While Korea does not have spring break like we do in America. The month of May has many national holidays. And with that comes many long weekends. Yay! We had gone to Seoul for one, and I plan to go to Namhae for another. I got the amazing opportunity to go to Taiwan in June. But for the second long weekend, my friend and I went to a coastal city called Tongeyong. It is next to Geoje, which I have written about in a previous blog post.
All was lining up for a great spring trip until I looked at the forecast and saw rain, rain, and more rain. But nevertheless, we made the best of things and I left thinking Tongyeong was one of the prettiest cities I have been to thus far. So of course, I had to write a post about all the things to do in this lovely city.
From Gwangju, the bus will take an hour and twenty minutes. The bus from Seoul would take around four hours depending on which terminal you leave from. We stayed at Pico Hotel which was a good price for the amenities and location.
We started by fighting through some strong winds and heavy rain to our hotel and waited for the weather to calm down before we headed out. By that time, it was evening, so we had some Korean Barbecue. After that, we decided to celebrate the long weekend with a glass of wine. The nearest wine bar was tucked away in an alley. It was a cozy and intimate place to hide from the chilly rain for the night. They also serve cocktails and beer if that is more your style.
The next morning we got breakfast at a nearby café and then walked around the port where we found out there is a festival happening. Tongyeong is a city famous for being the headquarters of Yi Sun-Sin, a famous military general. He was known for his victories against the Japanese Navy. The turtle ships used at the time have been replicated for the festival.
After watching a couple performances and taking pictures with the ships, we took a bus over to the Jeonhyeongnim Art Museum. It is a cute small museum with plenty of colorful artwork and interesting architecture. Next to it is a bookstore where you can peruse or buy a postcard.
We were getting through things on our itinerary faster than we thought we would so we decided we had time to do the cable car. It wasn’t at the top of our list due to the rain and even the ticket lady told us the views wouldn’t be too good, but we got on board anyways. For the first half, the views were actually amazing. The grey skies brought out green mountains in vibrant colors but up near the top we entered the low clouds and couldn’t see anything. Nevertheless, it made for a calm and then thrilling experience.
We taxied to a café that overlooked the port of Tongeyong for a nice break from the rain. There are many beautiful cafes in this area.
As our luck would have it, the rain let up a bit for us to check out the Dongpirang Mural Village. It is a winding village with many interesting paintings scattered along the walls. This is also a good place to pick up a few Tongyeong souvenirs at some of the small boutiques. If you need a refreshment you can also find many cute hidden cafes.
As the night came around, we walked up a small mountain to see a light show hidden away. Dpirang (not to be confused with Dongpirang above), is a magical theme park that turns into an interactive experience at night. It walks you through the tale of “Pirang”, the spirit who protects the city. Projections and animations light up the forest as you weave through different locations. It was such a unique and fun way to end the last night. All the voiceovers are in Korean but I still had fun with my limited understanding. The pamphlet said it would take around an hour but you can walk through much quicker if you want. We also got there right at opening and didn’t have a reservation so we could get in. If you plan to show up later, I would recommend signing up ahead of time.
The next morning we took a bus back over to the bus terminal area. But no weekend trip is complete without brunch. The place we found was only an 8-minute walk from the bus terminal. It had a gorgeous view of the ocean and a menu that all looked so delicious. It’s always a relaxing moment when I sip on my coffee after another successful getaway.
I left Tongyeong feeling so grateful I got to see this beautiful city even though the weather was not in our favor. If anything, it made me want to return for a sunny weekend as well! But no matter rain or shine, there is always something wonderful to be discovered in Korea!
Blog update: As I said, I wanted to return to Tongyeong for a sunny weekend again and as it turned out, I did! My friends and I headed back for a weekend and we did some of the same things mentioned above but I could not leave out a hidden gem we found this time around.
Tongyeong has many small islands you can ferry to from the mainland. We found one of them is called Bijindo. It is a 40 minute ferry ride and the layout of the island is what makes it so unqiue. It seems two small islands formed a sand bridge to connect and create an amazing beach.
It was very, very hot on the day we went so we rented an umbrella when we got there and got set up. Korea has many beaches but not a lot are actually popular for swimming. This was the first beach I had been to in Korea where there were a plethora of people out in the ocean. The water was cool and clear which made for a great relief from the sun
Be warned there is no conveinence store on the island so if you plan to spend the day there, come prepped with plenty of food and drink! But I couldn’t leave this post without talking about this amazing new discovery!
Carly in Korea 
Love it, what a great post. So well written and in depth. Felt like I was there with you. And the pictures are always great.
LikeLike