The Sea Diamond: Haegeumgang Off The Coast Of Geoje Island in Korea

Headed to Geoje Island in Korea and wondering what there is to do? You NEED to take the ferry off the coast to see Haegeumgang and that’s all I’ll say. Nah, that’s obviously not all I’ll say… Haegeumgang (해금강) is aptly named the Sea Diamond and it’s gorgeous.

Visiting islands in Korea is definitely a must if you’re staying here for any amount of time and visiting Haegeumgang is a fun ferry ride out that includes a stop at another island called Oedo Botania.

What to know about Haegeumgang to plan a trip:

• How To Get There
• What To Know
• What To Expect

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How To Get There

Address: San 1 Galgot-ri, Nambu-myeon, Geoje-si, Gyeongsangnam-do (경상남도 거제시 남부면 갈곶리 산 1)

Directions: From Seoul Nambu Bus Terminal, you can take an intercity bus bound for Geoje via Jangseungpo. Get off at Jangseungpo Terminal. It’ll take approximately 5 hours and 30 minutes. Take a taxi or a local bus to the ferry dock.

The ferry leaves at regular intervals and the ferry costs about W17,000 which includes a ticket to Oedo island. The same boat from Jangseungpo Port that takes travelers around Haegeumgang, the Sea Diamond of Korea, goes even further to Oedo (외도 보타니아) to allow visitors to disembark and meander around the thousands of plants that have been cultivated there before returning back to port.

Join A Tour From Busan: There is a day tour that leaves from Busan which will take you to Haegeumgang, Oedo Island, and take in a Geoje Island panorama from a cable car. You can book this tour on Klook, or book this tour on kkday.

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What To Know

Haegeumgang consists of two islands in the Hallyeo Marine National Park off the south coast of Korea and was designated as the Natural Asset No. 2 in 1971. The area isn’t just popular with tourists, fisherman head to this area to catch rock fish in the spring, sea bream, parrot fish, and bass in the summer and black porgy in the fall and winter. The fishermen here are serious and the most keen can be spotted sitting precariously on the rocks having been dropped off by a boat in the morning with only their fishing rods, reels and bait to accompany them for the day.

Originally called Galgot Island as it looks like the stretching roots of the arrowroot, the island shoots up 116 meters into the sky and used to be covered in herbs. It had so many herbs that 3,000 people along with Seo Bul visited the island in search of herbs of immortality for the Emperor of China. Boats leave from a port shared with the fisherman called Jangseungpo.

If you’re headed down to Busan on the southern coast, it’s just a hop, skip, and a jump over to Geoje Island and on to Haegeumgang and Oedo Island. Tourists are taken out of the port between two light houses and into the dark blue ocean, where, depending on how choppy the water is, people can stand out on the narrow deck for thirty minutes on the way over to the rocks enjoying the open seas, or stay inside until arrival.

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What To Expect

The boat from port takes tourists around the rocks and inside the Shipjagul Cave. Shipjagul (십자굴) means “cross” in Korean and is fitting as the cave looks like a cross when seen from above. The boat  slowly enters the cave in the center of Haegeumgang that stretches 100 meters from east to west and 180 meters from south to north. After a few minutes inside swaying back and forth allowing visitors to snap some pictures between the high narrow rocky walls, the captain of the boat puts the motors in reverse and slowly backs out to the open blue waters once more to continue the tour.

Having seen the karsts in Thailand and Vietnam, I wasn’t sure if these would be nearly as stunning on the outset, but for some reason rocks that jut into the sky from the sea and show the lines of history in their walls are always pretty awesome and these were no exception.

The guide/boat captain on the boat will likely point out some of the named sections of the Sea Diamond while on the tour. The Bride and Groom Rocks, or the Candle Holder Rocks, are called so because in high tide the tallest rock supposedly “looks like a groom  welcoming his bride on a pony”, according to the Geoje tourist guide. Multiple rocks around the islands have names telling you what they depict and some of the fun of the tour is trying to find them or just seeing what you see. It’s sort of like asking children to spot “pictures” in the clouds. What do you see when you stare at the rocks of Haegeumgang long enough?

I would highly recommend getting a boat out to these gorgeous rocks in the ocean. They make for some fabulous views while on a trip out to see for a few hours. This can also be combined with a visit to the nearby Oedo-Botania, a botanical garden set on an island in the ocean that can only be reached via boat. Another naturally beautiful area on Geoje Island to check out would be the Bamboo Forest and there is a POW camp from the Korean War. Don’t miss these areas and you’re sure to have an amazing time on Geoje Island.

Interestingly, there’s another pretty well-known Haegeumggang in Korea as well. If you like rocky seasides and want some that are maybe just a bit easier to get to, check out SamHaeGeumgGang otherwise known as Chuam Beach in the Donghae, Korea area. This rocky seaside is easy to get to on the KTX and is really stunning as well as fun to visit.

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