5 Beaches Near Seoul You Have To Visit While Spending Summer In Korea

South Korea is not only about spring, autumn and winter. South Korea is also about summer. Summer in South Korea is during the months of June to August and like in Manila, temperature rises up to 30 degrees Celsius. It’s really hot and humid during summer and most foreign tourists would not consider South Korea as a destination. Despite that however, South Korea is still a good choice if one wants to get away from rainy Manila. While rains pour heavily in Manila, the sun is brightly shining in Korea!

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Here are 5 beaches near Seoul you have to visit while spending summer in Korea – just enough for a 4D3N escape:

EURWANGNI BEACH

Eurwangni Beach is a public beach located in Incheon. Meaning, it’s near Incheon Airport and if you happen to arrive early or depart late at night, you can drop by Eurwangni Beach! Because of its proximity, Eurwangni can be crowded all year round. The water of Eurwangni is shallow so it’s perfect for kids, however walking barefoot is not really advised because of the many small shells in the sand which might hurt you.

Eurwangni Beach (photo from http://www.modernseoul.org)

How to Get to Eurwangni Beach
From Incheon International Airport, proceed to the bus stop at the 3rd level and take Bus Number 301 located in post 6B or 13A or Bus Number 306 located in post 2A or 9A and get off at Eurwangni Beach. Its 15 minutes away!

DAECHEON BEACH
Daecheon Beach is located in the City of Boryeong in Chungcheongnam-do Province is another popular beach destination which is almost 3 hours away from Seoul. The sands of Daecheon are both soft and muddy. And similar to Eurwangni Beach, the sands of Daecheon has also many small shells and pebbles. Despite that however, locals flock to Daecheon because of its shallow waters and they even have the Boryeong Mud Festival. Locals come to Daecheon Beach to cover their bodies with mud – a therapeutic treatment known to improve the skin!

Daecheon Beach (photo frm koreandiaries.wordpress.com)

How to Get to Daecheon Beach
Take the subway and ensure to get off at Express Bus Terminal (subway station) in Line 3 (Orange Line). You can also reach Express Bus Terminal using Subway Line 7 and Line 9 and take Exit 1 to get to the Central City Bus Terminal. Get a bus bound to Boryeong (or Daecheon) and get off at Boryeong Bus Terminal Station or Daecheon Beach Station (if you took a bus going to Daechoen). Travel time is 3 hours. From Boryeong Bus Terminal Station, take another bus to Daecheon Beach and get off at Daecheon Terminal. Travel time is 30 minutes. Buses going directly to Daecheon Beach from Central City Terminal are only available during peak days (summer time); hence it is not always available.

MUCHANGPO BEACH

Muchangpo Beach is a man-made beach similarly located in the same coast as Daecheon Beach. From Daecheon, Muchangpo is about 30 minutes by drive. Muchangpo Beach is particularly famous for a “phenomenon” that happens approximately every July 15 and July 30. The seabed appears making an illusion of cutting the seawater into two sections. Locals refer to this as the “Moses Phenomenon.” Apart from this, locals visit Muchangpo Beach for its stunning sunset, traditional fishing and local colors.

Muchangpo Beach (photo from Korea Tourism Organization)

Muchangpo Beach (photo from http://www.saranghaekorea.com)

How to Get to Muchangpo Beach
Take the subway and ensure to get off at Express Bus Terminal in Line 3 (Orange Line). You can also reach Express Bus Terminal using Subway Line 7 and Line 9 and take Exit 1 to get to the Central City Bus Terminal. Get a bus bound to Boryeong and get off at Boryeong Bus Terminal Station. Travel time is 3 hours. From Boryeong Bus Terminal Station, take Bus Number 901 and get off at Biryeongyoyang Hospital (the 4th stop). Cross the street and look for Medical Pharmacy, from there take Bus Number 501 and get off at Biche Palace Bus Stop. Travel time is 1 hour and 30 minutes. Alternately, if you are already in Daecheon Beach, take a cab to Muchangpo Beach, travel time is about 30 minutes.

GURYONGPO BEACH

Guryongpo Beach is the farthest from Seoul but perhaps the best beach destination in my list. Despite its small size, Guryongpo Beach has clear blue waters and off white sands and interestingly, it is not as pebble-ly and shell-ly as the 3 beaches mentioned above. Though facilities here and food are a bit expensive as compared to the 3 others in this list, bringing of food and camping is allowed. Guryongpo Beach is open 24 hours. Or should one intends to stay for a night, there are cheaper alternatives in Pohang city proper.

Guryongpo Beach (http://www.10picturesinpohang.com)

How to Get To Guryongpo Beach
Take the subway and ensure to get off at Express Bus Terminal in Line 3 (Orange Line). You can also reach Express Bus Terminal using Subway Line 7 and Line 9 and take Exit 1 to get to the Central City Bus Terminal. Get a bus bound to Pohang and get off at Pohang Bus Terminal Station. Travel time is 4 hours. From there, take Bus Num 200 and get off at the last stop – Guryongpo stop. Travel time is almost an hour. From there, take a taxi to Guryongpo Beach which is roughly 2 kilometers away.

NAKSAN BEACH

Naksan Beach is located on the same coast as Gyeongpo Beach and they share similar characteristics except that Naksan is bigger than Gyeongpo. Further, Naksan is famous for its sunrise watching in Uisangdae Pavilion, Mt. Seoraksan National Park and Naksansa Temple.

Naksan Beach (photo from http://www.korea.net)

How to Get To Naksan Beach
Take the subway and ensure to get off at Express Bus Terminal in Line 3 (Orange Line). You can also reach Express Bus Terminal using Subway Line 7 and Line 9 and take Exit 1 to get to the Central City Bus Terminal. Get a bus bound Yangyang and get off at Yangyang Bus Terminal Station. Travel time is 4 hours. From there, take Bus Num 9 and get off at Naksan Bus Stop (6 stops away). From there, walk towards the beach is which about half a kilometer away. Or from Guryongpo Beach, take a taxi to Naksan Beach.

P.S.
Beaches in Korea and beaches in the Philippines are different creations hence, each has a beauty of each own. Beaches in Korea may not come close to the beaches in the Philippines but they have more developed facilities than those in the Philippines. Don’t expect too much, just enjoy and appreciate.