Iksan itineraries

Baekje capital in a day

An hour on the KTX from Yongsan puts you at Iksan Station. Mireuksa and its museum before lunch, Hwangdeung bibimbap at noon, and by afternoon you are standing under the Wanggung-ri pagoda wondering why Baekje chose this plain for a palace.

Jewels, ruins, a clay hanok

Day one takes the Jewelry Museum and Wanggung-ri at an easy pace, then an outdoor clay-hanok bath in Geumma. Day two starts with Mireuksa before the crowds, then sweeps west through Hwangdeung bibimbap, the jar fields at Goseurak and the stone-walled lanes of Hamra.

Iksan end to end

One car, the whole of Iksan from the eastern ruins to the foot of Hamra-san in the west. A night in a clay hanok, a night in a Hamra hanok, and a mugshot in prison stripes at the film set. Jeonju is 15 minutes by train if you want to tack it on at the end.

Festivals & seasons

• 1 — Mireuksa under snow
• 4 — Iksan Jewel Festival
• 4 — Cherry blossom at Wanggung-ri
• 8 — Iksan Baekje Heritage Night
• 9 — Iksan Seodong Festival
• 10 — Iksan Ten Million Chrysanthemum Festival
• 10 — Pampas grass at Yongan Wetland
• 11 — Autumn colour at Sungnimsa
• 12 — Hwangdeung five-day market

Souvenirs

• Goseurak gochujang and brown-rice vinegar
• Iksan gold and gemstone jewellery
• Geumjong Bakery salt bun and twist doughnut
• Oneul Bakery garlic loaf
• Tapmaru Iksan rice
• Reliquary-themed goods from the Iksan National Museum