Taean-gun: A Guide To The Beaches, Forests, and More!

Summer in Korea can be hot, humid, and a weekend away to the coast is an absolute must to cool off. During the summer, the humidity can be so immense in Seoul that taking a walk is more like swimming through hot heavy air. The only cure to really get that deep breath is to find a coast with breezes blowing this way and that and calming ocean tide sounds.

While I usually recommend heading to the gorgeous beaches with white sand and emerald blue waters on the east coast of Korea in the Sokcho and Gangneung areas, the west coast has some hidden gems too like the rocky seaside of Chaesukgang and this is one of them. Taean-gun (태안군) is a coastal area in Chungcheongnam-do (충청남도) and is not so close that you feel like you haven’t left Seoul, but not too far that it takes an entire day of travel.

There are around thirty beaches to choose from as well as Taean Haean National Park (태안해안국립공원) and more to see in this beautiful area of Korea. If you’ve got one night and two days to head out and you want to go to Anmyeondo (안면도), Taean-gun, here’s what you should know.

Skip around and learn more about Taean-gun. Plan your weekend away now!

• How To Get To Taean-gun
• Where To Stay
• Festivals in Taean-gun
  • Taean Tulip Park (태안 세계튤립꽃박람회)
  • Spring Flower Garden (봄꽃정원)
  • Fall Flower Expo (가을꽃박람회)
• What To See & Where To Go
  • Sinduri Beach & Sand Dunes (신두리해수욕장 & 신두리 해안사구)
  • Mongsanpo Beach (몽산포해수욕장)
  • Take a walk along Solmoraegil (솔모래길)
  • Anmyeon-do Island Recreational Forest (안면도자연휴양림)
  • Cheollipo Arboretum (천리포수목원)
  • Farm Kamille (팜카밀레)
  • Sambong Beach (삼봉해수욕장)
  • Kkotji Beach (꽃지해수욕장)
  • Taeanhaean National Park (태안해안국립공원)

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How To Get To Taean-gun

By Car: There is so much to see in Taean and beyond. If you don’t have a car, look into renting a car while in Korea. It’s not difficult and makes planning super cool adventures even easier. If you decide to take a road trip, take a coffee break at the beautiful Ami Art Museum on the way.

By Bus: Catch a bus from Central City Bus Terminal to Anmyeondo. The bus takes 2 hours and 10 minutes. Buses leave every two hours or so. Check the schedule here on Kobus.co.kr

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Where To Stay

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Festivals in Taean-gun

Taean has some especially beautiful and appealing festivals that centered on flowers and beautiful natural views so you might consider planning your trip to Taean-gun around these special events. While these festivals are gorgeous, it’s important to know that the roads to these festivals can be jam packed during festival periods so it’s better to go on a tour bus so you don’t have to do the driving if you can.

Taean Tulip Park (태안 세계튤립꽃박람회)

When: Early April to early May

Hosted by the Korea Flower Park, Taean is home to the largest flower festival in Korea with colorful tulips in various colors and varieties in flat gardens and made into artistic installations. It’s stunning and a great way to welcome spring in Korea.

• Address: 400 Kkotjihaean-ro, Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do (충청남도 태안군 안면읍 꽃지해안로 400)

Spring Flower Garden (봄꽃정원)

When: Early May to early June

Though the tulips have gone, there are still more spring blooms to enjoy. The Korea Flower Park transforms from a tulip heaven to a hydrangea heaven. With pink, purple, and white hydrangeas which are the perfect colors to make you hungry for cotton candy, it’s reason enough to go back to Taean in the spring.

• Address: 400 Kkotjihaean-ro, Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do (충청남도 태안군 안면읍 꽃지해안로 400)

Fall Flower Expo (가을꽃박람회)

When: Mid September to the end of October

Fall can be just as glorious with blooms and the Korea Flower Park transforms once again and features Angel’s trumpets, sunflowers, kochia, chrysanthemums, and many other autumn flower favorites.

• Address: 400 Kkotjihaean-ro, Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do (충청남도 태안군 안면읍 꽃지해안로 400)

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What To See & Where To Go

There is a lot of natural beautiful to enjoy in Taean-gun. Take in mudflats, white sand beaches, and beautiful flower gardens. Check the weather so you can spend as much time as possible outside!

Sinduri Beach & Sand Dunes (신두리해수욕장 & 신두리 해안사구)

Sinduri Beach is a pretty epic beach. Having seen numerous beaches on the west coast, I would definitely say this is the most beautiful one I’ve been over that way. In the northern part of Taean-gun, it’s a bit more of a hidden gem and if you visit in the spring or autumn, you’re sure to see the vast beauty of beaches, sand dunes, far off islands, and all of it practically alone.

The sand dunes in the area are also the only sand dunes in Korea and they make for a gorgeous place to walk. Read more about Sinduri Beach and Sand Dunes here.

• Address: 135 Sindu-ri Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do (충청남도 태안군 원북면 신두리 산 135)

Mongsanpo Beach (몽산포해수욕장)

One reason we chose this particular beach as our base for the night is that it is NOT one of the more popular beaches in the region. Beaches like Mallipo, Hagampo and Kkotji garner a lot more attention for their more legit white sand beaches while Mongsanpo is a bit more popular with campers in tents under the 50 year old pine trees that line the coastline. If you want to catch some rays and sit under colorful umbrellas, visit one of the beaches I just mentioned.

Head to Mongsanpo for a little shellfish hunt in the early morning and evening when the tide is low and look forward to having a more low key kind of beach enthusiast to call your neighbor while you’re at it. Oh, and space. There is plenty of space if you don’t even want to bother talking with that low key kind of beach enthusiast.

Low budget travelers can find a great camping site as well as cheap minbaks in the area and those looking for a little bit more of a vacation getaway type feel can find more modern pensions with amenities. The sunset, deemed to be some of the most beautiful to witness in Taean-gun, was a miss for us as it was rather hazy, but that didn’t stop us or anyone else from enjoying the summer ocean breezes. Though the sand wasn’t as white or as sandy as one would have hoped for on the beach, it was still perfect for long walks and at the right time a good dig for shellfish.

• Address: Sinjang-gil, Nam-myeon, Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do (충청남도 태안군 남면 신장리)
• Amenities: changing rooms, shower booths, restrooms, water-supply area, campsite and auto-camp site, basketball court, volleyball court, nearby pensions, minbaks and other places to stay as well as cafes and eateries.
• Fees: parking lot W5,000 ~ W7,500; camp site W20,000
• Website: www.mongsanpo.or.kr/ (Korean only)

Take a walk along Solmoraegil (솔모래길)

Solmoraegil is “the road of pine trees and sand”. The course if part of Taeanhaean National Park and was opened in 2011. It stretches 12.7 kilometers from Mongsanpo Beach down to Deureunihang Port passing by Cheongpodae Beach, Baeksajang Beach, Sambong Beach and Gijipo Beach. It’s one of the most famous walking paths in the area and is a great way to go explore more of the beautiful beaches that line the coast of Taean-gun. Websites suggest this walk takes about 4 hours but if you’re meandering, enjoying your time and taking a dip when it’s hot out, it’ll probably take a bit longer.

Anmyeon-do Island Recreational Forest (안면도자연휴양림)

Wake up early and head to the forest, the recreational forest of Anmyeon-do. The tall 120 year old pine trees were once managed by the royal family of the Goryeo Dynasty. These tall pine trees are gorgeous and towering and in the early morning you might manage to miss the many families that want to have lunch or eat a snack beneath the shade that they provide. I love seeing old growth and this is really old and beautiful. The trees just tower and they are so majestic. Enjoy the stroll before heading to the beach.

• Address: 3195-6, Anmyeon-daero, Anmyeon-eup, Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do (충청남도 태안군 안면읍 안면대로 3195-6)
• Hours: March ~ October: 9:00am ~ 6:00pm; November ~ February: 9:00am ~ 5:00pm
• Amenities: bathrooms, parking, convenience store, cabins
• Admission: Adults W1,000, Teenagers W800, Children under 13 W400

Cheollipo Arboretum (천리포수목원)

You could easily spend a couple hours strolling the gardens with both native and exotic species of plants. Follow paths to a beautiful pond with lotus flowers and hydrangea bushes. Visitors can see historic Korean buildings and beautiful scenery and if you visit in the evening, wait until low tide and walk out to a nearby island.

Visit the cafe on site and get a drink to sip as you swing. The garden was founded by Carl Ferris Miller, a WWII vet who was stationed in Korea during the war. He ended up falling in love with the country and never left. The arboretum is home to one of the finest collections of trees and plants that can be found anywhere in Korea.

• Address: 187 Cheollipo 1-gil Sowon-myeon, Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do (충청남도 태안군 소원면 천리포1길 187)

Farm Kamille (팜카밀레)

Farm Kamille is a beautiful KTO Wellness destination in Taean-gun that features flowers, herbs, a pond, and some farm animals to feed as well. There is a very European aesthetic and some gorgeous spots in this rather off the beaten path garden and park. We really enjoyed our time here in the autumn and think you will too. Read more about Farm Kamille here.

• Address: 56-19 Uun-gil, Nam-myeon, Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do (충남 태안군 남면 우운길 56-19)

Sambong Beach (삼봉해수욕장)

Just south of of Mongsanpo Beach, you’ll find Sambong Beach which stretches for 3km. As it’s a protected area here, there are no hotels, or camping sites, or shops, making this beach especially beautiful and calming.

• Address: 209-3 Sambong-gil, Anmyeon-eup, Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do (충남 태안군 안면읍 삼봉길 209-3)

Kkotji Beach (꽃지해수욕장)

Kkotji Beach (꽃지해수욕장) gets a lot of attention from tourists to Anmyeon-do. Said to be one of the best places to view the sunset in the area, in the evenings, don’t be surprised if you’re not the only one there. Halmibawi, or ‘Grandmother Rock’, and Halabibawi, or ‘Grandfather Rock’, at the north end of the beach jut up into the sky and come sunset most people are hoping to get a glimpse of the sun as it lowers between these two stone hills that jut up into the sky just steps from the coast. 

Legend has it that a wife turned to stone while she was waiting for her husband that did not return from war… though one wonders how the grandfather rock then came to be, but don’t legends usually lead to some questions? Taean means ‘big comfort’ and this beach is definitely one of the more comfortable if you’re looking for nice sand to sit on and cool water to swim in.

Of course, as this beach is on the west coast of the country expect a very large difference between high tide and low tide and also be prepared to be sitting on the sand beneath the water rather than swimming. If you want to really swim, you’ll have to wade a pretty good distance out into the ocean. Though different websites will tell you the water here is blue and see through, you really won’t find that until you’re further south or on the east coast of the country.

• Address: Seungeon4-ri, Anmyeon-eup, Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do (충남 태안군 안면읍 승언4리)
• Amenities: shower rooms, parking, restrooms, umbrella rental

Taeanhaean National Park (태안해안국립공원)

Anmyeondo is known for its gorgeous sunsets and there are 26 beaches within the 230 kilometer long coastline that are in the park. No trip to Anmyeondo is complete without a visit to this gorgeous national park which you will most likely visit as you stop into the other places mentioned in this guide.

• Address: 16-1 Jangsan-ri, Taean-eup, Taean-gu, Chungcheongnam-do (충청남도 태안군 태안읍 장산리 16-1)

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