5 ways to go back to the future in Gangneung

Hop on a high-speed KTX train from Seoul, and in just a couple of hours you’ll find yourself in laid-back Gangneung. This relaxed city reclines along Gangwon Province’s coastline, with white-sand beaches to one side and the temple-dotted peaks of Odaesan National Park on the other. It makes a refreshing change of pace from the frenetic capital, its cutting-edge galleries and K-pop filming locations balanced out by historic buildings, fresh regional cuisine and traditional crafts. Here are five ways to dip a toe into its eclectic culture...

1. Visit its heritage houses

Gangneung has deep cultural roots, with local luminaries ranging from Joseon-era novelist Heo Gyun to modern-day actor Jeon Yeo-been and K-pop idol Kim Jong-hyeon. Perhaps its most famous son is Confucian scholar Yulgok, whose mother Shin Saimdang was also a noted artist. You can still visit his childhood home, Ojukheon, an elegant complex with traditional buildings and serene gardens. The main house is one of Korea’s oldest wooden buildings, and elsewhere on the site you can admire Munseongsa Shrine, sumptuously painted in reds and greens, and explore the Municipal Museum.

Nearby Seongyojang House is another beautiful example of Joseon-era architecture, giving a glimpse of how the upper classes lived at the time. The standout feature is Hwallaejeong, a small pavilion with a sweeping tiled roof and delicate veranda, which looks like it’s floating on a pool crowded with lotus flowers. Immerse yourself even more in Joseon culture with an experience at Seongyojang House, like wearing a hanbok or making traditional confectionery. Alternatively, you could book an overnight stay at Ojuk Hanok Village, where each building is designed to evoke Ojukheon’s architecture.

 2. Wander its eclectic galleries and museums

The city's headlining artistic museum, the ARTE Museum Valley Gangneung creatively combines the region’s natural beauty with digital technology to create an immersive installation which sprawls over 1,500 square metres. You’re encouraged to take your time and relax in each new space – a waterfall, crashing waves, an enchanted forest. Even the tea bar is an experience, with blooming flowers projected onto your drink.

Perched high above the sea, Haslla Art World focuses on contemporary art. There’s also a Pinocchio Museum on site, which showcases European art and marionettes. Stroll through the sculpture garden to enjoy a crisp breeze and sweeping sea views along, or take a seat in the quirky café. Fantapia M is another venue which combines multiple interests. In this case: the works of Chang Kil-hwan; an AR-enhanced exhibition of cups and teaware from around the world; and pieces from the artist’s own impressive collection. The sleek, modern building also hosts special exhibitions, and is often used for art festivals.

Out of the city, Daegwallyeong Museum is well worth visiting to explore the long history of Gangneung. In fact, among the displays you’ll even find artefacts dating back to the prehistoric era, alongside everything from folk crafts and furniture to elegant calligraphy and Buddhist artworks.

3. Try the local food

With its coastal location, it’s no surprise that fresh seafood is a key feature of Gangneung’s cuisine. In the north of the region, stop by Jumunjin to sample spicy seafood dishes like gomchi-guk (a favourite local hangover cure, made with eel), haemul-tang (a stew with mixed seafood) or haemul-jjim (braised spicy seafood).

Further down the coast, Sacheon is the place to go for mulhoe, a refreshing, cold sweet-and-sour soup with raw fish. Each restaurant has its own recipe, and many also serve delicacies like hoedeop-bap (similar to bibimbap, but with raw fish) and seop-guk (mussels and garlic chives in a thick, warming soup).

Not far from the ARTE Museum Valley, Chodang is famous for its tofu, made with seawater and locally grown soybeans. You can try it in all kinds of dishes – spicy, tangy jeongol hotpots are popular, as are reviving bowls of jjamppong sundubu (seafood noodles and soft tofu in spicy broth). The speciality in Byeongsan comes from the land, not the sea. Locally grown potatoes show up in hearty dishes like gamja-ongsimi, a thick soup with potato dumplings, and gamja-jeon, fried potato fritters.

4. Time your visit with a festival

Gangneung has something to offer every season, from lazy summer beach days to winter hikes through pristine snowy landscapes. There are also festivals throughout the year – some of which, like Danoje, have been running for hundreds of years. Gangneung Danoje, which comes to a climax on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month (usually May), is even on UNESCO’s list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

It centres on a shamanistic ritual, around which you can enjoy traditional dancing and music, Gwanno masked theatre, ssireum wrestling and hands-on activities like traditional crafts. And of course, there’s a dizzying array of good food, with stalls several rows deep along either side of the river.

Outside of Danoje, you can start your year with the Sunrise Festival at Gyeongpo or Jeongdongjin beaches, or celebrate spring at Gyeongpodae Pavilion’s Cherry Blossom Festival. In summer, you can enjoy various outdoor film and art festivals along the coast, while in autumn you’ll notice a warming scent on the air as the Coffee Festival gets underway, especially near the main venues of Gangneung Indoor Gymnasium and Anmok Beach.

5. See K-pop and K-drama locations on its beaches

For fans of K-pop and K-dramas, the Gangneung coastline has some truly irresistible photo ops. Prime among them is Hyangho Beach, where any ARMY will recognise the iconic BTS bus stop from the You Never Walk Alone album cover, and the beach from Jimin’s scenes in the Spring Day music video. At nearby Yeongjin, couples can pose for photos on Jumunjin Breakwater just like Kim Shin and Ji Eun-tak in the hit K-drama Goblin.

Jeongdongjin is another pilgrimage site for K-drama fans, as the genre-defining Sandglass was filmed here in the 1990s. The stunning Heonhwa-ro coastal road has appeared in everything from It’s Okay Not to be Okay to Signal, plus the music video for I’m Serious by Day6, which also features the colourful Raramuri café-bar on Deungmyeong beach.

Gangneung’s coast has charms beyond the Korean Wave, too – you could even catch a real wave at one of the many beginner-friendly surf beaches. Anmok is known for its sea-facing Coffee Street, while Sodol Adeulbawi Park has clear, shallow water which makes it popular with families and an ideal spot for kayaking. Take the scenic railway to Jeongdongjin and you can disembark at the world’s closest station to the sea, then head to the Sun Cruise Hotel for a cup of coffee in a repurposed cruise ship perched above the water.

Make it happen

Inspired to explore Gangneung yourself? Let the experts at InsideAsia Tours help with their Korean Wave tour.

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