Gyeongpo Beach: The Most Popular Beach On The East Coast Of Korea
When it’s summer in Seoul, it sometimes seems that the population in the city doubles with the arrival. People that had hidden inside from the cold are out and about and places that seemed like hidden gems are swarming with people. The entire city changes and comes to life and as it does, people also begin to travel far and wide to find places to cool off in Korea. Gangneung on the east coast of Korea in Gangwondo is one of those hot places that everyone wants to head to.
This week a friend and I headed to Gyeongpo Beach (강릉 경포수욕장) in Gangneung, Korea to find a beach, eat some salt water tofu, have fun and learn about gramophones among other things and just enjoy the emerald blue waters and white sands. If you’re looking for a beach and a getaway from Seoul, this is it.
In this guide to Gangneung, you’ll find a lot of information. Feel free to skip around:
- How To Get To Gyeongpo Beach
- Where To Stay In Gangneung
- Tours That Go To Gangneung
- Beaches and More To See
- Things To Do In Gangneung
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How To Get To Gyeongpo Beach
Address: 1-san Anhyeon-dong Gangneung-si Gangwon-do (강원도 강릉시 안현동 산1)
By Train: The most comfortable way to travel to the east coast now is most definitely the train which you can catch from Seoul Station and take straight out to Gangneung Station. Trains leave every hour from 5:00am until 10:00pm and take around two hours. The tickets cost between W26,000 and W44,000 depending on the seats chosen.
By Bus: There are buses available that go from Dong Seoul Bus Terminal out to Gangneung and take around 2.5 hours. They cost between W14,000 and W22,000 depending on what kind of bus you’re riding. Buses leave throughout the day as well.
Where To Stay In Gangneung
St. John’s Hotel
Want a hotel with some fun guaranteed? This is it! St. John’s Hotel is on Gangmun Beach and has an infinity pool if the beach isn’t enough. Plenty of water suffice to say and some great rooms especially if you’re a family looking for a great place to stay in Gangneung. Book a room at St. John’s Hotel here on Booking.com or on Agoda.com.
Skybay Hotel
Right on Gyeongpo Beach and near Lake Gyeongpo, this is a 5-stay luxury hotel that is perfect if you’re looking to go all out for vacation this year. All of the rooms feature a water view, either of the ocean or of the lake and the balconies on every room will have you swooning over the views. If the beach isn’t enough, enjoy the infinity pool up top too. Book a room at Skybay Hotel here on Booking.com or on Agoda.com.
Tours That Go To Gangneung
If you want to head out to the area but don’t have a car and want to make sure you see the best spots, join one of Klook’s great tours. You’ll see all the best spots, even some straight out of the drama ‘Goblin’ and you’ll be able to get back to Seoul without any transportation issues.
How To Get Around Gangneung
Gangneung is definitely one of those spots that is easier to get around if you have a car. However, if you don’t, much like other cities in the country, there are taxis that you can rent for hours or entire days if you want to get around and see different things. There are 3 hour taxi tours that you can check out. If you want them for the whole day, just book them for 6 hours!
Beaches and More To See
Gangneung, one of the most popular beach cities in Korea, offers something for everyone with beaches, lakes, a long history, a national park and delicious food and since it’s easily accessible from Seoul, it’s really a must visit this summer.
If you want to visit something on the west coast that is maybe not so popular though, look into heading down to Oido Island or Daebudo Island or go to Buan and find the Chaesukgang cliffs and seaside or just head out and visit the beaches near Incheon International Airport. A great thing about visiting or living in Korea for any amount of time is access to seaside on three sides! For someone like me who didn’t grow up near water, it’s just such an amazing opportunity.
Gyeongpo Beach (경포해변) stretches six kilometers on the northeastern coast of Korea and is formed between the ocean and Gyeongpo Lake. This makes it an especially appealing vacation spot as the lake is surrounded by a lovely bike path and marshy walking trails, two great options for days that are too overcast to enjoy the sea. I’ll talk more about the lake down below though. Back to the beach…
The white sand beach is backed by a wall of pine trees with a wooden plank path that winds down the coast. The water is a mix of beautiful shades of blue that was clear all the way down to our feet on the ocean floor. If you’re looking for the clearest blue water I’ve seen in Korea, this is the beach you should be seeking out this summer.
Though the water was still a bit chilly, we dove in and splashed around. We weren’t the only ones in the water. University students that have finished up their semester were also in groups along the beach renting tubes, riding banana boats and speeding by on jet skis.
Groups of students came for beach fun by day and sparkler fun by night. Also in the mix were numerous couples hand in hand or riding tandem bikes in the area known as a romantic destination.
In the spring, the lake is surrounded by cherry blossoms and the saying goes “you can see the moon five times here, in the sky, in the sea, in the lake, in your glass and in the eyes of your lover.” Gyeongpo certainly has something for everyone. There is plenty to do and plenty to see and if you’re in Seoul, this is probably the best beach that is easily accessible.
While this beach is popular, the entire coastal region in this area is gorgeous beach after gorgeous beach so it’s easy enough to go a bit north or go a bit south and find a place that has plenty of space. Since we were a bit early for summer, there were no crowds and the ambiance suited us just fine.
We spent the first day at the beach and ended it by eating shellfish and grilled shrimp at one of the numerous beachfront restaurants lining the strip. Gyeongpo Beach is a great option if you want to get to one spot and do everything within walking distance. Spend the day at the beach and then eat at one of the numerous restaurants nearby.
As it’s not yet high season, it seemed that our restaurant servers were in eager spirits and not only paid quite a bit of attention to our grill, slicing and dicing our fishy goods when needed, but they also provided us with an extra service of shrimp and shellfish on the house.
With bellies full, we hopped into a local convenience store to buy some fireworks because a day at the beach would not be complete in Korea without some sparkly lights in the night sky. Again surprised with local friendliness, the shop keeper loaned us her lighter instead of making us buy one and gave us two noisy fireworks for free.
It was a perfect ending to a day on the beach away from the ruckus of city streets. If Gangneung isn’t the spot for you, fear not because there are plenty of beaches all around this peninsula to check out. Definitely plan a beach getaway this summer though. A summer in Korea isn’t complete without a trip to the beach.
What To Know About The Beach
Amenities: Bathrooms and shower rooms for the public, camping site (500 people occupancy), 1,000 parking spaces, water-skiing, banana boat rides, tube rental, boat rides, jet ski rides
Things To Do In Gangneung
Visit Gyeongpo Lake
Gyeongpo Lake (경포호) means “clear as a mirror” and was formed when the mouth of the bay was closed by sand and rocks brought in by the sea currents. This area is known to be a romantic destination for couples and the saying here goes “with the moon shining in the sky, it is reflected in the ocean, on the lake, in your glass and in the eyes of your lover.”
The lake is lined with cherry blossoms in the spring which is rather romantic, but if you’re like us and go during the summer not to worry, you can still see cherry blossom trees. We had to pull over in surprise on the path when we realized that some of the trees were fake and outfitted to look like cherry blossom trees in bloom. Does that really keep the romanticism alive?
Also around the lake are some quite humorous statues. For those people that want a more serious tone, there are also historical relics along the way to stop off at and enjoy as well. If you go all the way around, you’ll also find a wetland area and wooden bridges to walk along and an old wooden canal-crossing boat that you need to pull with your hands to cross the water on. Just one of those fun things you can find in Korea in the countryside a lot. And as you go around, look out for the popular Gyeongpo Pavilion which is the most popular overlook spot in the area.
Bike rental shops and tents can be found easily, so we picked up a couple for W5,000 an hour each and went on our way. I should admit, we had ours for more than an hour and they didn’t charge us any extra, perhaps another great thing about visiting during low season.
- Address: 365 Gyeongpo-ro Gangneung-si Gangwon-do (강원도 강릉시 경포로365)
- Hours: 6:00am ~ 12:00am but note that swimming is only permitted between 6:00am and 6:00pm
Learn at Chamsori Gramophone Museum & Edison Science Museum
The Chamsori Gramophone Museum and Edison Science Museum (참소리축음기 에디슨과학박물관) was first started in 1982 by private collector Sung-mok Son and is the largest gramophone museum in the world, without much competition I imagine. He has collected 4,500 phonographs, 150,000 phonograph records, 1,000 books and 5,000 other items from 20 nations around the world.
His first gramophone was a Columbian G241 made in the 1920’s given to him by his parents in Wonsan, North Korea. When the family fled south, this gramophone was the only thing he took with him and now has a special place in the museum.
His collection is rather spectacular and if you’re lucky, you’ll even be able to spot him enjoying his collection as we did. The Lonely Planet states that tours are only given in Korean, however, there are people on staff that speak English and are more than happy to accommodate foreigners. The first hall contains 30 music boxes and a circus organ, which were in use before the gramophone was invented.
Some of them still work and if you ask politely you may get to listen. There are also 350 beautifully painted gramophones of all sizes to view and this is just the introduction. The second hall contains cabinet style gramophones made in the 1920s and 1930s and the third hall contains radios and TVs produced between 1920 and 1980.
Connected to the Gramophone Museum is the Edison Science Museum, which focuses on Edison’s “three major inventions – the gramophone, the light bulb, and the projector.” The numerous light bulbs on display are a wonder
and some still work today a century later making them even more spectacular. The whole place takes an hour to peruse and the staff is extremely helpful. It’s certainly a kitschy place to spend some time inside and we enjoyed it a ton!
- Address: 393 Gyeongpo-ro Gangneung-si Gangwon-do (강원도 강릉시 경포로 393)
- Hours: 9:00am – 6:00pm
- Admission: Adults: W15,000; Teenagers: W13,000; Chidlren: W10,000; Infants: 8,000
- Website: http://www.edison.kr/
Eat at Chodang Dubu Village
After the museum it was lunch time so, we headed to Chodang Dubu Village (초당두부마을) to savor a local delicacy. This area is known for a very special kind of tofu that is made with salt water from the East Sea rather than salt mixed with water as in the rest of the country.
The name of the food originates from a famous family in the 16th century named Chodang-Heoyeop. Heoyeop was the father of writer and poet Heo-gyun and poet Heonan-seolheon. There are numerous restaurants along the country road to choose from, but we opted for Chodang Halmoni Sundubu just around the bend on the right side. Anything made by a halmoni, grandmother, must be delicious, right?
Chodang Halmoni Sundubu has more than twenty years of experience and follows the traditional recipe for their delicious meals. They start making the tofu at 4 o’clock in the morning for early morning customers and continue until 9 at night. Their menu is short and sweet with only three options: Chodang tofu, Chodang tofu set and hard tofu. We ordered the set and enjoyed.
The server was extremely helpful and when asked happily explained how were to eat the tofu properly (in Korean, don’t expect too much English here). It was a delicious end to our time in Gangneung.
- Address: 99 Chodangsundubu-gil, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do (강원도 강릉시 초당순두부길 99 (초당동) 일대)
There are really beautiful beaches throughout the Gangneung area. Most people head to Gyeongpo Beach, but let me lay out a few other beaches to look out for if you want a less crowded experience on the east coast of Korea.
Sungeut Beach: Set between the more popular areas named Jumunjin and Gyeongpo, this small beachside area has a quieter atmosphere which suited us just fine. Even though smaller, it does still have amenities like umbrella rental and plastic lounge chairs. There was plenty of space and a modern look out area on the southern end of the beach that was cool to check out as well.
Naksan Beach: Gangneung can be extremely popular in the summer so sometimes it’s just better to look elsewhere. You don’t have to look too far though. Naksan to the north was one of our favorite getaways. Not only is the beach beautiful with plenty of restaurants and cafes to sup in, but there is a cliff with a stunning temple on the top as well.
Jeongdongjin Beach: This beach is famous as it features the Sun Cruise Resort a ship shaped resort on the side of a hillside that overlooks the beach. The drama “Hourglass” filmed here also helped. The beach is absolutely gorgeous so it’s no wonder people flock to the area. Maybe you’ll get lucky like us and not meet a soul around when you go though.
Surfyy Beach: If you’re looking to get your surf on in Korea, head to Surfyy Beach which is ONLY for surfers. It’s near Hajodae Beach and is an awesome experience. Whether you have experience or not, there are teachers and surf. Get out there.
Chuam Beach: This seaside area in Donghae just south of the more popular Gangneung beaches, is no less beautiful features stretches and stretches of beautiful coast that has been largely left untouched due to the military installations in the area. But now, fences are being removed and civilians are enjoying the views. Chuam Beach is easy to get to on the KTX and also features a nearby suspension bridge and sculpture park too.
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