Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Coast & islands
옹진군
Yeongheungdo belongs to Ongjin County in Incheon, yet you do not need a ferry. From Oido in Siheung you cross the Sihwa seawall, pass Daebudo and Seonjaedo, and finally reach the island over the Yeongheung Bridge. Wind-bent hornbeam groves…
Coast & islands
시흥시
The name ends in "-do", the Korean word for island, but Oido has not been an island for a long time. Salt pans laid out on its mudflats under Japanese colonial rule, followed by later land reclamation, joined it to the mainland, and today…
Coast & islands
완도군
Cross two bridges from the Haenam Peninsula at the southwestern tip of the Korean mainland and you arrive on Wando, the main island of Wando County. At 90.1 km² it is the eighth-largest island in South Korea, and in the Silla period it was…
Coast & islands
완도군
Fifty minutes by boat from Wando harbour, Cheongsando, the island that stays green all year, was named Asia's first Slow City. Stone-walled lanes, terraced gudeuljang rice paddies and hillsides covered in yellow rapeseed flowers in spring…
Coast & islands
제주시
Just a few minutes' drive from Jeju Airport, a dragon seems to rear its head out of the sea. Yongduam Rock, on the shore of Yongdam-dong in Jeju City, is a rock about 10 m high whose shape, carved by waves and wind over countless years, re…
Coast & islands
제주시
Udo ("Cow Island") lies off Seongsan at the eastern tip of Jeju. Seen from the side it is said to look like a cow lying down, hence the name. The island is only about 3.8 km long with a coastline of around 17 km, yet it packs in white beac…
Coast & islands
울릉군
Just off Seommok on the north-east tip of Ulleungdo, Gwaneumdo is an uninhabited islet that was once joined to the main island until the sea wore away the link. Since 2012 a 140 m footbridge has let you walk across, and a loop around the c…
Coast & islands
울릉군
Ulleungdo is a volcanic island in the East Sea, about 120 km east of the Korean mainland. It is the top of a large volcano rising from the seabed, so most of its coast is sheer cliff, and the highest point, Seonginbong, reaches 984 metres.…
Coast & islands
인천광역시
Wolmido is a small island right in front of Incheon Port. Land reclamation has joined it to the mainland, so it hardly feels like an island any more, but because it guarded the sea route to Seoul, several turning points of modern Korean hi…
Coast & islands
부산
Igidae Park lines the coast of Yongho-dong in Busan's Nam-gu district, where the slopes of Jangsanbong drop into the sea in strangely shaped cliffs and broad rock shelves. On the coastal trail you see Gwangan Bridge and Haeundae on one sid…
Coast & islands
화성시
Jebudo is an island the sea swallows its road to twice a day. The 2.3 km causeway linking it to the mainland lies below the high-tide line, so when the tide comes in the road disappears under water for three to four hours at a time. Drivin…
Coast & islands
제주시
Stand on the sand at Hyeopjae Beach and you will see a rounded island rising beyond the emerald water. Biyangdo is a small volcanic island off Hallim in Jeju City, covering about 0.5 km², with around 160 residents. The ferry from Hallim Po…
Coast & islands
서귀포시
Right in front of Sanbangsan, a ridge runs into the sea that locals thought looked like a dragon lowering its head into the water, hence the name Yongmeori, "dragon's head". The cliffs are layers of volcanic ash thrown out by eruptions und…
Coast & islands
진도군
A few times a year, at low tide, the sea parts and a 2.8 km path appears between two islands. Jindo, Korea's third-largest island, is known for this "Miracle Sea Road", for Admiral Yi Sun-sin's Battle of Myeongnyang and for the Jindo dog.…
Coast & islands
제주시
About 2 km off the coast of Gosan-ri, at Jeju's western tip, a grass-topped island floats in the sea. Chagwido is Jeju's largest uninhabited island, made up of Jukdo (Daeseom) and Wado among other islets, and it is only about 10 minutes by…
Coast & islands
동해시
At the end of Chuam Beach in Donghae, a pillar of rock rises straight out of the sea. Chuam Candlestick Rock earns its name when the rising sun sits on its tip like a candle flame. It appears in the opening shot of the national anthem broa…
Coast & islands
태안군
At the north-western tip of the Taean Peninsula, wind-built dunes spread out behind Sinduri Beach. These are the largest coastal sand dunes in Korea, designated a Natural Monument in 2001. Walking the boardwalks, you pass grassy hummocks,…
Coast & islands
태안군
Two rocky islets sit side by side off the beach, and in the evening the sun goes down behind them. This view from Kkotji Beach on Anmyeondo is counted among the classic sunsets of Korea's west coast. Anmyeondo stretches south from the Taea…
Coast & islands
통영시
Of the many islands scattered off Tongyeong, Yokjido stands out for its well-made coastal road that loops right around the island, ideal for a slow drive or bike ride. On its roughly 12.5 km² you will find fishing villages, sweet-potato fi…
Coast & islands
통영시
About 25 minutes by boat from Tongyeong harbour lies the island where Admiral Yi Sun-sin kept his headquarters: Hansando. The Battle of Hansan Island fought offshore in 1592 is counted among the turning points of the Imjin War, and Jeseung…
Coast & islands
제주시
Hamdeok Beach in Hamdeok-ri, Jocheon-eup, is one of the Jeju beaches people mention first when they talk about sea colour. It lies only about 20 km east of Jeju International Airport, yet the mix of white sand, clear turquoise water and a…
Coast & islands
부산
Where the sand of Haeundae Beach ends, a small hill thick with pines and camellias juts out into the sea. Dongbaekseom was once an island, but soil and sand carried down by the neighbouring Chuncheoncheon stream gradually joined it to the…
Coast & islands
부산
Haeundae Beach is an urban beach spanning Jung-dong and U-dong in Haeundae District, Busan. Its sand stretches for about 1.5 km and covers some 120,000 m², making it the best-known beach in Korea. Figures for its width vary from 30 to 90 m…
Coast & islands
제주시
Hyeopjae Beach sits at Hyeopjae-ri in Hallim on Jeju's west coast, where white sand, shallow clear water and the small island of Biyangdo just offshore all fit into one view. The water is shallow and the seabed slopes gently, which makes i…