Gangneung is a municipal city in Gangwon Province, known as the Pines City due to its abundance of pine trees and sandy beaches along a 77.61 km-long coastline with gentle slopes. It is located to the east of the Baekdu Mountain Range and a central city of the Pan-East Sea.
Getting to Gangneung from Seoul
Gangneung is just 2 hours away from Seoul via the Korea Train eXpress (KTX). You can also take a bus from Dong Seoul Terminal to Gangneung Intercity Bus Terminal.
We took the KTX-Eum from Seoul Station to Gangneung Station at 8:01 AM. I purchased a Korail Pass on Klook, reserved a seat at the Korail website, and received a digital copy. You can also purchase a ticket or exchange your Klook pass at the ticketing booth located in the station. For the digital copy, you don’t need to print the ticket. Just make sure you save it on your phone.
While your ticket isn’t checked manually, a staff do check seat numbers so always sit in your assigned spot.
The KTX is comfy and efficient with free Wi-Fi, charging ports, toilets, and even a baby changing room. Eating and drinking are allowed on board, but make sure that you keep your area clean and throw your garbage.
Getting around Gangneung
Two options you can do if you are commuting in Gangneung are to take a bus or hail a taxi. You can also book Kakao Taxi or through other taxi apps. If you opt to take the bus, consider the waiting and travel time. Buses here only stop if someone is getting on or off, just like other provinces.
First Stop: Jumunjin Beach and BTS Bus Stop
From Gangneung Station, you can take Bus 300 to our first stop – the stunning Jumunjin Beach. It takes approximately an hour with 47 stops. Jumunjin Beach has fine sand, calm waters, a wide shoreline, and a peaceful atmosphere. A large frame that stands at the shoreline is perfect for photos.
Walking a bit farther, we reached the famous BTS Bus Stop from BTS Spring Day album cover. Fans were lining up for photos. It has a stamp station for BTS tour maps and a camera guide so you can recreate the perfect shot.
A Detour & A Delicious Lunch
We need took Bus 314 with Jumunjin Breakwater as the destination. We were aiming to visit the Goblin breakwater filming location. But… plot twist! It wasn’t the right place.
We enjoyed taking photos at the red lighthouse which turned out to be a filming location of the Glory.
On our walk back, we stumbled upon a local restaurant and decided to stop for lunch. The menu was written in Hangul which I made a mistake of understanding the price for the King Crab set. We ordered one and was surprised of the amount of food that was served and the amount we paid (KRW130k plus, which is about PHP6000). But it was still worth the try and really delicious!
We also saw some dried fish stores and I was surprised to see a dried stingray hang outside.
The Real Goblin Filming Spot 도깨비 촬영지
Back on track, we took Sea Tea Bus, which dropped us off just one stop away from the real Jumunjin Breakwater – one of the most recognizable Goblin K-drama filming location. The correct pin in Naver Map is 도깨비 촬영지.
You will know that you’re in the right location when you see the photo of the actual scene.
When we got there, there was an ahjussi fishing, so we couldn’t take photos on the exact spot. But we found another rock platform nearby which is exactly the same and where other tourists were also enjoying the view and snapping pictures. Some said that you can borrow the red scarf at the cafe across it.
Final Stop: Gallery Bobs 갤러리밥스
I couldn’t miss it, so we took Kakao Taxi since we were running out of time. We passed by Gyeongpo Lake on our 20-minute taxi ride. During that time the cherry blossom trees hadn’t bloomed yet.
Gallery Bobs is a famous cafe in Gangneung for their Chodang oksusu coffee or Chodang sweet corn coffee. It even became known when its owner – Jong Woo – joined Single’s Inferno. When we got there, the cafe was on break. I peeked inside and saw him and the staff who went out also told us he’s there. When it opened, we fell in line, he took our order and even made it for us. We took photo with him too. Yes, he’s really handsome, tall, and nice.
Then we bid goodbye, booked Kakao Taxi going back to Gangneung Station since we had our return ticket scheduled at 5:25PM.
Final Thoughts
Gangneung surprised me. From iconic Kpop and Kdrama filming locations to serene to the beautiful beach and unexpected feasts and meet & greet. It is absolutely worth a day trip from Seoul.
Would I do it again?
Definitely, yes! As there are still many places to visit in this city and maybe stay there at least for a night?!
Detailed Itinerary
| Time | Activity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 8:01 AM | KTX from Seoul to Gangneung | Book via Klook or Korail Purchase at the station’s ticketing booth |
| 10:01 AM | Arrive at Gangneung Station | |
| 11:02 AM | Jumunjin Beach / BTS Bus Stop | Take Bus 300 to Jumunjin Beach Stamp your BTS map |
| 12:19 PM | Jumunjin Breakwater | Take Bus 314 This is not the correct Goblin Filming Location |
| 1:34PM | Lunch at the local restaurant | King Set starts at around KRW130k There is a different crab you can order at a lower price |
| 3:18 PM | Goblin Breakwater 도깨비 촬영지 | Take Sea Tea Bus and get off on the next stop |
| 3:50PM | Gallery Bobs | Break Time between 3:30PM to 4:20PM |
| 5:25 PM | Return to Seoul | Take KTX |
Have You Been to Gangneung?
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