Modo, Sindo, & Sido Islands Off The Coast Of Incheon: Art and Adventure
Modo (모도), Sindo (신도), and Sido (시도) islands, always grouped because they sit right next to each other and are connected via bridges so when you take the ferry from Incheon to one, you’ll always visit all three, are also called the “Three Brother Islands”. They are so close and yet they seem so far from Seoul, Korea. What secrets do these islands hold? Let me share because this year is all about Incheon island hopping and these are the first three you should start with. It’s an easy trip from Seoul and you won’t feel like you’re that close at all.
All you know can be found right here:
- How To Get To The Islands
- How To Get Around The Islands
- What To Know About Food!
- Sindo Island (신도)
- Sido Island (시도)
- Modo Island (모도)
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How To Get To The Islands
To get to the islands you need to head to Sammok Ferry Terminal (삼목여객터미널). The ferry terminal is located on Yeongjongdo Island, which you probably know better as where Incheon International Airport is.
If you want to check out what else you can do ON Yeongjongdo, check out this guide to things to do around Incheon International Airport. It’s a good thing to keep in mind just in case the ferries get cut off. Yes, the ferries are weather permitting so if it’s too windy or rainy, ferries may get cancelled. Just something to keep in mind. That said, the majority of people that visit the islands are actually visiting for just a day trip which is completely possible… if there is good weather.
Address: 63 Yeongjong haeanbuk-ro, 847 beon-gil, Jung-gu, Incheon (인천 중구 영종해안북로847번길 63 삼목여객터미널)
Ticket Price: Adults: W2,000; Children: W1,500; Cars: W10,000 (There are other fees depending if you are taking a larger vehicle, etc. but this is the gist.)
Notes: When you purchase your ticket, make sure you get a round trip option. This will ensure you can get back the same day or the next day if you choose to stay the night. The round trip ticket doesn’t require you to tell them which time you’ll be departing, but it will ensure they don’t oversell the spots and you will get on one.
Time: 10 minutes; the ferry to the island is quite quick so if you’re taking a car be careful not to get out and get back in too late. The islanders and locals and ferry masters are very quick to get people on and off the ferries so if you hold up the line, you will be yelled at.
Want to find more islands from Yeongjongdo? Also look into visiting Muuido Island where you can find Hanagae Beach.
How To Get Around The Islands
By Car: This is the easiest way to get around the islands and there is parking at the key points. The roads are a bit narrow though, so take it slow and just enjoy the scenery. No reason to go fast around here.
By Bicycle: A lot of the people that were on their way over to the islands without a car brought along a bicycle to get around the islands. You can also rent them once you’ve crossed over. There seemed to be some pretty standard bike routes that they were taking so they could get around and see everything as well. You can’t really get lost on the islands. There’s a main route around the coasts of the islands and then a few streets that branch in.
By Scooter: After getting off of the ferry on Sindo Island, there is a shop where pedestrians to the island can rent scooters. Actually, if you drove over, you could also just park your car in the ferry parking lot which is free and rent them too.
To rent a 1-2 person scooter, it’s W15,000 for one hour, W25,000 for two hours, W30,000 for three hours. You get a better deal the more you use it. For a family scooter which looks more like a golf cart and holds 3-4 people, it’s W30,000 for one hour, W50,000 for two hours, W60,000 for three hours and so on. Be sure to stop by there if you don’t have a car because you won’t want to walk around the islands.
What To Know About Food!
There is only one “market” on the islands that we could find and even then it was only open 1 day a week. When we visited on that day, it was NOT open. This is important to note. The majority of visitors should and are expected to bring their own food.
There are restaurants for the standard kalguksu or shellfish noodle soup, but if you’ll want anything else, bring it yourself. Most people staying the night will bring a box of food and drinks with them even if they’re staying at pensions. The pensions will be able to provide you with the coal and fire for a grill and some side dishes but generally, you bring what you’ll eat. They’ll make rice and soup of course as well.
There are a couple places to eat, which we tried and I’ll talk about them later in the post. But if you have shellfish allergies, or need something specific while you’re there, just bring it yourself.
Sindo Island (신도)
This is first in the list because this is the first island you’ll come to because this is where the ferry port is. This is also the larger of the islands and is a lot of beautiful lush green rice paddies during the summer. The islanders here are mainly farmers and fishermen with just a handful of restaurants, cafes, and pensions to choose from. We took a drive around this island but only stopped to check out a few pavilions and green views.
Sido Island (시도)
Sido Island is where we spent the majority of our time because it’s where we were staying and it’s where the best beach on the islands is. This is the island in the middle and also has a collection of pensions, the market, and some restaurants on the main road which you’ll see as you enter and head toward Sugi Beach (information below).
Where To Stay: Poolside Pension
The best spot for us is the beach spot. The Poolside Pension, never mind the name, is the only pension on the best beach on the islands. Wake up in the morning when the tide is in and take advantage because later in the day the daytrippers come in, but that’s also when the water goes out and it’s a mudflat anyway so it’s the perfect time to go look around the other islands.
The Poolside Pension, which you can see off in the distance there in the photo above and is clearly the only spot on the beach is a great family owned spot. If you can use Korean sites, you can find it there, but if you not, they also have a listing here on Airbnb where you can book rooms.
The rooms are loft style rooms with a bed up on the upper floor and a pull out couch on the first floor with a TV, kitchenette and bathroom. It was clean, comfortable and the family running the place is very helpful. We actually didn’t bring any food with us because… well, it’s enough effort me just to wrangle my child out the door, and we were fine eating the kalguksu, fried chicken, and the family had some extra meat that we could buy from them for a BBQ one night.
Don’t depend on them to have meat when it’s high season though. Bring your own. But they do seem to have plenty of kalguksu and chicken to fry. We really enjoyed our stay here and they also provide some water activity objects to grab too.
Sugi Beach (수기해수욕장)
This is the best beach on the three islands and it’s also where the dramas ‘Full House’ and ‘Sad Love Song’ were shot. The beach, located on the northern end of Sido Island, features some nice wooden huts for shade.
Get there early though because when those daytrippers come, they snatch them up quickly. If you don’t want to bring your own tent though, they’re a great option to enjoy. Technically there are lots of signs that tell people with tents NOT to use the huts, but people with tents kept setting up beneath them. I noticed around noon that some local officials came in to tell them to move out with their tents.
This beach is quite nice because the Poolside Pension also has a restaurant/cafe, a convenience store and public bathrooms and showers so it’s got all of the amenities for a great day out at the coast. If you do want to go for the day, just make sure you get out to the ferry early so you can get to the beach early and then have lunch here before you head on to Modo Island in the afternoon.
Around eleven, the water receded and the mudflats could be seen for awhile. Like a lot of beaches on the western side of the country, the water is higher in the morning and the evening and is muddy mudflats for a pretty long stretch out to the water again.
Some people took to the mud to collect sea creatures. We took to the mud for a bit and then Ava got stuck and it scared her and she thought she might actually get stuck for good and never be released from the sea again so we headed back the sand. Might take me awhile to convince her to go out into mudflats again for awhile.
In the evening, there are gorgeous sunsets. You can actually see Ganghwado Island from the beach and if you walk to the eastern end, you can see the sunset really well from the rocks. No one else made the walk the evening we went and we had the most spectacular sunset to enjoy that no one else could see. It was pretty magical. Make sure you walk all the way to the eastern end of the beach where the rocks meet the sand or else you could miss the view.
On the note of eastern end, I should also point out that on the western end of the beach is an entrance to a wooden boardwalk that takes you up into the forest and on to an observatory that is quite nice. It’s a good option for something to do nearby if you want to stay on the beach all day and want a few different things to do.
- Address: Sido-ri, Bukdo-myeon, Ongjin-gun, Incheon (인천 옹진군 북도면 시도리)
Modo Island (모도)
Modo is the smallest of the three islands and the furthest west but don’t miss it because it might have the most interesting thing of the three islands. (Side note: Don’t confuse this Modo with another Modo Island that is down south near Jindo Island where the annual Sea Parting Festival takes place.).
In 1929, Modo Island was spotted by Kim Hae Gim as he left on his way to Jeju Island. He called the island Ttiseom because of the ttipul grass he saw all over the island. The islanders that lived there used the grass to make thatched roofs so the view was just all ttipul grass. Eventually the name changed from Ttiseom to Modo which is actually the Hanja for Ttiseom.
To find the above sign, which is one of those must have photo-ops IF you can get there when no one is parked in front of it is to turn left at the fork when you’re headed to Baemiggumi Beach below. There is limited parking around the sign though and only a one lane road to get in and out so go slow and look around the bend before you really commit.
Baemikkumi Beach & Sculpture Park (배미꾸미조각공원)
The sculpture park is on the southern end of Modo Island and features more than 80 works by sculptor Lee Il Ho. The sculptures on the beach were made a bit popular in Kim Ki Duk’s movie ‘Time’. The sculptures are a mix of interesting and intriguing and some a bit grotesque. Like many sculpture parks in Korea, there are a few that are a bit more… revealing than they need to be in my opinion. But there are plenty of others that are just plain beautiful.
The willow tree on the rocks is what actually called me out to visit these islands in the first place. I love finding whimsical art installations in natural settings. If you do too, also check out the Anyang Art Park or the Yeonmisan Art Park to find some really cool installations in forests.
Baemikkumi comes from the local dialect. The local people say that the island looks like the shape of a hole that you’d see in the bottom of a ship called the ‘baemit’ which means the bilge. ‘kkumi’ means hole in English and thus the name was formed. The artist actually donated his works to the island to foster tourism in the area.
Visiting the sculptures makes for great fun when the water goes out if you don’t want to get muddy in the mudflats.
- Address: 41 Modo-ro 140 beong-gil, Bukdo-myeon, Ongjin-gun, Incheon (인천광역시 옹진군 북도면 모도로140번길 41)
- Admission: W2,000 to walk around and see the works but it costs W4,000 to park your car if you’re driving.
Baemikkumi Cafe
When you visit the sculpture park, you’ll notice there are two buildings on the premises. One is an older home/cafe and the other is a pension that the local family there runs. We ate lunch there and the seaweed rice bowls were great. It was nice to have something to eat other than kalguksu since we didn’t bring any other food to the islands with us. Oops!
These islands are a great respite from Seoul and way easier to get to than you’d think considering how quiet they are. Being so accessible, I’d think they’d have more visitors but they don’t seem to. We stayed for two nights and three days and had a very quiet and relaxing time. There are really only two things to SEE on the islands and that is Sugi Beach and the Baemikkumi Sculpture Park which you can absolutely do in one day.
Want to just enjoy the time, I’d absolutely recommend at least a night stay so you can get a sunset in too and enjoy the solitude after the day trippers leave. Should you stay two nights like we did? Probably not.
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