Gangwon

The land of mountains and sea east of Seoul, where the Taebaek Mountains divide Yeongseo from Yeongdong, with autumn color at Seoraksan, the coast of Gangneung and Sokcho, and the ski resorts of Pyeongchang.

This region covers all of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province (reorganized from Gangwon Province in 2023). It is divided by the Taebaek Mountains and Daegwallyeong Pass: to the west is Yeongseo (Chuncheon, Wonju, Hongcheon, Cheorwon and others), and to the east is Yeongdong (Gangneung, Sokcho, Yangyang, Donghae, Samcheok and others). Note that Nami Island belongs to Chuncheon, but Gapyeong, where its ferry pier is, is administratively part of Gyeonggi Province.

Highlights: in Seoraksan National Park, the Gwongeumseong cable car, Ulsanbawi Rock and Biseondae; Sokcho Central Market and seafood at Daepo Port; in Gangneung, Gyeongpodae, sunrise at Jeongdongjin and the Anmok beach café street; the venues of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and Jeongseon, the Yongpyong and Alpensia ski resorts, and Woljeongsa Temple on Odaesan; Chuncheon dakgalbi (spicy stir-fried chicken) and Nami Island; Wonju's Sogeumsan suspension bridge; Samcheok's marine cable car and caves; and ecological and security tourism around the Cheorwon DMZ.

Classic itinerary: a day trip from Seoul to Chuncheon and Nami Island; the Gangneung–Sokcho–Seoraksan coastline in 3–4 days; skiing in Pyeongchang for 2–3 days in winter; or a 3–4 day road trip down the East Sea coast along Route 7, from north to south through Yangyang, Gangneung and Donghae to Samcheok.

Getting around: the KTX Gangneung Line takes about 2 hours from Seoul to Gangneung, stopping at Pyeongchang and Jinbu on the way; ITX-Cheongchun trains and the Gyeongchun Line run to Chuncheon; buses to Sokcho and Gangneung leave from Seoul's East Seoul and Gangnam Express Bus Terminals; flights to Yangyang Airport are limited. Between East Coast destinations, travel is mainly by bus or car.

Good to know: Seoraksan is extremely crowded on autumn weekends, so arrive early to queue for the cable car; mountain roads ice over in winter, and Yeongdong gets heavy snowfall; some hiking trails are closed seasonally.

Destinations

Itineraries