South Korea’s popular culture and dramatic mountains could make it simple to miss simply how good of a seaside vacation spot the nation is. Surrounded by ocean on three sides and with numerous islands sprinkled off its coastlines, South Korea has no finish of shores to discover.
Journey the nation’s seashores and what you’ll be most struck by is simply how various they’re. From Busan’s city oases and Jeju-do Island’s subtropical sanctuaries to the east coast’s clean stretches of sand and the west coast’s dramatic tides, you’ll discover a seaside for each temper and each second.
Listed here are six sandy strategies in South Korea to get you began.
Get muddy at Daecheon Seaside
Daecheon Seaside has an actual Jekyll and Hyde factor happening. For a lot of the yr, it’s a comparatively low-key place – form of touristy with tons to do, however nonetheless form of sleepy. However for a month every summer season, it loses its thoughts.
For a number of weeks spanning July and August, Daecheon is the location of the Boryeong Mud Competition, which is a bit like Cancún throughout spring break if all of the partiers saved their shirts on. The pageant is nominally held to have fun town of Boryeong’s mineral-rich mud, which is utilized in industrial skincare merchandise and is alleged to have all types of well being advantages, from anti-aging to improved blood circulation. Commemorations are held within the type of mud marathons, mud impediment programs, mud slides, mud face portray, mud massages, and live shows and DJ units within the mud. The pageant attracts big crowds of largely younger individuals, nevertheless it’s a PG social gathering, and loads of households participate, too.
It’s within the different 11 months of the yr which you could higher recognize simply how good of a seaside Daecheon is. At 3.5km (2.2 miles) lengthy and 100m (328ft) large, it’s the west coast’s largest seaside. (The water on the west coast can also be hotter than at east coast seashores.) It’s additionally in all probability essentially the most energetic, providing water-skiing, jet snowboarding, banana boat rides, a zipper line and a rail bike that runs on an elevated monitor alongside the shore. It’s also possible to take a ship out to Dabo-do Island, an uninhabited, rocky islet. At simply 2.5 hours from Seoul by bus or prepare, Daecheon makes for a straightforward weekend away from the capital.
Haeundae Seaside is for seeing and being seen
Haeundae takes its moniker from the Silla-era scholar and poet Choe Chi-won, who was so keen on the seaside that he carved his pen identify, Haeun, into a close-by rock. Greater than 1000 years later, it’s a troublesome place to put in writing poetry.
Haeundae is South Korea’s hottest seaside by some margin, and it’s not onerous to see why: 1.5km (0.93 miles) lengthy, with calm, shallow water and surrounded by a few of Korea’s glitziest actual property, it’s a wonderful place to be. In July and August, the Busan seaside is filled with vacationers, households and other people seeking to see and be seen. Koreans will not be sunbathers, and through summer season’s peak, a lot of the sand is roofed by seaside umbrellas, leaving Haeundae wanting like a patchwork quilt when seen from above. Come at different occasions of the yr, nevertheless, and also you’ll discover no scarcity of locations to unfold out your towel.
Haeundae’s enchantment lies simply as a lot within the points of interest surrounding the sand. In the course of the seaside you’ll discover SEA LIFE Busan Aquarium, the place you may see otters, penguins and turtles and watch twice-daily shark feedings. On the seaside’s east finish are an arts heart, membership and the BUSAN X the SKY statement deck. To the west are Haeundae Pojangmacha-chon, a set of tent eating places serving seafood, and Dongbaek Park, a forested promontory with strolling trails, a lighthouse and Nurimaru APEC Home, which was constructed to host the 2005 APEC summit. To the north, between the seaside and Haeundae subway station, the streets are filled with cafes, eating places and bars.
The seaside and its environment additionally host quite a few festivals all year long. Hardy souls plunge into the ocean on the Haeundae Polar Bear Competition every January, whereas in Could, the seaside is the setting for unbelievable sand sculptures in the course of the Haeundae Sand Competition. On the peak of summer season, the Busan Sea Competition sees live shows held at Haeundae and two different Busan seashores: Gwangalli and Dadaepo.
Discover waves and good vibes at Jukdo Seaside and Ingu Seaside
It surprises lots of people to be taught that Korea has a browsing scene, nevertheless it does, and this pair of seashores in Yangyang-gun County is its epicenter.
Yangyang’s a vibe. Close to the seaside, surfers stroll round with longboards, and Seoul escapees snap pics for social media, however only a block inland, the place continues to be your typical rural Korean city, with outdated farmers rolling by in pickup vehicles. It’s one of many few locations within the nation the place it feels just like the stresses of regular Korean life don’t apply.
Jukdo and Ingu are separated by a tree-covered hill. The 2km-long (1.25-mile) Jukdo is the quieter sibling, whereas Ingu is a little more constructed up and has a lot of the seashores’ nightlife. Each are residence to quite a few surf retailers providing browsing classes and board leases. In the event you’ve by no means surfed earlier than, this seaside isn’t a nasty place to strive for the primary time. Waves are modest, Korean surf tradition is welcoming and also you undoubtedly gained’t be the one novice on the swells. You shouldn’t have a lot problem discovering an teacher who speaks English. Surf Ocean and Tyler’s Longboard Store are good choices for classes. In the event you’re an skilled surfer, you’ll discover Yangyang’s finest waves in winter.
Jukdo and Ingu each have loads of cafes, eating places and bars that make up the post-surfing scene. In Jukdo, Mahalo resort and cafe has floor-to-ceiling home windows that look out over the waves, whereas in Ingu, each Please Wait and Surf Cliff come alive with DJs and reside music after the solar goes down.
Have a household time out at Woljeongri Seaside
It’s onerous to select the perfect seaside on Jeju-do Island, however Woljeongri makes a robust case. Situated on the island’s northeastern tip, it’s a cute little half moon of white sand main into jewel-like turquoise water, the form of palette that calls to thoughts the South Pacific. Whereas there are some swells farther out that native surfers wish to experience, close to shore the water is shallow and tranquil, good for toddlers and children to play in, making this one in every of Korea’s finest seashores for households.
Past the sand, the village of Woljeong-ri is a perfect base for any Jeju trip. Stroll via its quaint streets and also you’ll come throughout indicators of each outdated (conventional partitions product of volcanic stone) and new (stylish eating places and cafes prepared with cool drinks if you want a break from the solar). For a very native expertise, look into staying someplace like Sogeun Sogeun, a captivating bed-and-breakfast in a standard Jeju-style residence.
In the event you’re visiting Woljeongri with children and so they get uninterested in the seaside, Gimnyeong Maze Park and the otherworldly Manjang-gul lava tube are each lower than a 10-minute drive, whereas a piece of the Jeju Olle Path passes proper by the seaside.
Jeongdongjin Seaside is serene at dawn – and a straightforward day journey from Seoul
In the event you like to be on the seaside however hate the effort of going to the seaside, Jeongdongjin Seaside is your spot. Catch a prepare from Seoul Station and only a two-hour nap later, you’ll be on the sand. Not “15-minute-walk-from-the-station” on the seaside or “short-cab-ride” on the seaside, however at-the-beach on the seaside. The Guinness Ebook of World Information has acknowledged Jeongdongjin Station because the closest station to a seaside on this planet; its tracks run proper alongside the sand.
Jeongdongjin is a spacious strip of golden sand with some rocky outcroppings. Plenty of of us persist with the part of seaside closest to the station for comfort, however when you hike about 400m (0.25 miles) south, you’ll discover a good expanse of sand in entrance of Morae Shigae (Hourglass) Park. Simply attempt to ignore the monstrosity that’s Solar Cruise, a resort formed like a pair of cruise ships perched atop a cliff. Jeongdongjin is famed for its sunrises, and on any given day, Koreans can be on the sand within the pre-dawn hours ready for the solar to emerge from the ocean. It is an particularly common exercise on New Yr’s Day.
A rail bike monitor, on which you pedal a two- or four-person cart alongside railroad tracks, loops alongside the seaside, with boarding factors at each Jeongdongjin Station and Morae Shigae Park. Eating places, cafes and comfort shops might be discovered all alongside Jeongdongyeok-gil and Heonhwa-ro streets.
Reside the resort life at Jungmun Saekdal Seaside
On Jeju-do Island’s south coast 15km (9.3 miles) west of Seogwipo is Jungmun Saekdal Seaside. In the event you’re on the lookout for a personal strip of sand the place you may tune out the world and let the white noise of breaking waves wash over you, maintain transferring. However when you’re after a seaside the place there’s tons to do and loads of resorts to select from, that is your spot.
Jungmun Saekdal is positioned throughout the Jungmun Vacationer Advanced, a set of leisure amenities and resorts (you don’t have to remain at one in every of them to make use of the seaside), and it doesn’t take a developer’s creativeness to see why the complicated was established right here. Black volcanic cliffs bookend a 560m (0.35-mile) stretch of mottled crimson, black, white and grey sand. A dense display screen of greenery insulates the seaside from the built-up parts of the vacationer complicated, and palm bushes look out over blue subtropical waters.
Respectable waves make this one in every of Korea’s prime browsing locations, and it’s additionally a preferred spot for water-skiing, parasailing, windsurfing and different water sports activities. The younger and the attractive gravitate to The Cliff, a restaurant and bar on the east finish of the seaside with bean bag chairs, daybeds, DJs spinning home and techno, social gathering yachts and beautiful sundown views. Lively sorts will recognize that not removed from the seaside are the Jungmun Golf Membership, the three-tier Cheonjeyeon Waterfall and a piece of the Jeju Olle Path that results in panoramic views on the prime of a volcanic tuff cone. Households and people who recognize the works of Seurat and Michelangelo however all the time thought their oeuvres may use extra stuffed animals ought to try the Teddy Bear Museum, a 20-minute stroll from the seaside.
