Seonyudo Island

My new favourite place to visit in Korea is Seonyudo Island. Seonyudo, which means, “an island so beautiful that God admires it”, certainly lives up to its name. I first learned about Seonyudo Island two summers ago when some of my friends planned a camping trip there. I finally made it to the island this past weekend and it was amazing. We started our day at Dong-bu Bus Terminal here in Daejeon where we caught a bus to Gunsan. Tickets cost 8,000W ($7.50 CDN). The bus ride from Daejeon to Gunsan is about 90 minutes, and we arrived at the Gunsan Bus Terminal around noon. From there we took a 20 minute taxi (11,000W) to the Gunsan Coastal Ferry Terminal (연안여객터미널). Travel time on the ferry varies between 60 and 90 minutes depending on if you book tickets on the fast or regular ferries (13,000W-16,000W). Once we arrived at the island, we headed towards Seonuydo’s “downtown”. Here you will find a handful of restaurants, convenience stores and a strip of guesthouses (minbaks). Expect to pay between 60,000-70,000/night during the summer. Camping is also very popular, we saw a big group setting up tents just away from the beach After sorting out our accommodations, it was time to rent bicycles and start exploring! The bridge closest to the ferry dock takes you to Munyudo Island. We were surprised to find an island that was even quieter than Seonyudo as we rode through a tiny fishing village and along the edge of what looked like farming fields. Once we tired of our bikes, we decided to venture out for dinner. This was also when we learned that not only do 95% of the places on the island only accept cash but also there are no ATMs on the island. Suddenly it seemed we were on a bit of a budget! Anyways, we found a restaurant that served delicious HeoDopBap (fried rice with raw fish) so all was well. We sat on the beach to watch the sunset and the rest of the evening was spent relaxing on the beach and playing with fireworks! On Sunday we went back to the rental place and picked up our bikes again. They were happy to keep my bag for the day, so I didn’t have to carry it around with me which was great. We went the rest of the way around the main island and found a beautiful, deserted pebble beach slightly hidden away from the bike path once again raising the question, why do we ever go to the beach in Busan? Beside Seonyudo beach there is a path leading to the bridge that connects, Jangjado, the last of the islands. Although it is a bit of an upwards trek, it is worth it for the view of the crystal water and sandbar that makes up Seonyudo beach. If you’re looking for an escape from the city, I definitely recommend Seonyudo Island – just remember, bring cash!