My summer vacation in 2018 was a tour of some of the costal cities in southern Korea, staring in Busan, meandering on to discover the smaller port city of Tongyeong, and finally to nearby Geoje Island to explore and visit a friend of mine who lived and worked on the island.
Connected to the mainland by two bridges and only an hour away from both Busan and Tongyeong by bus, Geoje Island is the biggest island in a small group of islands that have cities stretching across them to form multiple dongs or districts: Jangpyeong-dong, Okpo-dong, and Gohyeon-dong. The island is home to some of the big names in Korean shipbuilding such as Samsung Heavy Industries in Gohyeon-dong and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in Okpo-dong.
Geoje’s history dates back thousands of years, with Neolithic artifacts being found at archeological digs on Naedo, Sandaldo, and Isudo. The first written reference to Geoje appears during the Byeonhan confederacy (0 - 300 AD), the Byeonhan confederacy eventually became part of the Gaya confederacy (42 - 562 AD), with the Gaya confederacy eventually became part of the Kingdom of Silla. Like many islands in southern Korea, Geoje served as a strategic naval location. it was used for fleet preparations for the fleet of General Yi Jong Mu for the Gihae Eastern Forces Expedition to Tsushima Island in 1419. During the Seven Year War, admiral Yi Sun-sin won a notable naval victory against the Japanese near the town of Okpo.
See and Do
Geoje offers various historic and natural attractions to visitors who flock to the island, here are some of my favorites.
Pyewang Fortress
The oldest surviving fortress on Geoje, Pyewang Fortress was built during the Silla Dynasty and later served as refuge for King Uijong, the 18th king of the Goryeo dynasty as he fled from a military coup. The fortress is a great place for a stroll while enjoying coffee in the morning, and to take in some views of the city.
Hill of Wind
The Hill of Windy or Windy Hill is located in Galgot village on a hill overlooking the South Sea and is famous for the strong wind that blows there. On top of the hill, a cute windmill has been set up that attracts tourists from all over for photos. The windmill became famous after being featured in the drama 2 Days & 1 Night. Galgot village, where the windmill is located, is a quaint fishing village, where you can enjoy fresh seafood and catch fishermen working on their boats. Because it is such a big tourist attraction, boat rides and fishing are available for tourists.
Oedo & Naedo
Built by Lee Chang-ho and his wife Choi Su Huk when they settled on the island in 1969. In the past, Oedo was a barren, rocky island, with no electricity and only 8 households lived on the there due to the lack of a dock. After moving to the island, Choi Su Huk, who gradually turned Oedo into a botanical garden, after failing at raising swine and growing tangerines. Choi Su Huk studied botanical gardens around the world as well as landscaping, architecture and arbors prior to submitting the couple's plan for the garden to the government. The island is now home to over 3,000 species of plants and is considered to be Geoje's busiest tourist attraction. A ferry runs visitors to and from the island, visitors can roam the island with or without a guide and enjoy the gardens and snapping photos.
Sanbangsan Botanical Garden
Despite my own lack of gardening skills and ability to keep plants alive, I absolutely love to visit botanical gardens whenever I get the chance. Geoje is home to Sangbangsan Botanical Garden in Sanbang-ri, which is a more remote location on the island and is less visited than the other botanical gardens. The garden is home to over 1,000 varieties of wild flowers, trees, shrubs, and rare plants. I had the botanical garden to myself when I visited, I even had to hunt down the ajuma who was selling tickets, as she was enjoying a rest in the shade due to the lack of visitors.
Gohyeon Castle
Located in Gohyeon-dong and named as the 46th national treasure of South Gyeongsang Province, sits Geoje's very own castle. Gohyeon Castle was built during the Joseon Dynasty and was said to be the largest castle in the South Sea. The castle is a great place for a walk, photography, and to learn a bit more about Geoje's history.
Geoje POW Camp
I was surprised to learn that Geoje is home to a former POW camp, and as a history lover I
had to check it out. The camp was a United Nations Command POW camp for North Korean and Chinese soldiers captured by UN forces during the Korean War. A swift maneuver executed in September of 1950 that led to rapid retreat of North Korean forces (the Korean People's Army or KPA) and a large number of prisoners being captured in a short period of time. The number of POWs under UN jurisdiction rose from just over 1,000, to 130,000 plus in the space of three months. Unprepared for this number of POWs a new prison camp on Geoje was constructed to help house them in 1951. Walking around the camp, you can see the barracks that the POWs lived in and learn about the history of unrest between prisoners of different political and ethnic backgrounds as well as the riots in that were prevalent in the camp due to cramped conditions, understaffing issues, and preferential prisoner treatment.
Hiking Geoje
Geoje has an amazing series of hiking trails and a number of small mountains, so while you won't find any really tall peaks, you will find some great views of Geoje and the surrounding islands. The trail network is purportedly so well connected that you can hike and camp your way around the island and hit 11 peaks and is called the Geoje Ridge Trail (GRT) and info on this hike is available at the tourism office. I haven't done the GRT myself (yet), but while I was visiting Geoje I did meet a couple who were in the process of doing it. The week I was in Geoje happened to be one of the hottest in an incredibly hot summer with temps in the upper 30s (that's celsius) on a regular basis and a record number of tropical nights. I was only in Geoje for a few days and on my friend's recommendation I chose to hike Mount Gyeryong (Gyeryongsan), not to be confused with Gyeryongsan National Park, which is located near Daejeon and you can find my blog on it here.
Mt. Gyeryong
The mountain is located behind the POW camp, so I headed out early to get the hike in before it got too hot and followed my hike with a visit to the POW camp. Gyeryong is 566 meters and features a number of winding ravines form what is said to be an upward slithering dragon, hence the use of "Gye". There are four trails that lead to the peak with varying lengths and difficulty levels, depending on which trail you take there are remains of Korean War era communications stations. There are actually two peaks on Gyeryongsan, one with a pagoda and one with a stone monument and this is considered the actual peak. From the top of the mountain you can see views of the Samsung shipyard and and Jangpyeong-dong. The day I hiked Gyeryongsan there was only one other person on the peak, most likely due to the heat, but this mountain is incredibly popular and can be crowded.
Beaches
There are no shortage of beaches on Geoje (it's an island, duh), all you have to do is follow along the coastline and you come across both sand and pebble beaches. Since the weather was so hot while I was on the island, I spent two days at two different beaches on my trip.
Hakdong Mongdol Beach
Hakdong Mongdol Beach or Hakdong Black Pearl Beach, is named after the black pebbles
that make up this beach. The stunning dark rocks paired with the blue water and a bustling strip of a town in the shadow of the mountains make this beach extremely picturesque. After returning from my outing to Oedo in the morning, I met up with my friend for an afternoon at the beach due to the scorching heat. You can rent a variety of water toys, tents, umbrellas and chairs to relax and enjoy the beach. We opted to rent floaties (I got the unicorn, my friend opted for a flamingo) along with an umbrella and chairs for when we wanted to on land. A lot of beaches in Korea have restriction on how far out you can go in the water (I've been told this is because many Koreans don't swim very well, but I don't know if that's true), we paddled around on our respective floaties and drank beer, occasionally rolling off to cool off in the water. There are a number of coffee stands, food stalls and convenience stores for all your snacking needs, we ended up being invited to join the group of Koreans at the umbrella next to ours for a ramen picnic.
Wahyeon Beach
The second beach I went to was Wahyeon Beach. My first day on Geoje I met an Aussie who lived in Busan but was visiting a friend on Geoje, and a few days later he invited me to spend the day with him and his friends at Wahyeon Beach, of course I accepted and joined them. Wahyeon Beach is quite picturesque with soft white sand and clear blue water, with a plethora of water sports and activities available, Wahyeon Beach is one of the most popular beaches to spend a day with friends or family.
Island Hopping
Geoje is surrounded by many smaller islands that can be reached via ferry for a day trip, or even overnight if you want to experience a slice of Korean island life, you can find out more about the islands in my blog about Tongyeong as they are the same islands.
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