Goseong travel info

Goseong sits at the very top of South Korea's east coast. It lies north of the 38th parallel, so it belonged to North Korea until the 1953 armistice, and the road still ends at the Unification Observatory. On a clear day you can see the ridges of the Diamond Mountains from there.

The other big draw is Hwajinpo, where a lake sits right against the sea. Pine woods surround it, and the old villas of Syngman Rhee, Lee Ki-poong and Kim Il Sung's family are scattered along the shore. South of it you find the bird-watching tower at Songjiho, the Cheonggan Pavilion over the water, and small harbours like Ajin and Gajin. Around Gajin Harbour the raw-fish soup restaurants cluster, serving flounder in a spicy broth sweetened with shredded apple.

Public transport is thin. From Seoul's Dong Seoul Terminal the intercity bus to Geojin runs about nine times a day and takes close to three hours. Beaches far from the terminal and the observatory are much easier with a car. The observatory is inside the civilian control zone, so check the entry procedure first.

From Seoul (BUS)

From Sokcho, Gangneung and nearby cities (SOK)

By car from a nearby airport (CAR)