10 Best Beaches in Korea

Korea is a country where you can find some of the most outstanding beaches in the world. If you are planning to visit a Korean beach, you should have a basic understanding of the best options available. To make life easy for you, we prepared a list of the 10 best beaches in South Korea. Go through the list and figure out what is best for you!

Popular Beaches Opening Date 2023

10 Best Korean Beaches in each province of Korea

Eurwangni Beach in Incheon

Eurwangni beach is located in Incheon City. In fact, the beach can easily be accessed from Incheon International Airport. Therefore, a large number of international tourists tend to come to Eurwangni beach because of its convenience. It takes just 15 minutes by taxi from ICN to the beach and the fare is around $10-$15 (12,000KRW – 15,000KRW) and 3o minutes by bus ($1.5, 1750KRW). You can get bus No. 111 from the 3rd-floor and get off at Eurwangni beach. You might need to get a map application, Naver Map, which works better than Google Maps in Korea. Please check our other post for useful apps for Korea travel with more information. When you arrive at the beach, you will also be impressed by the natural scenery and shallow water which provides an excellent environment for the kids.

How about grilled shellfish for lunch or dinner? It’s a popular local food in Eurwangni!

Sokcho Beach in Sokcho, Gangwon-do

Sokcho beach has earned an excellent reputation for its crystal clear water. In addition, accessibility is one of the biggest reasons contributing to its popularity. You can easily reach this beach from the nearby bus terminal. Just 440m away, or 5 minutes walking. If you are looking for a Korean beach which can be accessed by public transport, Sokcho is a great option. Also, it is complemented by the nearby pine forest and white sand. Moreover, you can enjoy water sports and riding a bike along the beach.

Gyeongpo Beach in Gangneung, Gangwon-do

Gyeongpo beach is 6kms long. The strip of beach contains fine sand and it is located in between the ocean and Gyeongpo Lake. This beach has received outstanding reviews for the sunrise and sunset views offered to visitors. Another great aspect of Gyeongpo beach is that it is surrounded by a pine forest, which provides another gorgeous view. As Gangneung is well known for its coffee culture, I would like to recommend you visit one of the cafes lining the sea. Enjoy your relaxing time having a cup of coffee and a dessert!

Plus, for lunch in Gangneung I would like to suggest the Korean restaurants in Chodang Soondubu (Soft Tofu) Village. There are tons of restaurants which serve Soondubu-jeongol and Jjamppong Soondubu.

Chodang Soondubu is particularly silky and savory, as it is made by coagulating soy milk with mineral-rich seawater. In Soondubu-jeongol, boiling bean curd, seafood and different kinds of vegetables are cooked together. It’s artfully arranged and cooked in a hot pot.  And Jjamppong Soondubu is a combination with Jjamppong included – Korean-Chinese spicy noodles with seafood and Soondubu.

Naksan Beach in Yangyang, Gangwon-do

Naksan beach is a 4km long beach, which you can discover on the east coast of Korea. The natural beauty of Naksan attracts a large number of tourists throughout the year. You will also be able to go for a short hike in the nearby park. It can provide you with fascinating views of the surroundings you will love. 

Hajodae Pavilion Observatory is also one of the best places to visit in Yangyang, Gangwondo. Don’t miss out to take in the view of the endless horizon and rock formations from Hajodae Observatory.

Address: 29, Hajodaehaean-gil, Hyeonbuk-myeon, Yangyang-gun, Gangwon-do
Operating Hours: 7:30 am – 7:30 pm.

Mallipo Beach in Taean, Chungcheong-do

Mallipo beach is one of the most popular Korean beaches. It is located relatively close to Seoul. Even though the beach experienced an oil spill back in 2007 unfortunately, tons of people including government employees, local residents and volunteers worked hard to remove the crude oil spilled over the beach in Taean. Through the efforts of many who participated to help throughout the past few years, the beach was returned back to its original condition.

Therefore, you are encouraged to think about coming to Mallipo beach. One of the best parts about spending a day here on the beach is the wonderful taste of fresh raw fish at an affordable price as well.

Daecheon Beach in Boryeong, Chungcheong-do

Daecheon Beach is the largest beach on the west coast of South Korea. This beach has shallow and calm waters and the sand is extremely soft. Hence, an ideal environment is created for you to go enjoy your time with family or friends.

Additionally, the Boryeong Mud Festival is held on Daecheon beach annually. As it is well known for its nutrient-rich mud, thousands of international visitors come to the beach to enjoy a variety of fun-packed activities along with lively performances. 
It’s an annual festival during the summer, and this year’s festival took place from July 17th to July 26th. 

For more information about the Boryeong Mud Festival, please check the official website.

Haeundae Beach in Busan, Gyeongsang-do

Haeundae beach is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Busan, South Korea. If you are a novice swimmer, you can go for a swim in Haeundae beach without thinking twice. You can even go for a swim with your kids because of the calm and shallow waters. This beach has also earned a positive reputation for the amazing views of the sunrise, which you can see over the horizon. Moreover, there are a few hot springs located closer to Haeundae beach and people believe that water from them has excellent healing properties.

Plus, Haeundae is an awesome spot to enjoy the night view with dynamic buildings and yachts. Why don’t you grab a beer and Korean fried chicken? 😉

Gwanganlli Beach in Busan, Gyeongsang-do

Gwanganlli beach is a 1.4km long beach, which has earned an excellent reputation for its white sand. This beach has recently gone through a water purification program, making it even more popular for tourists. Also, you will be able to find many romantic restaurants near the beach, serving various kinds of fresh seafood. Highly recommend!

Furthermore, don’t miss on Gwanganlli Bridge at night which is a representative visit spot in Busan.

In terms of food in Busan, there are so many places to try authentic Korean food such as Jagalchi Market, Gukbap Alley, Haeundae Market, noodle restaurants and more. On this blog by Mynn, you can get more information about food in Busan.

Hyeopjae Beach in Jeju

Hyeopjae beach is a sandy beach in Jeju island, the southern part of South Korea. This is a 600m long beach in which you can experience outstanding sunset views. Along with Haeundae, It is one of the best beaches available to go swimming because of the gentle slope of the coast and shallow water. You can find plenty of beautiful silver colored sand on the beach, which gives you a perfect memory when combined with the crystal clear water.

Specificslly, you can try Korean BBQ with black pork that is a breed of domestic pig found on Jeju. Don’t forget to get this rare food item!

Jungmun Beach in Jeju

In fact, Jungmun beach is located on the southernmost beach in South Korea. It extends for 560 meters and is a popular hotspot among both locals as well as international tourists. A variety of watersports, including jet skiing and windsurfing, are done here in Jungmun Saekdal beach. In addition to that, one of the highlighting facts is that you can find sand in many different colors. White, brown, red and black are some of the sand color types that you can notice.

Written by DY & Jay

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