Some friends, my wife, and I retreated to the inner ferry cabin after a day in this awesome place, doing another awesome thing that an expat can do in coastal Korea—hiking Geumodo Island. Tired and exhausted, the day was long gone. The noisy scenes inside hardly fazed us after such a fulfilling day.
We included Geumodo in our Things to Do in Yeosu South Korea travel guide.
Hiking Geumodo Island
This travel guide is part of our series on South Korea Travel and East Asia Travel. It was originally created on May 27, 2014. It has been maintained and updated (as of December 28, 2018) to reflect current viewpoints and travel trends.
Getting to Geumodo Island
Courtesy of Korea Tourism
From Seoul’s Central City Terminal or Dong Seoul Bus Terminal, take an intercity bus bound for Yeosu Intercity Bus Terminal. Trains leave from Yongsan Station to Yeosu Expo Station throughout the day. You can book here. Stay in Yeosu the night before and you can skip to the next step.
From Yeosu Coastal Ferry Terminal (Shorter Journey, Fewer Boats)
Take Buses 28, 82, 88, 111, or 666 and get off at Jungang Market Bus Stop. (중앙시장)
From there, walk about 180m to Yeosu’s Coastal Ferry Terminal (여수연안여객터미널).
From Yeosu Coastal Ferry Terminal to Geumodo Island (Hamgumi), boats leave three times a day (1 hr 40 min). Schedules change according to season so be sure to ask for about return times before leaving.
From Dolsan Shingi Terminal 돌산신기항 (Longer Journey, More Boats)
Take Buses 109, 114, or 116 from Yeosu’s Intercity Bus Terminal (2 hours advertised but usually 1-1 1/2 hours)
Advice: If you’ve come with friends, travel via Taxi and pay 25,000 won but save time getting to the terminal. If you’ve come along, take the bus.
Schedules change according to the season so be sure to ask for about return times before leaving.
Our Story
Smiles and laughter filled the room. Soju bottles filled cups while conversations permeate the cabin. Our first trip to Geumodo last fall comes to mind, thanks to a couple of chance encounters with similarly jolly people. This country is responsible for many of the greatest experiences I’ll ever remember. Another time on this Island also ranks near the top of my best travel moments.
While moving to Yeosu in the late summer of 2013, my wife and I studied up on this peninsula-within-the-peninsula. Thanks to the World Expo in 2012, the city gained worldwide exposure. People here have so much exposure to nature and openly boast about the over 300 islands found nearby.
Geumodo Facts
Five main hiking courses form a circuit around Geumodo island and we’d set out to complete as many as possible on this beautiful day. At the end of each trail stands an open area with a water station and sometimes a drink stand or small restaurant offering standard fare.
Korean Kindness at Play
After completing one, we refill our bottles and prepared to move on when some Koreans call us over to a table at the very small restaurant. They’d been diving in the water nearby and caught some whitefish, which we were more than welcome to try. The fish and complimentary soju boost our spirits for the next path while these kind people’s generosity put genuine smiles on our faces as we continue on.
That memory put a new smile back on my worn face as our boat made its only stop on the way back, at Geumodo’s northern tip. After shuffling outgoing passengers for those making heading back to Yeosu, the boat starts up. More memories float to the surface.
Lunch, Newfound Friends
We’d picked up some kimbap before leaving because the word was out about the island lacking genuine food options. After a few times hiking with nothing but kimbap to eat, it works. It’s cheap and packs a much-needed protein punch when walking around for hours. Along the way, we bump into a friend who’d made a day of the island with his co-teachers from nearby Suncheon.
He takes some long distance photos of us from some of the trail’s most beautiful points. We join his party and walk until lunchtime approached. A nice spot in the shade suits the Koreans and as we pull out our kimbap rolls, our new friends signal to put them away. We’ll be eating theirs because…why else? It’s better. No arguing. Just eat and enjoy. Free food should never be turned away. Not in this country. After eating together, we continue on through some more beautiful spots and enjoy the rest of our walk with this great and friendly company.
Back to the Mainland
Those feelings of leaving came back, as I stood up and moved out of the cabin. Now port side, I tried to have a moment’s glance at tiny uninhabited islands. The boat pulled nearer to the mainland terminal and more thoughts came to mind. This time, they were of hopes and declarations for the future. Will I come back to and do some hiking on Geumodo? Hopefully so after our amazing experience with some kind and generous people make we want to go back every day.
Excellent photos! I agree, kimbap rulz. The perfect on-the-to chow.
Whoops, I meant on-the-go chow.
Thank you for the comment. Yes, I love Donkasu Kimbap best of all!
How long is the boat ride to Geumodo? The island looks awesome! I wish I could do more island exploring in Korea, but I get really bad motion sickness and a lot of the islands are pretty far out. It looks like a truly gorgeous place.
Oh and how cool is that crab?!
I love the varieties of nature found on Geumodo. It’s really different from most of the Korea we all know. No apartment buildings there, that’s for sure:)
Hey Meagan,
The boat ride is only about thirty minutes and not a bad one. Getting there is the catch though because you either have to go to Dolsan Shingi Ferry Terminal or Baekyado Ferry Terminal, both of which are quite a ways away from Yeosu’s center. Either one is a bus or expensive taxi away. I’d recommend a taxi or car if you get sick easily. The buses are not for those of us in need of a comfortable ride. Do get down there though. It’s amazing!
Oh ok I can do a 30 minute boat ride! We also have a car which comes in handy. Hopefully we will get a chance to explore that area soon.
Ah, having a car will make it very easy for you. You can leave it at the terminal or take it on the boat. I think it was an extra 7,000 for cars but not totally sure about that.
Beautiful pictures of a beautiful island. I can see why it’s captured your attention and you’ve been there twice. The generosity of locals really enriches the travel experience.
Yes, the people usually contribute to my favorite experiences in life. I guess a beautiful place with rude people might be a turn off. Who knows? I haven’t had that happen yet.
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Traveling and enjoying beautiful scenery is wonderful, but it’s so much more special when you run into human kindness and generosity along the way. Sounds like a special place. Thanks for sharing all the amazing photos.
Thank you for such a nice comment. Geumodo holds a special place in my heart and I hope to make it back again soon!
Just as Tom said…GREAT JOB! Your writing is captivating and tells such a cool story. Thanks for sharing this slice of heaven! We hope to get back and finish the very last trail on this island. We have done trail 1-4, but got a late start so didn’t get to finish the last one. One of these days I hope we can finally get together and hang with you two.
Thank you so much Elicia! I still keep up with your stuff have even better thoughts of your work. Maybe we should all unite for a trip to an island sometime. Huh? Huh? Great idea, right?
Wow Man!! Just fell in love with your pics. Some of them had a trance effect in them! too good!
Thank you so much! I appreciate your kind words. Cheers!
Nice post, I like the fact that since there were a ton of photos you made them a gallery. Nice choice. The trip looked fun, hadn’t heard of the area so may have to go there while in Korea.
Thank you so much. Definitely come to the south coast if you get a chance. I’ve yet to really spend time on the East Coast so I’m somewhat biased towards this area.
Thank you for sharing your pictures and memories of Geumodo. I never forget the unexpected kindnesses of welcoming strangers when visiting a new place.
Thank you for your comment. I really hope you enjoyed reading.
What fabulous pictures and a beautiful introduction to Geumodo and especially enjoyed hearing about the folks going out of their way for you. Gives one faith in human-kind:)
Thanks so much Jacquie! I definitely want to go back!
Gorgeous photo. I may need to head there myself!
Thank you so much. It’s a truly memorable place.
I love all that blue in the photos 🙂 Makes me want to go for a swim. I really like taking pictures of shorelines for some reason.
I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for commenting. Living near the water is certainly a treat:)
I have never heard of Geumodo but you certainly captured its beauty in your photos. Like you, I always get a kick out of joining strangers and try and reciprocate those invitations when I can. Living by the water is a different experience than living inland and it is great to experience both.
Thanks Tim. Koreans can be shy at times so this was a welcome change to my daily encounters and lack of contact with the locals. Hopefully more of these good times happen in the future.
Great pictures, as always! It’s really cool when people go out of their way to be kind like that. It seems to happen quite a lot out here, especially while out hiking and enjoying the outdoors. Yet another reason to love Korea!
Thanks Nathan. I agree with you wholeheartedly!
Loved the area when down for the expo. You did it up right with some great photos.
Thank you Steve. This is definitely one of my favorite places in Korea. Love Yeosu and its surroundings!
Hi Carl, what a nice experience to write about – the generosity of strangers. Things like that do turn into the most precious memories, don’t they. Absolutely love the pictures, amazing scenery.
Lucky you.
Lenie
Thanks for the comment. I really do love these types of encounters and hope everyone has one of these at least once in their lives.
Well done sir!! **applause**
Thanks Tom! I really would love to get together with you and Elicia sometime in the near future!
Looks like a really beautiful part of the world! 🙂
Definitely beautiful, here! Everyday I think that about this area of Korea. The South Coast rules!
Hey Carl, great introduction to Geumodo and excellent pictures. I had not realized you moved to Korea and were travelling from there. Perhaps I overlooked it in a previous post. There are few things better when travelling than a spontaneous invitation to join complete strangers and share a meal with them. Whether you return or not Im sure you will always have warm feelings about these beautiful islands,
Thank you Paul. I truly think this place is one of the most special in the country. Living here can be quite difficult sometimes but islands like Geumodo and the people coming here make the time much easier.