Frommer's South Korea by Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee

Author:Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Published: 2012-05-23T16:00:00+00:00

Yeosu & Suncheon

Located on the southern coast of the peninsula, Yeosu is a pretty little port city. The town, whose name means “beautiful water,” is located on the western end of the Hallyeo Haesang National Park. The city includes 317 tiny islands off the coast, most of them uninhabited. A couple of those islands, Odong-do and Dolsan-do, are now connected by bridges to the mainland. Yeosu was the naval command center for Admiral Yi Sunshin, who invented the turtle ship (). There is still a full-size replica of one of the iron-clad ships that helped defeat the Japanese navy.

Sitting pretty on the upper end of the Yeosu Peninsula, just 40 minutes from Yeosu, is Suncheon. Sometimes called the “City of Beautiful People,” it is the second-largest metropolis in Jeollanam-do. Nearby is Jogyesan Provincial Park, which surrounds Mt. Jogye. At its base are two Seon (Zen) Buddhist temples which have been instrumental in introducing and spreading this sect in Korea.

Both cities, currently experiencing rapid expansion and industrialization, are in danger of losing some of their original charm.

Essentials

Getting There There are direct flights from Seoul’s Gimpo Airport to Yeosu Airport, 979 Sinpung-li, Yulchon-myeon, Yeosu-si (RSU; 061/689-6300; www.airport.co.kr/doc/yeosu_eng), which is located equidistant to Yeosu and Suncheon. Asiana Airlines and Korean Airlines offer a total of eight flights daily to and from Gimpo Airport. Korean Airlines has one flight daily to and from Jeju-do. There are both airport limousine and local buses available to Yeosu or Suncheon. Local service starts at ₩1,500.

Yeosu is the last stop on the Jeolla line, which starts in Iksan. There are 15 daily trains from Seoul’s Yongsan station to Suncheon with just as many trains from Suncheon to Yeosu, with the total trip taking about 6 hours. Trains run once a day to Mokpo, Iksan, and Jinju, and more frequently to Busan.

Buses from Seoul’s Express Bus station to Yeosu run daily about once every hour from 6am to 11pm. Fares start at ₩30,600 and the ride lasts about 5 1/2 hours. Daily buses from Busan run every 40 minutes and take about 3 hours. Daily buses from Gwangju run every 30 minutes and take about 2 hours. Express buses run from Daegu also, but from other cities, you’ll have to take regular intercity buses, which take a bit longer.

From the Yeosu Ferry Terminal ( 061/663-0117), you can take boats to and from islands, including Jeju-do, Geomun-do, Geumo-do, Sa-do, Yeon-do, Oenaro-do, and Cho-do.

If you’re driving, take either the Honam Expressway (road 25) or the Namhae Expressway to the Suncheon IC. To get to Yeosu from there, take national highway 17 and follow the signs to Yeosu.

Getting Around Both Suncheon and Yeosu have good bus systems that will carry you around the cities, between them, and to sites on the outskirts of each. Most buses in Yeosu start from the bus terminal and run through downtown. In Suncheon, you can catch buses from (and between) both the bus terminal and the train station.

Suncheon offers a free city tour that starts from Suncheon Station.

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