Haenam sits at the very tip of the Korean peninsula, its Ttangkkeut headland marking the mainland's southernmost point.
History
People have lived in Haenam since the Neolithic, and the area holds Bronze Age dolmens and shell mounds. The Myeongnyang Strait, where Admiral Yi Sun-sin won his famous 1597 naval battle, runs along the county's border with Jindo. Daeheungsa, one of Haenam's major temples, played its own part in Korean military history: in 1592, the monk Seosan Daesa organized and trained a militia of 5,000 monks there to resist the Japanese invasion.
Highlights
- Ttangkkeut Village and Observatory, the southernmost point of mainland Korea, reached via a monorail up Sajabong Peak; crowds gather here every December 31 for the year's last sunset and January 1's first sunrise.
- Daeheungsa Temple, believed to date to the Three Kingdoms period and part of the "Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea" UNESCO World Heritage listing since 2018. It's long been a center of Korean tea culture and holds a 1648 stupa to Seosan Daesa.
- Mihwangsa Temple, roughly 1,200 years old, perched on Mt. Dalmasan and known for sunset views over the sea.
- Bohae Maesil Village, the plum orchard run by Bohae Brewery, maker of Korea's best-known maesil (green plum) liquor; the blossoms draw visitors every spring.
- Songho Beach, a shallow, family-friendly stretch of sand on the county's coast.
Food
Haenam's red clay soil produces unusually sweet goguma (sweet potatoes), sold across Korea and used locally in everything from bread to lattes. The county also grows around 70% of the nation's winter cabbage. Coastal specialties include sannakji (live octopus), galchi-jorim (braised cutlassfish), and jeonbokjang (soy-marinated raw abalone).
Annual events
- Bohae Maesil Festival (March) — plum blossom season at Bohae Brewery's orchard, one of Korea's largest.
Getting there
Direct buses run several times a day from Seoul's Central City Terminal, taking a little under 5 hours; some services connect through Gwangju.
How long
A day trip covers Ttangkkeut and one temple, but Haenam's sights are spread out, so an overnight makes it easier to fit in both Daeheungsa and Mihwangsa without rushing.