Jindo travel info

Jindo is the third-largest island in South Korea, off the far southwest corner of the peninsula. The only road in is Jindo Bridge, a pair of cable-stayed spans over the Myeongnyang Strait, where Admiral Yi Sun-sin beat a much larger Japanese fleet with thirteen ships. Cross it and the pace changes. At Unlimsanbang a thatched studio sits by a pond where the painter Heo Ryeon once worked, and at Sebang on the west coast the sun sinks between islands. In spring the sea draws back for about an hour and a path opens to the island of Modo.

The food comes from the water and the fields. Blue crab arrives as stew or over rice, and turmeric, green onions and goji berries are the island crops. Jindo Hongju is a red-tinted traditional liquor. Pansori, Ssitgimgut healing rituals and arirang songs are still performed here, and the National Namdo Gugak Center stages shows.

From Seoul it is about four and a half hours by express bus; from Mokpo, an hour. Buses on the island are sparse, so a rental car makes life easier. Unlimsanbang, the town and Sebang are 20 to 30 minutes apart, so two or three stops a day is plenty.

From Seoul (BUS)

From Mokpo or Gwangju (BUS)

From Busan (BUS)