Korea outdoors
Korea’s beaches
Korea is a peninsula, so it has three very different coasts and an island, and they do not feel remotely alike. 22 of the best are here, grouped by which sea they face.
Korean beaches have an official swimming season, usually from early July to late August, and that is when lifeguards, showers and parasol hire are there. Outside it the beaches stay open and stay beautiful — you just swim at your own risk.
East coast
Deep, clear and cold, with the sun coming up out of the water. Two to three hours from Seoul.
Gyeongpo Beach
경포해변 · Gangneung, Gangwon
Gangneung's big, easy beach — white sand, a lake behind it and a KTX from Seoul.
Naksan Beach
낙산해수욕장 · Yangyang, Gangwon
Four kilometres of sand with a pine forest behind and a clifftop temple above.
Hajodae Beach
하조대해변 · Yangyang, Gangwon
Turquoise water, very few people, and Korea's surf scene a few minutes up the road.
Jeongdongjin Beach
정동진해변 · Gangneung, Gangwon
The railway station sits on the sand — and people ride the night train out for the sunrise.
Chuam Beach
추암해수욕장 · Donghae, Gangwon
Small beach, enormous sea stack — the country's best-known sunrise rock.
Maengbang Beach
맹방해수욕장 · Samcheok, Gangwon
A long, flat, empty beach — and a cherry blossom road running behind it.
Sokcho Beach
속초해수욕장 · Sokcho, Gangwon
The town beach for Seoraksan — sand in the morning, mountains in the afternoon.
Homigot
호미곶 · Pohang, North Gyeongsang
The giant bronze hand rising out of the sea, at the easternmost point of the mainland.
South coast & Busan
City beaches you can reach on the subway, plus the place Korean surfing started.
Haeundae Beach
해운대해수욕장 · Busan
The most famous beach in Korea, with a city of towers standing behind it.
Gwangalli Beach
광안리해수욕장 · Busan
The beach to be on after dark — Gwangan Bridge lit up across the bay.
Songjeong Beach
송정해수욕장 · Busan
Busan's surf beach — gentler, younger and a long way from the Haeundae crowds.
Songdo Beach
송도해수욕장 · Busan
Korea's first public beach, opened in 1913 — with a cable car over it.
West coast
Shallow, warm and tidal — the sea goes out a very long way, and the sunsets are the point.
Daecheon Beach
대천해수욕장 · Boryeong, South Chungcheong
The mud festival beach — and the west coast's biggest stretch of sand.
Eurwangni Beach
을왕리해수욕장 · Yeongjongdo, Incheon
Thirty minutes from Incheon Airport — the easiest beach in Korea to reach on a layover.
Kkotji Beach
꽃지해수욕장 · Anmyeondo, Taean, South Chungcheong
Two rocks in the surf that the sun sets between — the classic west-coast sunset.
Sinduri Beach & Dunes
신두리해수욕장 · Taean, South Chungcheong
The largest coastal sand dunes in Korea, protected behind the beach.
Mongsanpo Beach
몽산포해수욕장 · Taean, South Chungcheong
Pine trees behind the sand, and clams to dig for when the tide goes out.
Chaeseokgang Cliffs
채석강 · Buan, North Jeolla
Sedimentary rock stacked like a library of books, walkable at low tide.
Jeju
Volcanic rock, shell-white sand and the clearest water in the country.
Hyeopjae Beach
협재해수욕장 · Hallim, Jeju
White shell sand, water the colour of a swimming pool, and an island offshore.
Hamdeok Beach
함덕해수욕장 · Jocheon, Jeju
Shallow, calm and close to the airport — the easy Jeju beach day.
Jungmun Saekdal Beach
중문색달해수욕장 · Seogwipo, Jeju
Four colours of sand, real waves, and the island's surf and dive centre.
Woljeongri Beach
월정리해변 · Gujwa, Jeju
A row of cafés looking straight out at very blue water.
Photo credits
Every photograph on this page is openly licensed and has been resized for the web. Thanks to the photographers who made them available.
- Gyeongpo Beach — Christophe95, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Naksan Beach — Grapesurgeon, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Hajodae Beach — 골뱅이, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Jeongdongjin Beach — Masterhatch, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Chuam Beach — Sohyeon Bak, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Maengbang Beach — pcamp, CC BY 2.0
- Sokcho Beach — Mobius6, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Homigot — Mobius6, CC BY 4.0
- Haeundae Beach — StephNurnberg, CC BY 2.0
- Gwangalli Beach — Chelsea Hicks, CC BY 2.0
- Songjeong Beach — Sgroey, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Songdo Beach — bryan, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Daecheon Beach — Ken Eckert, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Eurwangni Beach — 골뱅이, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Kkotji Beach — Choi2451, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Sinduri Beach & Dunes — Jjw, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Mongsanpo Beach — 골뱅이, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Chaeseokgang Cliffs — Byungjoon Kim, CC BY 2.0
- Hyeopjae Beach — Lcarrion88, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Hamdeok Beach — Thddbwnd, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Jungmun Saekdal Beach — Jisoo-U, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Woljeongri Beach — Sgroey, CC BY-SA 4.0