Wando-gun: Island Trails, Views and Coastline

Wando-gun can be viewed from several thematic perspectives when planning a trip: views and walking trails at Wando Tower, the Slow Paths on Cheongsando, Jiri Beach, and natural and cultural sites each offer a different focus. If you are looking for a hotel, you can use these themes as a guide rather than reducing the region to a single landscape. Cheongsando and Bogildo each bring their own island themes; Wando Tower, the arboretum and the Wando Fishery and Folklore Museum add views, nature and maritime folklore to the mix. You can start choosing a destination by considering which of these features matters most to you during your stay.

Views and Island Trails

Wando Tower stands on Dongmangsan Mountain and is 76 meters high. From there, you can see Cheongsando Island. A walking trail also runs through Dongmangsan Mountain near the tower. The view and trail offer two different perspectives on this location: the view looks out toward the island, while the walking trail leads through the mountain. Cheongsando has not just one trail, but eleven Slow Paths. The contrast makes the different focuses clear: a walking trail by Wando Tower on the one hand, and several trails on an island on the other.

Cheongsando is about a 40-minute passenger ferry ride from Wando. This approximate crossing time is a separate part of your travel plans; check the timetable for your travel date. This lets you consider the Slow Paths and the journey there as two connected aspects of planning a visit to the island, without assuming a particular route or walking time.

Jiri Beach and the Coast

Jiri Beach is defined by specific landscape features. It stretches for one kilometer and is 100 meters wide. The water is clean and shallow, and the sand is fine and white. More than 500 old pine trees line the beach. Its length and width give the beach a sense of scale; the water, sand and tree-lined shore add different natural features to this picture. Jiri can therefore be considered as a coastal destination alongside the island trails and the walking trail near Wando Tower.

The Wando Arboretum

The Wando Arboretum has walking trails, an observatory and a campground. It is also home to the country’s largest and oldest collection of evergreen broadleaf trees and is Korea’s only arboretum in the warm-temperate climate zone. These descriptions highlight different aspects: one concerns the collection of evergreen broadleaf trees, and the other the arboretum’s climate zone. Together with the walking trails and observatory, they give Wando-gun’s natural attractions a distinct character.

Island History and Maritime Culture

Bogildo adds a literary connection to the island themes. The island is about 12 kilometers from Wando Port. The Joseon poet Yun Seon-do stayed on Bogildo for ten years, and the island also has three beautiful beaches. Its distance, history as a place of residence and beaches are different points to consider when adding Bogildo to your travel plans. By comparison, Cheongsando, with its eleven Slow Paths, has a clear focus on island trails.

The cultural sites also have different profiles. The Wando Fishery and Folklore Museum was built to support tourism and education about maritime folklore. On Cheongsando, a village warehouse was converted during the 2011 Slow Walking Festival into the “Slow City Cheongsando: Re-view” art gallery. The gallery’s history adds an artistic connection to Cheongsando alongside the museum’s focus on maritime education. The range of attractions in Wando-gun therefore extends from walking trails and coastal landscapes to literary history and maritime folklore.

Discover more destinations: Haenam-gun, Suncheon, Goheung-gun, Yeosu, Yeongam-Gun, Yeonggwang-gun, Damyang-gun, Hwasun-Gun.

For the regional travel overview: Jeollanam-Do.