namhaedo Island

Off the southern tip of South Gyeongsang Province, Namhaedo covers 301 km², making it the fifth-largest island in South Korea. It is the main island of Namhae County, which also includes neighbouring Changseondo. Despite being an island, you do not need a boat: you simply drive across a bridge over the Noryang Strait from Hadong. Terraced rice fields stepping down hillsides to the sea, bamboo fish weirs that use the tide to trap anchovies, and the waters where the last battle of the Imjin War was fought are all found on this one island.

An island joined by bridges

Namhaedo was connected to the mainland in June 1973, when Namhae Bridge opened across the Noryang Strait. About 660 m long, it was Korea's first suspension bridge and was described at the time as the largest in East Asia. The newer Noryang Bridge now stands right beside it, and on the Changseondo side the Changseon–Samcheonpo Bridge links to Sacheon, so you can drive in one way and out the other. Work on Namhae Bridge began in May 1968 and took five years; Namhaegak, a former hotel beside it, is now an exhibition and rest space.

Noryang, Admiral Yi's last sea

In 1598 the Battle of Noryang, the final major engagement of the Imjin War against the Japanese invaders, was fought in the waters just off the island. Admiral Yi Sun-sin, fighting alongside the Ming admiral Chen Lin to stop the retreating Japanese fleet, was killed here. On the hill at Gwaneumpo, overlooking the sea where he died, stands Iraksa, a shrine in his memory.

What to see

• Gacheon Village rice terraces: On a steep stretch of the south-west coast, terraced paddies cut into the slope run right down to the sea. The landscape is protected as Scenic Site No. 15, and the village is popularly known as Daraengi Village.
• Jukbangnyeom of Jijok Strait: In the narrow strait between Namhaedo and Changseondo, about 500 m wide and 3 km long, V-shaped bamboo fences trap anchovies swept in by the current. 23 of these traditional weirs remain. They were designated a Scenic Site in 2010 and, in July 2025, listed as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
• Geumsan and Boriam: Boriam, a hermitage clinging to the cliffs near the summit of Geumsan in the south of the island, is a famous place of prayer known for its views over the sea of Hallyeohaesang National Park.
• German Village: Settled by Koreans who had worked in Germany as miners and nurses in the 1960s and 1970s and later returned, its orange-roofed houses look out over the sea.
• Garlic fields and coastal roads: Even in winter, green garlic fields cover much of the island; Namhae is well known for its garlic.
• Mijo-ri evergreen forest: On the shore at Mijo, at the island's south-eastern tip, a grove of evergreen trees survives as an example of the windbreak forests that sheltered fishing villages.

How a jukbangnyeom catches fish

Rather than dragging nets, a jukbangnyeom lets the current bring the fish in. Wooden stakes are driven into the strait where the tide floods and ebbs, and bamboo screens are woven between them; fish swept along by the current end up trapped in an enclosure at the tip. Fishermen go out by boat at the right point in the tide to scoop out the catch. Anchovies are the main prize, though hairtail and eel are also caught. The method was named National Important Fishery Heritage No. 3 in 2015, and in 2019 the traditional weir fishing technique was designated National Intangible Heritage. From the bridge over the Jijok Strait or from the shore, you can watch the V-shaped weirs cutting through the current.

Tripto tips

• Itinerary: The island is big and its sights are spread out, so two days and one night works best. With only a day, loop around in one direction, for example Namhae Bridge → Iraksa → Jijok Strait → German Village → Boriam → Daraengi Village.
• Transport: You arrive by bridge, so there are no ferry timetables to worry about. Buses on the island are infrequent, which makes a car or rental car far more convenient.
• Best time: Spring, when the garlic fields are green and water is let into the terraces, and autumn, when the sea is at its clearest.
• Combine with: Stop at Namhaegak by Namhae Bridge for views of both bridges over the Noryang Strait before or after your loop.