Space science experience trip | Travel Course | K-Travel Mate

Located on Oenaro-do, one of the two islands of Naro Island belonging to Dadohaehaesang National Park, the Naro Space Center and Naroho derive their names from this island. The Naro Space Center, Korea's first satellite launch site developed with domestic technology, is equipped with comprehensive facilities including launch pads for space launch vehicles, satellite and launch vehicle assembly facilities, launch control buildings, and tracking radars to support Korea's advancement into space. At its entrance, the Space Science Museum, a cradle and foundation of space science, officially opened and has been operating since June 12, 2009. The museum consists of a permanent exhibition hall, a 3D stereoscopic theater, a 4D dome theater, and an outdoor exhibition area, providing space science technology education and various experiential learning opportunities.

Goheung Yuja Park, located in Goheung-gun, the largest yuja (citron) producing area in Korea, is a park situated within the yuja cultivation complex in Pungyang-myeon. Goheung, with its ideal climatic conditions for yuja cultivation, accounts for about 60-70% of the nation's yuja production. Established by Goheung-gun in 2008, the park includes an observatory, walking trails, exploration paths, a mineral spring, and rest areas. Yuja trees are planted lining both sides from the village entrance, and climbing to the observatory via the trails between yuja fields provides panoramic views of the large-scale yuja cultivation complex and Goheung Bay’s archipelago scenery. Daecheong Village in Pungyang-myeon, known as Korea's top yuja area, has hosted the Goheung Yuja Pomegranate Festival every November since 2019. Nearby attractions include Unamsan Mountain, about 14 km and a 20-minute drive away, and Nokdong Port, about 15 km and a 15-minute drive in the opposite direction of Unamsan Mountain.

Nokdong Port is always bustling with island residents and tourists traveling to various islands. Even outside the tourist season, it is crowded with people looking to buy various seafood at the cooperative fish auction market. An essential place here is a restaurant where you can have fresh sashimi prepared and eaten on the spot. Nokdong Hoe Town is a restaurant located on the second floor of the auction market. Guests can enjoy sashimi bought from the brokers on the first floor along with jiritang (clear fish soup) and spicy fish stew. A dipping sauce fee is charged per person.

Nokdong Port is a fishing port located on the southwest side of the Goheung Peninsula, designated as a national fishing port on December 21, 1971. It serves as a maritime transportation hub connecting Sorokdo, Geomundo, Baekdo, and Jeju Island. As a major fishing port of Goheung-gun, about 70% of the local coastal catch is produced here. With deep waters and wide channels, it accommodates large vessels. The port area includes a passenger terminal, seafood market, and public parking lots for convenience. Between 1995 and 2001, construction of the Nokdong New Port was completed, dividing the port into the old and new areas. The old port hosts Nokdong traditional market, while the new port operates passenger ships to Jeju Island and Geomundo. Nokdong Port is famous as a distribution center for live fish, dried fish, and seaweeds such as gim, miyeok, dashima, and anchovies from nearby islands—offering various seafood from the coastal waters of Goheung at affordable prices. The port features an 80m diameter and 251m circumference artificial island shaped like a floating garden on the sea, with Nokdong Port Sea Garden, dome theater, and VR experience center to explore the port’s sights. Every May, the Nokdong Sea Fireworks Festival is held. Nearby attractions include Ssangchungsa Shrine, Sorokdo Central Park, Geogeum Bridge, and Doyang Coastal Road.

Sorokdo is located less than 1 km from Nokdong Port at the tip of the Goheung Peninsula in Jeonnam, and is called Sorokdo because the shape of the island resembles a young deer. This island is famous for housing the National Sorokdo Hospital for Hansen's disease patients. Although it is an island imbued with the sorrows and joys of former Hansen's disease patients, currently about 700 patients nurture love and hope overcoming their hardships. The island covers an area of only 4.42 km² but is emerging as a new tourist attraction in Goheung-gun due to its clean natural environment, coastal scenery, and historical monuments. From the dockside at Nokdong Port across the Goheung Peninsula, the beautiful small island resembling a deer, Sorokdo, can be seen about 600 m ahead. The Sorok Bridge, opened in 2009, allows access to Sorokdo via National Road 27, making visits more convenient and increasing tourists. The National Sorokdo Hospital began with the Sorokdo Jaheuiwon, established in 1916, which was then the only specialized hospital for Hansen's disease in Joseon. The Central Park was created over 3 years and 4 months starting in December 1936 by forcibly mobilizing over 60,000 patients to form an area of 19,834.8 m² (6,000 pyeong). Even now, entering the park, there are various shaped trees grown by patients, and the whole area is well maintained. Throughout the park, historical monuments preserving the pain of the patients are well preserved. At the park entrance, there are confinement and autopsy rooms from the Japanese colonial period where the hospital director illegally detained Hansen's disease patients and forcibly performed vasectomies on release day without exception. In front of the autopsy room, a poignant poem by a patient who was forcibly vasectomized at age 25 remains, touching the hearts of visitors. There is also a life data center exhibiting various materials showing the history of Sorokdo Hospital and the daily lives of patients. From Nokdong Port, you can take a tour boat to enjoy the refreshing sea breeze and the spectacular scenery of the many bizarre rocks such as Hwalgae Rock and Turtle Rock in the Dadohae Archipelago. Nearby Narodo Beach, with its gentle coastline and shallow waters, is popular as a family vacation spot. About 50 minutes by car from Nokdong is Pallyong Mountain Natural Recreation Forest, where visitors can enjoy mountains, valleys, and spectacular sunrises, as well as stay in mountain huts inside the forest. Within the park, there are monuments reflecting the patients' emotions and philanthropy, such as a barley flute monument dedicated to the Hansen's disease poet Han Haun, a plaque for Director Hanai Zenkichi, a Japanese caretaker revered as Sorokdo's Schweitzer for his devoted care, and the Gu-ra Tower engraved with 'Hansen's disease is curable.' The island also features Sorokdo Beach, where dense pine forests and white sandy beaches are harmoniously blended.