Yeosu
Literally meaning ‘beautiful (Yeo) waters (su),” this picturesque coastal city really lives up to its name, with gorgeous scenery year-round. It’s also rich in history and tasty local cuisine, and while certainly a pretty town, it’s truly an adventure destination that encourages visitors to get out and engage with nature.
Yeosu is a place where the natural and man-made meet, creating a wonderful concoction of modern buildings, bridges, and other structures surrounded by shimmering sea, verdant hills, and islands galore. While parts of Korea can be hectic and claustrophobic, Yeosu is the very definition of laid-back, with fresh ocean air and a slower tempo than other cities in the country. It’s also surprisingly modern, largely due to its role as the host city of the 2012 World Expo. The whole town underwent a complete renewal and makeover, which still shows a decade down the line.
Start off with a dose of history at Yi Sun-shin Park. Home to a statue dedicated to the memory of Korea’s greatest military leader, you can also poke around a life-sized replica of one the admiral’s famous “turtle ships” that helped lead Korea to many victories during the Japanese invasion at the end of the 16th century.
The Yeosu Peninsula is surrounded by 365 islands of all shapes and sizes, which makes the city the perfect base for your island-hopping adventures. Each has its own unique charms, and the bigger ones will also feature restaurants and accommodation, all accessible by passenger ferry.
If jumping on a boat isn’t your thing, take the Marine Cable Car over the harbor to Ondongo Island and check out Dolsan Park; duck into “Nangman Pocha Street” for delicious food and drink served up at street stalls, and at the day’s end, take in the dazzling nightscape vistas from the Sky Tower Observation Deck or from one of the many coastal viewpoints available at Jongdo Marine Park, where you’ll feel the ocean breeze on your face as the city lights shimmer before you.
