Songdo Beach

About 3 km west of Jagalchi Market, a sandy beach curves around a bay lined with hotels and apartment towers. Songdo Beach opened in 1913 as Korea's first beach resort and celebrated its centenary in 2013. These days more people come for the walkway over the sea, the cable car and the clifftop trails than for swimming.

History: from pine island to Turtle Island

The name, "pine island", comes from a small island offshore that was covered with pines. In the 1910s Japanese settlers in Busan set up a leisure company and developed the shore into a bathing beach, and Songdo became one of the best-known resorts in the country. A rest house built on the island was blown down by sea winds and rebuilt several times, and in the process the island was worn down to a turtle-shaped rock, now called Geobukseom, Turtle Island.

In 1964 a cable car about 420 m long was strung between Turtle Island and the hill to the west, and it remained a local landmark for decades. Pollution and a shrinking beach later sent Songdo into decline, but a coastal restoration project from 2000 to 2005 widened the sand and added an underwater breakwater. The beach is now about 800 m long and 50 m wide.

What to see

• Songdo Cloud Trail: a walkway over the water from the east end of the beach to Turtle Island. Some sections have glass or open-grate floors, so you see the sea moving beneath you. Open 06:00–23:00.
• Songdo Marine Cable Car (Busan Air Cruise): the old cable car revived after 29 years, crossing the bay from Songnim Park in the east to Amnam Park in the west. Crystal cabins with glass floors are available.
• Amnam Park: a nature park of sea cliffs and pine woods. A loop takes about an hour, and viewpoints look down on the islet of Dudo and its white lighthouse.
• Songdo Peninsula geosite: part of Busan National Geopark, where the red sedimentary layers of the Dadaepo Formation line the shore, with dinosaur egg-nest fossils, faults and dykes.

Good to know

• Amnam Park opens up: the Amnam area on Songdo's western shore was a military zone for many years and opened to the public in April 1996, which is why its coastal woods and rocks are relatively well preserved.
• Songs and festivals: a summer sea festival is held here, along with a song contest honouring the singer Hyun In.
• Wartime capital: nearby in Bumin-dong, the Provisional Capital Memorial Hall was the presidential residence when Busan served as Korea's temporary capital during the Korean War.

Tripto tips

• Cable car hours: 09:00–20:00 from December to February, 09:00–21:00 in March–June and September–November, 09:00–22:00 in July and August, with ticket sales ending 30 minutes before closing. Fares depend on cabin type and one-way or return, and sources differ, so check the official website. It stops in strong winds.
• Route: see Turtle Island from the Cloud Trail, ride the cable car across to Amnam Park, walk the coast and come back. That makes a pleasant half day.
• When to go: the walkway is at its best around sunset and when the lights come on. Showers and changing rooms open during the summer swimming season.
• Combine with: Jagalchi Market and Yeongdo Bridge are close by, so Songdo fits well into a day in Busan's old town.