Last week the wife and I spent four excellent days of traveling around remote Yeongdeok County (center of the east coast of North Gyeongsang Province, north of Pohang City). My first time to ever explore this area, and I shouldn’t have waited so long. It features fine beaches (Daejin is the biggest) and craggy coastal bluffs, many good Motel & Minbak options (no fancy hotels or big resorts — but that might change when Expressway #65 reaches it; that highway is still under construction between Donghae and Pohang).
We feasted on king-crabs, the local specialty, three times. The famously delicious Yeongdeok Daegae (bamboo-leg crabs) are out of season now and mostly unavailable; all the restaurants were honest about serving king-crabs brought in by mostly Japanese ships from Russian waters. Two people can eat their fill for w50,000~100,000 which seemed reasonable for the quality. We will try to go back next time for the real Daegae in the proper season (December~April).
In the deep mountains on Yeongdeok’s western side (the Taebaek Range) there can be found many fascinating little temples with unique artworks amidst astounding scenery in rocky gorges with gushing waterfalls. Some just amazing places discovered, on the northern side of Palgak-san [Mt. Eight-Peaks] and the remote eastern slopes of Juwang-san National Park.
We had a good time together, despite the leaden-cloudy skies; we were lucky that the monsoon-rains didn’t open up on us until we were driving home… A real nice break, getting away from all the busy business for a while… It’ll take a long while to post all my good photos, so I’ll just offer y’all a one-page taste — the isolated-but-incredible Yongam-sa [Dragon-Rock Temple] deep within a Juwang-san gorge.
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That IS a really nice area and my wife and I are really fond of YeongDuk Crabs when they are in season. You should stop by in april when they have their crab festival. We went a few years ago and ate lots of free crab… yum!!
The area between YeongDuk and Uljin is really nice… Just take every opportunity you can to turn right as you drive north and you get into some great little fishing towns… Real taste of rural east coast life.
BTW… I recently asked about property in that area a 2500 sq ft piece of property with a small house on it only a stones throw away from the beach goes for around 60 million won or less!! Nice place to build a vacation home (before everyone else does).
Fantastic area that part of the country. I’ve always wondered what the winters are like there.
Funny - I was in the area as well recently, visiting Yeongyang (1 hour in from Yeonghae), had 회 in a place called 축산 on the coast. It’s a very pretty place and fully untouristed, long may it continue to be so…
I’ve been to Juwangsan—needless to say, it’s gorgeous. The 산채 비빔밥 (mountain greens bibimbap) in one of the restaurants in the park was remarkably fresh. My wife has fond memories of a childhood summer spent in Juwangsan—playing in the waterfall pools; mountain men keeping the kids enraptured with their fascinating stories. On our one trip there together, we also went to Dalgi Yaksutang to gather the mineral water take home back to Daegu to make the Juwangsan specialty, 약수 닭백숙 (mineral water chicken soup). One of the most enjoyable days I’ve ever spent in Korea, that was.
As for the coast, we’ve only gotten as far north as Bogyeongsa on the outskirts of Pohang. Going from there up to Gangneung is a fantasy itinerary for me, along with a trip down the west coast (Seoul-Janghang-Gunsan-Iksan-Mokpo, I’m thinking).
Yup, that entire region is SO great, always worthwile to explore — hell, everthing between Goseong to Busan
It would be awesome to spend a month going thru it all, just driving up the coast stopping each interesting spot including the Taebaek-Range valleys, in fine weather…
Yup, luweiqd, coincidence — 축산 Port is one of the places we ate crabs and slept in, quite unspoiled and real. 30 min drive further south it gets touristy…
Yup, sewing, we swung by NW Juwangsan (which is Cheongsong-gun County) too, to drink the Dalgi Yaksu & enjoy the Waterfall; we ate delicious and invigoration 약수 삼계탕 (instead of the 백숙) and also 산채 비빔밥 on the SW corner of the Park… Rural Culinary Paradise.
What, no comments on Yong-am-sa pix? Damn.
No other fans of the remotest sortza temples here…?
Nice. One of my favorite Korean movies, 파이란, was filmed in Daejin and at Daejin Beach.
Oh, nice temple photos too, since you ask. I love those small, out-of-the-way hermitages.
Thanks to you at least, bro!