Iksan, Korea: A Guide For What To See & Do
When’s the last time you took a trip on the KTX in Korea? While you could easily hop on in Seoul and hop off in Busan, there are so many awesome places in between to visit. You could also take a road trip into Jeolla and see some amazing places like the Jeonju Hanok Village in one go.
Iksan is an interesting area with some off the beaten path places to see. Go for a weekend or go for longer and visit nearby Gunsan or Jeonju too. Here are the things to do in Iksan and how to get there.
Are you ready to take an adventure to Iksan in Jeollabuk-do?
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What To Know About Iksan
Iksan is about 3 hours south of Seoul and was once the capital of the Baekje Kingdom. The city is an UNESCO World Heritage city and called “The City of Jewelry”. In recent times, the city has been leading the domestic jewelry industry and visitors can even purchase precious stones at the Iksan Jewelry Museum and the Jewel Palace. The city also hosts the Iksan Jewelry Expo, a special jewelry festival, and the Jewelry Marathon.
Iksan is a pretty flat area and has a lot of fertile land so you’ll see a lot of fields of rice and other crops. It’s a beautifully calm area to visit.
How To Get There
By Train: You can take a train to Iksan Station. It takes an hour and 15 minutes and costs between W21,000 and W33,000 depending on what seat you choose.
By Bus: Take a bus from Seoul Central City Bus Terminal to Iksan Bus Terminal. It takes just under 3 hours and costs between W13,000 and W20,000 depending on the bus.
How To Get Around
There is an Iksan City Tour Bus which picks up from the Iksan Train Station which I would highly suggest unless you have a car. Some places, like the prison set are really in the middle of nowhere. The city tour bus only operates between May and November though so plan accordingly.
Iksan City Tour Bus
- Hours: 10:00am ~ 6:00pm
- Admission: Adults: W4,000; Children: W2,000
- Website: iksan.go.kr/tour/
Where To Stay
WesternLife Hotel
Westernlife Hotel is the best place to stay in Iksan. This is a chic stay with both bed and floor sleeping options. There’s a fitness center and a pool if you’re headed there in the warmer weather.
Book a stay at Westernlife Hotel on Booking.com or on Agoda.com
What To See
Iksan Prison Set (익산교도소세트장)
If you’re a Korean drama fan, then you might be interested in this spot. The prison set has been used in so many movies and shows that it would take up quite a bit if I listed them all. IRIS, Private Lives, Zombie Detective, Psychopath Diary, Suits, Criminal Minds, Mystery Queen, Tunnel… it just goes on and on. If there’s a prison in the film or drama you just watched, it was probably this one.
The prison set was established in 2005 for the movie Holiday. It was actually the first and is the only prison set in Korea which is why I say if you see a prison in a show, it’s probably this one. This was not originally a prison but was actually an elementary school that was transformed into a prison.
When you visit, first decide which part you want to play! Yes, you can adorn a costume as you walk the jail cell aisles. Do you want to be a prisoner or a guard?
I liked the outdoor area the most because there was some sort of mural art on the walls. Inside, there are two floors with cells, a meeting room, and an interrogation room.
- Address: 11 Wacho-gil, Seongdang-myeon, Iksan-si, Jeollabuk-do (전북 익산시 성당면 와초길 11)
- Hours: 10:00am ~ 5:00pm
- Days: Closed Mondays and when movies or dramas are being filmed
- Admission: FREE
Goseurak (고스락)
Have you ever wanted to see a field of traditional Korean fermenting pots? This is the place.
Goseurak makes traditional soybean paste through natural fermentation practices using only domestically produced and organic ingredients. The ‘Jar Garden’ is home to 4,000 pots or jars and the surroundings are lovingly curated so it’s quite a nice and interesting place to just take a walk.
After walking around the pots and just enjoying the ambiance, there is a cafe and store to visit. The cafe has a variety of drinks including traditional teas and health drinks like pine needle tea and quince tea. There is also an organic ice cream and healthy vinegar drinks. There is also an opportunity to taste what they produce there.
There are experience programs available if you want to do more than just enjoy the immense number of traditional pots in the garden. Experience programs include:
- Making gochujang (W20,000)
- Making an apple vinegar beverage (W20,000)
- Making Cheonggukjang cookies (W20,000)
You’ll want to apply to do the experience programs on their website by choosing a date, a time, and then which experience you’d like.
- Address: 1424-14 Iksan daero, Hamyeol-eub, Iksan-si, Jeollabuk-do (전북 익산시 함열읍 익산대로 1424-14)
- Hours: 9:30am ~ 6:00pm
Iksan National Museum (국립익산박물관)
Just in front of the Mireuksa Temple is the Iksan National Museum. Since they are together, you should really see them both at the same time. The visit in the national museum should take at least an hour and a half. There are more than 19,000 artifacts on display that come from archaeological research done from 1980 until 1996. There are also cultural events and programs on site at the museum.
For children, there are also programs and an area for children to learn.
- Address: 362 Mireuksaji-ro, Iksan-si, Jeollabuk-do (전라북도 익산시 금마면 미륵사지로 362)
- Hours: Tuesday – Friday: 9:00am ~ 6:00pm; Saturday & Sunday: 9:00am ~ 7:00pm* (Open until 9:00pm on Saturdays from April – October)
- Days: Closed Mondays, New Year’s Day, Seollal, and Chuseok
- Admission: FREE
- Website: iksan.museum.go.kr
Mireuksa Temple (익산 미륵사지)
Mireuksa Temple was once the largest Buddhist temple during the ancient Baekje Kingdom in Korea. It is believed that Mireuksa had the most advanced architectural skills of the Baekje, Silla, and Goguryeo kingdoms. Unfortunately, much of the temple was lost so when you visit, I highly recommend getting a docent to show you around so you can fully understand why the grounds are still worth visiting.
The two main features of Mireuksa Temple today are the stone pagoda, Mireuksa Seoktap, and the flagpole supports, The stone pagoda is 14.24 meters high and is National Treasure No. 11. It is the oldest and largest Korean stone pagoda that exists. There is still restoration happening on the grounds and when we visited, another pagoda was under construction and being restored.
If you can go into the museum, I highly suggest it so you can see how truly magnificent this temple once ones. It was absolutely massive. If it is completely restored some day, it will be something we all need to go visit again.
- Address: 362 Mireuksaji-ro, Iksan-si, Jeollabuk-do (전라북도 익산시 금마면 미륵사지로 362)
- Hours: These are the museum hours: 10:00am ~ 6:00pm. Outdoors is open anytime.
- Days: The museum is closed Mondays, New Year’s Day, Seollal, and Chuseok.
- Admission: FREE
Iksan Jewelry Museum (익산 보석박물관)
The Iksan Jewelry Museum is a world-class museum with a collection of more than 110,000 items including very rare gemstones and life-sized dinosaur skeletons. The museum was established to give visitors a deeper look at artifacts of the Baekje Kingdom and to celebrate the art of Korean jewelry.
- Address: 8 Hoban-ro, Wanggung-myeon, Iksan-si, Jeollabuk-do (전라북도 익산시 왕궁면 호반로 8)
- Hours: 10:00am ~ 6:00pm
- Days: Closed Mondays & January 1st
- Admission: Adults: W3,000; Children: W1,000 – W2,000
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One Comment
Michelle Roulet
Hello Hallie
Do you know if it is possible to take a day-long taxi tour of the Iksan sites leaving from Jeonju Hanok Village. I looked up the city bus tour you included but this currently doesn’t include Goseurak. As we will be three people I thought perhaps booking a taxi for the day wouldn’t be so bad if it is even possible.