Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jennad]

Has anyone ever been to Anmyeondo Island before? It's really difficult to find detailed information about it online in English, but I want to check it out this weekend.

It's an island on the west coast, about 2.5 hours from Seoul.

I just wanted to know the best beaches to check out, good hiking spots, etc. Thanks for your help if you have any info!

[The Sultan of Seoul]

Been there, is really nice. ten of us stayed in a minbak for 30k a night, lovely housing. Beautiful beaches (for korea - it aint Hawaii) lots of nice forested areas, great seafood. Way better than the East Coast.

[jennad]

[The Sultan of Seoul]

Pretty sure you could just get the bus to Amnyeondo and take it from there.

If you want everything pre-booked in advance, best shot is to have a Korean friend or co-worker help you out with it. Bring in some rice cake or donuts, co-workers generally don't mind helping you out with things like this.

It's not massive, like chosing a resort on Phuket, for example. Much smaller. But very nice, sceneic and peaceful.

I had a Korean friend with me, so she booked everything online before we arrived. There are Korean websites where you can pre-book yeokwans / minbaks in amnyeondo.

[jamesy]

It's a nice quiet place with plenty of beaches and pretty clean water. The water temperature might still be a little cold at this time of year, but it's definitely possible to swim. The seafood is good and not crazily priced. I stayed in a hotel with an outdoor spa, which was around 100,000 won per night, but there are much cheaper places on offer as well. Check out the map from google - it has a few places to stay on it.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&q=%EC%95%88%EB%A9%B4%EB%8F%84&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1280&bih=909&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

[Lazio]

I think it�s not so easy to get around without a car.

There are some local buses but they run very rarely. I personally liked the southern part of the island with remote beaches, tiny villages, almost zero traffic, rice paddies and no people. It�s great to drive there after Seoul and 5km/h on the highway.
The bus will arrive to Taean which is the largest town on the island. The closest beaches (Kkotchi or Bang-po) are about 40 minutes walk away. Probably there are buses as well but again, you might need to wait an hour or more. Outside of Taean there are a couple of love motels for a usual 40,000/room. Loads of pensions everywhere but you might need to check out a couple of them till you find one with rooms available. It�s a popular weekend getaway spot and most people book ahead.
The island is mostly flat with small hills but no mountains (not even in the 300-400 metres range which are already called mountains here) so I guess hiking is not the main attraction.
There is a botanical garden just south of Taean. It belongs to a national park or something and there are cabins up on the hill which is not even expensive but you definitely need to book those ahead.
The beaches are not that impressive. Seafood is overpriced just like anywhere else in the country

[paynedaniel]

Do you know if beach camping is allowed?

[Jonephant]

I went there about 4 years ago and i thought it was a bit of a dive. We had a car so getting there, around and away wasnt a problem. Ive recently heard alot of people saying only good things about it. Maybe i went on a bad weekend. I remember driving past 1 minbak that was designed to look like the smurf village.

[Lazio]