This remote, mountain-locked town can be visited on a one-carriage, gaily decorated train. Catch a train from Taebaek to Jeungsan (W4400, 35 minutes, 11 daily) and change to the Jeongseon line, which goes to Jeongseon (35 minutes) and on to the end of the
Twenty kilometres south of Gangneung is a holiday resort with novel tourist attractions, including a North Korean submarine. The town is famed for having a train station on the beach with a swifts nest in its eaves. The sand-timer hourglasses in the souve
Inje (www.inje.gangwon.kr) is a small town and an adventure sports centre – white-water rafting, kayaking and bungee jumping are becoming increasingly popular with young Koreans. It was hit hard by the 2006 flooding, however; many homes and businesses wer
This sandy beach is popular in July and August but almost deserted at other times. Nearby is a lake and three summer villas (admission adult/child W2000/1500 for all three; 9am-6pm) that belonged to former politicians. Everything is within walking distanc
Gang·won-do, northeast of Seoul and bordering the ocean and North Korea, holds many of Korea’s natural gems. Roads wind through wildflower-dappled valleys, rivers chase and meander their way to the sea, and verdant green mountains cloaked in mist rise up
Gangneung is the largest city on the northeast coast of Korea and hosts an annual Dano Festival, held for the past 400 years. It is the gateway to Jeongdongjin beach, Odaesan National Park and Korea’s top ski resort, YongPyong. It’s also pretty in itself,
Gangchon is a popular resort village that in many ways – with its DVD rooms, bars, dakgalbi restaurants, scooters and bikes – is like the university areas of Seoul. It’s a much prettier place to stay than nearby Chuncheon city, but if you’re solo (or nurs
Donghae is far from quaint and verges on unattractive, but this east-coast port has popular beaches, ferry service to Ulleungdo island, buses to nearby Mureung Valley and a small cave in the downtown area.
The ‘City of Lakes’, proud birthplace of the scrumptious yet mouth-scalding dakgalbi (chicken, rice cakes and veggies cooked with spicy chilli paste), still retains the charm and quiet of a small town, despite its size. Four pretty artificial lakes surrou
Chiaksan means ‘Magpie Crags Mountain’ and this park (732 5231; adult/youth/child W3600/1300/700; sunrise-sunset) is 20km northeast of Wonju, making it a very do-able weekend trip from Seoul. The dense forests, mist-cloaked mountains, rushing rock-strewn