Pohang

A port city on Korea's east coast, where the sunrise at Homigot's Hand of Harmony, the Space Walk sculpture and the Japanese-style Guryongpo street are popular photo spots.

Pohang lies on Yeongil Bay on the east coast of Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. It is a center of Korea's steel industry (home to POSCO's headquarters) and an important seafood port on the east coast. The city divides into three areas for sightseeing. Downtown, there's Yeongildae Beach, the Yeongildae pavilion over the sea, the much-photographed Space Walk sculpture in Hwanho Park, the Pohang Canal and Jukdo Market—all easily covered in a day. On the Homigot Peninsula to the southeast are Homigot, where the sun rises first on the Korean Peninsula, with its Hand of Harmony sculpture, the National Lighthouse Museum and the Guryongpo Modern History Street (old Japanese-style houses and a K-drama filming location)—best done as a day loop around the peninsula by car or private driver. In the north are the Twelve Waterfalls of Bogyeongsa Temple on Naeyeonsan Mountain and the Igari Anchor Observatory, while to the south is Oeosa, an old temple beside a lake. The climate is milder than Seoul's. Spring and autumn are the most comfortable; summer is peak season for beaches and the fireworks festival; and winter (Nov–Mar) is the season for snow crab and gwamegi, half-dried Pacific saury. Crowds at Homigot for the January 1 sunrise are enormous. Getting there: the KTX takes about 2.5 hours from Seoul to Pohang Station, the Donghae Line about 1–1.5 hours from Busan, and there's also Pohang Gyeongju Airport. Taxis are the main way to get between downtown sights; Homigot and Guryongpo require bus transfers, so driving or hiring a driver is recommended. Pohang borders Gyeongju (Yangdong Folk Village and Bulguksa Temple are 30–40 minutes away by car), and the two are often combined. Plan on 1–2 days.

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