A daytime trip to Yeosu’s forgotten Sindeok Beach is one of the few ways to watch waves in the area. The recent Typhoon Nakri had recently passed and the resulting calm treated South Korea to some of its clearest days. That was a thankful and momentary respite from the never-ending haze that grows more and more common here. Prior to Nakri’s official arrival, the peninsula is experiencing intense heat but clear and spacious skies.
Watching Waves at Sindeok Beach in Yeosu
This guide is part of our series on South Korea Travel, East Asia Travel, and Asia Travel. It was originally created on August 3, 2017. It has been maintained and updated on our blog (as of December 27, 2018) to reflect current viewpoints and travel destination trends.
Getting to Sindeok Beach
Taxis will get you to Sindeok Beach for about 15,000 won. The only bus that goes out there is #73, which can be caught at the Inter-city Bus Terminal and takes about an hour to reach the beach. Courtesy of Naver Maps.
Unfortunate History
We search for some water to beat the heat and the first two spots (Mossageum and Ungcheon) proved too busy. Summer vacation just started for many and getting to the water must have been on every person’s mind. Finding a quiet place required visiting one nearby that’s still too less approachable for most locals. Sindeok Beach has an unfortunate recent history, thanks to an oil spill rocking the wildlife and fortunes of local fishermen and women. Yet no signs of ecological disaster appear today. The only things on hand are the beautiful blue sky and cerulean water pushing against Yeosu’s rocky shores.
Powerful Waves
Sindeok Beach lacks the sand and wide open spaces of the more popular beaches, but the water and cool air help me forget that better places might exist nearby. From two viewpoints, it’s fun to watch the waves’ awesome power. Checking out the action from a perch of volcanic rock, the backs and forths of water into shore fill our ears. Right around the jutted-out shore is an inlet with some sand at the edge but more importantly, a better view of waves coming in from both sides.
That Perfect Moment
Sometimes the fondest memories happen without a plan and finding Sindeok is another one of those times. People have mostly abandoned this place and I wonder if and when they’ll come back. After moving from the tiny bay, we keep driving around Yeosu and other nearby spots in South Korea’s South Jeolla Province. We spot some sunflowers along the way, which adds to this pretty awesome day. Of course, the afternoon’s success is largely thanks to those moments spent at Sindeok Beach.
Have you ever visited a place that was mostly abandoned but turned out to be pretty awesome? We’d love to read your thoughts in the comments section below:)
Gorgeous photos, as usual! There seems to be endless amounts of hidden gems in this country! Thanks for showing us another 🙂
Who knows why it is, but there is always something awesome about finding out about something that not many others know about. Thanks for sharing your hidden gem and not keeping it all to yourself (as I may ha e done with this one 😉
Thanks, Matt! I hope you enjoyed reading this. Feel free to come on down to Yeosu. I’ll show you some cool places!
Beautiful pictures of the beach! I wanna be there, even though you write of an oncoming typhoon.
Thanks Christina. That typhoon missed us and went to Japan instead. Too bad there was some damage there but most people here were quite relieved. Halong was a big one. Hopefully the typhoons will soon have run their course this year.
Wow, such absolutely stunning pictures. The first picture up at the top absolutely took my breath away. Glad you got through the storm and are on to other adventures!
My wife does well, 🙂 Glad you liked them!
I loved going to Sindeok, the prettiest beach in Yeosu in my opinion. When I was in Korea, I used to keep up with all the typhoons that are prevalent this time of year. Now that I’m living in the boondocks in Laos, I don’t access the Internet as often as I did. Nakri was completely under my radar. Hope everyone at the Uni. and elsewhere is safe and sound.
Yo Ron! Halong turned out to be a dud here in Yeosu but left its mark on Japan, unfortunately. You must be loving that Laos weather right now. Hopefully we can come for a visit in the near future. Christina’s got the travel bug again.
Those pictures are amazing.
Thank you Jason! Thanks for stopping by as well.
What stunning photos! It’s so sad to hear about oil spills, it’s such a shame. I wish I was on that beach now 🙂
This beach will hopefully get a remodel when next year comes along. Yeosu wants tourists to come but being such a small town, might not have the strength to rebuild things immediately. Thanks for stopping by.
Gorgeous pictures! I can almost hear the waves smashing on those rocks. It’s hard to imagine that was the site of such a disaster.
Thank you Meredith! I’m hoping that the ecological fallout passes for the sakes of local fishers and the environment. A lot is depending on that.
I remember hearing about the oil spill from a coworker! I’d be curious too to see how long they abandon it. Good to hear there was no visible trace of the spill at least. Beautiful pictures!
That oil spill was a bit underreported to us here, in my opinion. It seemed that the locals were hoping that nobody reported on it on a large scale. Things seemed to be clean despite the abandoned vending areas having some trash around them. Hopefully things can get back to normal there soon.
Your pictures are absolutely breathtaking. I can practically hear the surf crashing upon the beach and rocks and feeling the salty spray hit my face. It sounds that kismet was in play as your day developed such fond memories. I agree that can happen. That might be why they’re so cherished.
Thank you! I love looking back on my wife’s photos and writing about such beautiful and memorable days. I appreciate your nice comment just as much.
Glad there was a lull in the storm for you to enjoy that day! I love spending time at the beach, immersing myself in the environment there. I’ve also had some of my favorite moments happen unexpectedly by the seaside. Stay safe!
Thanks Nathan! I love Yeosu for all the chances to get out and see nature. Right now is a terrible time to be anywhere but the sea. Hoping for that really soon!
Wow what an amazing looking beach
Yes it is, Mina. Such a great and peaceful place to get away from this hectic culture sometimes.
The beach looks great, but which island is it on exactly? I went to Geumodo back in 2012 and really enjoyed my time there. Wondering which of the islands this one is.
This one is in Yeosu, Tom. It’s north of the black sands beach (Manseongri) and Mossageum. Not a bad place but a bit of unfortunate history there. Thanks for stopping by.
How long ago did the oil spill happen? It looks so beautiful it’s hard to imagine that people wouldn’t come back.
It happened earlier this year but seems that the locals have abandoned it. I didn’t really show any photos of the evidence but lots of places for stalls are empty and starting to deteriorate.
The heat of a hot day mixed with a gorgeous ocean, a disastrous history, an impending storm, and the resulting clear skies. That’s quite a foundation for a story and adventure. Hope the storm passed without any trouble for you. You are right though. The most incredible things happen when least expected.
Thanks Tim. I’m dying right now because a busy week of work is keeping me away from the ocean. Next week will be different though!
Carl,
I loved this memory! And the photos to match were so beautiful! Great job 🙂
Thanks Judith! My wife is great at taking photos. This was a fabulous day and she really captured it.
I appreciate your kind words.
Hi Carl,
Thanks for sharing your memories of Sindeok Beach. Your magnificent photos are the next best thing to being there, so thank you for the vicarious visit to a most beautiful locale.
Kind Regards,
Bill
Thank you Bill. It was a great day full of memories that I’m conjuring up during this terribly busy week of work. Take care.
I feel really relaxed looking at these photos, I’ll check where’s the beach and try to visit it (because Incheon beaches have nothing to do with this!)
This one is not so well known in Yeosu but really worth a trip if you get a chance. Buses do come out there but I’m not sure how often. Thanks for commenting.
Carl, these pictures and your write-up are wonderful and I’m so glad the oil-spill seems to have been taken care off. I really love the photo ‘crashing waves at Sindeok’. Really shows the power behind them. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much, Lenie! The more that I think about this place, the happier I get. More places like Sindeok need to exist.
Aw, thank you for these pictures and your post. I’m so glad the oil-spill was a big issue, at least there. I love the picture of the wave at Sindeok Beach. Getting a good shot of crashing waves like that isn’t easy. 🙂
That shot took a while for my wife to get. All good things come to those will to wait, I guess, is a correct assessment. Thanks for your lovely comment!
Thank goodness in so many ways that the oil spill had no effects. Now that, is certainly a blessing. These picture are so alive you can hear them.
These pictures of Sindeok Beach are so beautiful! The accompanying story really did evoke a strong sense of being there…to hear the waves crash and smell that fresh air. So happy that you could experience this after the oil spill and before the storm.
Beautiful pictures. After the heavy rains the air smells so good and you could smell it from your pictures.
Beautiful pictures of Sindeok Beach. I can almost hear the waves crashing against the rocks.
Thank you, Donna. I can hear them now thanks to thinking about them.
What a beautiful beach! You were lucky to visit during the time of calm before the storm.
Thank you for commenting, Beth! The bad weather is still here so the memories of that beach really help right now.
Where exactly is Sindeok Beach? I couldn’t see you mention in your article, but from the sound of ‘volcanic rock’ I would guess Jeju? Anyway, the beach does look amazing, good that it’s somewhat deserted, and I hope you can stay safe from that typhoon. P.S. haze in Korea? So, it’s not just Singapore that suffers, then?! 😛
Sindeok is in Yeosu, about as South as you can get without being in Jeju. Haze is normal here, thanks to many factors. Many people blame China but I’d like to think Korea is somewhat responsible. Anyway, it’s a nice place to visit. I’d recommend it if you’re ever in the area again.
Sindeok beach looks breathtakingly beautiful…reminds me of some of the beaches I saw visiting Thailand years and years ago. It is really unfortunate to hear about the oil spill that occurred here, but I’m glad there were no signs of it the day you visited! Thanks for sharing these gorgeous images…
Michele
Thanks Michele! It was truly a great day. Not much sand compared to the rocks here but still great views of waves to be found.