Odongdo Island

A small island off Yeosu turns red from winter into spring. Covered with some 3,000 native camellia trees, Odongdo is known as "Camellia Island" and is the city's best-known sight. A 768 m breakwater links it to the mainland, so you can walk across without a boat, and on the island camellia tunnels, sea cliffs and a white lighthouse await. Seen from afar, the island is shaped like a paulownia (odong) leaf, which gave it its name.

A camellia island joined to the shore

Odongdo lies about 1 km southeast of Yeosu's waterfront and covers only about 0.13 km². The 768 m breakwater, completed in 1935 after three years of work under Japanese rule, connected it to land, and the walk along it has been named one of Korea's 100 most beautiful roads. The island belongs to Hallyeohaesang National Park, designated in 1968. In the Joseon era it served as a training ground for the navy. Murals painted by artists of the Yeosu branch of the Korean Fine Arts Association line the breakwater road.

Its life as a visitor destination is fairly recent. The Dongbaek Train shuttle began running along the breakwater in 1996, and the barefoot walking park and the musical fountain on the central plaza arrived in 2002. Locals rank it first among Yeosu's ten great views, and the 2012 Yeosu World Expo, held right next to it, made it far better known.

An island of legends

Two stories are told here. One says that at the end of Goryeo, someone heard that phoenixes flew to the island to eat paulownia seeds and ordered every paulownia tree cut down; the order is credited either to King Gongmin or to the monk Sin Don. The other tells of a wife who threw herself from a cliff to escape bandits; from that winter on, camellias bloomed and arrow bamboo sprouted around her grave, which is why the camellia is also called "the flower of a woman's heart". The arrow bamboo (sinudae) that grows all over the island is said to have been cut by Admiral Yi Sun-sin for arrows while he trained his troops here.

What to see

• Camellia forest paths: about 2.5 km of tunnel-like forest paths wind through the island like a maze. Walking among camellias and machilus (Japanese bay) trees, you pass through a dense bamboo tunnel and join the loop path around the coast.
• Odongdo Lighthouse: the 25 m white lighthouse on the summit was first lit in May 1952. Around it are bare coastal rocks and open views over the southern sea.
• Coastal rock formations: the shore is mostly rock, with formations named Folding Screen Rock, Conch Rock, Roof Rock and Elephant Rock, and Yonggul, a sea cave the tide flows into. The cliffs at Baramgol, "wind valley", are also worth a look.
• Central plaza: models of a turtle ship and a panokseon warship, and a stone carved with Yi Sun-sin's words, "Without Honam there is no nation". Outside winter, a musical fountain puts on shows.
• Memorial halls: the Yeosu Expo Memorial Hall on the plaza shows films about the Expo bid and Odongdo free of charge, and a memorial hall on the Yeosu–Suncheon Incident of 1948 operates alongside it.

Tripto tips

• Camellia season: sources differ on whether the camellias start to open in January or February, but they peak in March; early blooms appear in winter and colour the island into spring. In March the paths are carpeted with whole fallen flowers.
• Getting onto the island: from the car park at the entrance it is about a 15-minute walk along the breakwater. Otherwise take the Dongbaek Train shuttle: inbound 09:30–17:00, outbound 09:15–16:45, with a break from 12:00 to 13:00. You can also cycle across.
• Opening hours: the island is open 24 hours and admission is free. Information: +82-61-659-1822.
• Time needed: allow about 2 hours to walk in, see the lighthouse and loop around the coast path.
• Getting there: KTX Yeosu Expo Station is the nearest station; from there you can walk past the Expo site to the Odongdo entrance.
• Nearby: the Jasan Park station of the Yeosu Maritime Cable Car is close to the entrance; the view of Odongdo and its breakwater from the cabin is worth it.