Star watching trip to Gangneung | Travel Course | K-Travel Mate

Anmok Beach, located in Gyeonso-dong, Gangneung-si, Gangwon, is a 500-meter long, 20,000㎡ white sand beach suitable for families to enjoy summer outings. Adjacent to the beach is Anmok Port, where 23 fishing vessels return by 9 a.m. after catching seaweed in spring; flounder, halibut (gwang-eo), squid, octopus, and manila clams (jjaebok) in summer; and sandfish (doromuk), pollock, and rockfish in autumn and winter. Around the end of August, when the summer season ends, mackerel chase anchovy schools close to the shore, and it is common for people to scoop up the anchovies washed ashore using buckets or nets called bandu. Additionally, this place is famous for its coffee street where visitors can enjoy coffee with a sea view.

Gangmun Sotdae Bridge, located at Gangmun Beach in Gangneung, serves as the boundary dividing Gangmun Beach and Gyeongpo Beach. Sotdae originates from the practice of hanging a tall pole with rice seed-filled pouches tied high, symbolizing a prayer for a bountiful harvest. Sotdae poles were also used in rituals praying for good harvests and acted as folk belief symbols, often adorned with wooden birds carved and hung at the top. In Gangneung, this sotdae is called Jintto-baegi, and in Gangmun, the Seonnakje festival is held three times yearly on the 15th day of the lunar January, April, and August.

Famous as the largest beach on the East Coast, it is located in Gangmundong and Anhyeondong, 6 km north of the city center and 1 km from Gyeongpodae, embracing the expansive waves of the East Sea in the area known as Myeongsaori (明沙五里). The waves surge as if to swallow everything, embraced by a 1.8 km long white sandy beach covering 1.44 km², along with a dense pine forest backdrop that quietly blocks out noisy daily life, creating the unique beauty of the beach. Gyeongpodae Beach has a 1.8 km white sand shore with an average depth of 1 to 2 meters and a gentle slope, attracting many visitors every year. The surrounding pine forest offers both swimming and forest bathing, making it a perfect summer retreat. Every summer, the Gyeongpo Beach permanent stage hosts a summer night arts festival, providing diverse cultural attractions. Hiking while renting a bicycle around Gyeongpo Lake is also a popular activity. Nearby, Seoraksan and Odaesan National Parks allow visitors to explore mountains, seas, and valleys.

Horin Park is located in Sacheon-myeon, Gangneung-si, and operates a herb garden and gallery cafe with a view of pink muhly grass and the sea from the hill. Inside, there are structures like a swing and benches, providing a space to sit and rest. The parking lot is quite spacious and convenient to use. Throughout the seasons, exhibitions are held in the gallery, including a herb festival in spring, wildflower night openings in summer, a pink muhly festival in autumn, and a dog exercise yard and cafe operate in winter. Herb products grown on-site are also sold.

The ‘Namdaecheon Wolhwajeong legend,’ which is also the motif of Chunhyangjeon, has been reborn as ‘Wolhwa Street,’ filled not with ancient legends but with love stories of all people living today. Wolhwa Street, reborn as a sacred place of love, is now all about love. The Namdaecheon Wolhwajeong legend is a touching love story between a man and a woman featuring ‘Muwollang’ and ‘Yeonhwa Buin,’ the parents of Kim Juwon, ancestor of the Gangneung Kim clan during the Silla period. Muwollang, appointed from Gyeongju to Gangneung (formerly Myeongju) during King Jinpyeong's reign, fell in love with Yeonhwa, daughter of a local lord. However, after being ordered back to Gyeongju, Muwollang forgot Yeonhwa, who, under pressure to marry another, sent a letter via a carp to the sea. Meanwhile, Muwollang, after stopping at a market due to his mother's illness, bought a carp, and upon opening its belly found Yeonhwa’s letter. He hurried back to Gangneung, and with the parents’ approval recognizing the divine sincerity of their love, they finally became a married couple. (Source: Digital Gangneung Culture Encyclopedia)

Anbandegi is a highland area at 1,100 meters above sea level, named after ‘anban,’ a concave and wide wooden board used when pounding dough with a rice cake mallet, and ‘degi,’ meaning flat land. Since 1965, slash-and-burn farmers settled here by cutting into the mountain, and due to steep slopes that made mechanized farming impossible, the fields were entirely cultivated by human labor. In 1995, about 28 households formally purchased the land they had been farming for generations, becoming its actual owners. This approximately 2 million square meter area transformed the barren mountain terrain into a fertile highland cabbage field. Beyond a simple cabbage field, Anbandegi is recognized as a landscape created by human labor.

Gangmun Beach is located in Gangmundong and has a nearby small port called Gangmun Port, where you can taste fresh sashimi caught early in the morning at nearby raw fish restaurants. There are well-maintained accommodations and the Gyeongpo area is nearby. At Gangmun Beach, boats anchor 5-10 minutes away, where you can enjoy excellent underwater scenery, including natural rock formations (jjam), sea anemones, and large fish in waters 5-30m deep, making it popular among skin scuba divers. There is also underwater diving for newlyweds who want to create memories. Gangmun Port has 16 fishing boats that catch flatfish, rockfish, octopus, Manila clams (jjaebok), sea urchins, sea squirts, and sea cucumbers regularly; in spring, flounder, halibut, and large clams; in summer and fall, Spanish mackerel; and in winter, rockfish. Fishing enthusiasts also catch yellow corvina and rockfish at the port. ◎ Travel information to experience the charm of the Korean Wave - This location was where Seongjun got the photo shoot idea while looking at the sea with Hyejin in the drama . The two revealed their true feelings here, creating a romantic atmosphere. There are many photo zones with the East Sea as the backdrop, making it a popular dating course for couples.