Welcome to paradise. Turns out the ‘red island’ is actually gorgeously green! It’s a little semi-tropical gem of an island located about as far southwest as you can go in South Korea. Hongdo (홍도) must be the crown jewel of Dadohaehaesang National Park (다도해해상국립공원)!
What an amazing trip! And coming from Inje, it certainly was a trip to get there – diagonally across the country! We took first a bus, then two trains all the way down the west coast to reach Mokpo. And that was just the land transportation. After spending the night in a motel named for the national park, we got to take a ferry trip!
We had great window seats and friendly Korean seat-mates. We snacked and chatted and gazed all the way there. It was a long journey, but an exciting one, as we passed island after island. But our first glimpse of Hongdo revealed it to be the best among all the islands.
Hongdo is gorgeous! And yes, red! Huge red cliffs rise up out of a surprisingly turquoise sea, topped by a jungle of green. A small tangle of orange-roofed homes and businesses climb the hillside to the south, and our national park trail climbed straight up to the north.
We dashed up the trail in our excitement to explore this little slice of paradise. At a spectacular viewpoint poised above the sea, we looked back over the narrowest part of the island. The brilliant blue sky above and the aquamarine sea made it seem like we’d escaped to the tropics. The warmth of the sun and the calling of birds in the forest only heightened this impression!
Then we entered the forest. The air smelled of roses, and the trees were incredibly unique! Gnarly trunks overgrown by vines with bright pink flowers peeping out from under dark green leaves. Everywhere there was evidence of spring. Bright lime-green leaves and ferns lay atop darker, older growth. Tiny clouds of gnats had just been born, and big buzzing bees hung suspended in the clean sea air.
In clearings we looked up to the bright blue sky and the distant cottony strands of clouds, and down to the calm sea where the shallow green water met the limitless blue of the deep. Butterflies danced in courtship in the air above our heads. The incredibly friendly trail invited us to run – but each sweet-smelling flower beckoned us to slow down and savor it all. There were so many nice resting places, and I felt so joyful in this forest! It was every kind of beautiful.
Gitdaebong was the name of the summit (yes, another Gitdaebong – just like its Dadohae friend Paryeongsan!), and this summit took the form of a stone cairn on a circular wooden platform. It was gloriously sunny with a refreshing sea breeze, so we lingered. Our views of Hongdo and its surrounding sea were absolutely breathtaking – and we did some serious celebrating up there.
Our excited, speedy ascent had left us with time to continue our exploration of Hongdo. So we ran along a lovely little ridge to a second peak. Then down through the forest, emerging in ‘2 gu’ – a tiny counterpart to the town where we began, only accessible by trail and boat! It was quaint and quiet, and we found ourselves running as softly as we could to preserve the peace.
We kept running on a little side trail that took us to a gorgeous lighthouse, then down to the seaside. All too soon it was time to turn back, but at least we had a second summit! We spent more time on Gitdaebong, soaking up the glorious scene – the best views of Dadohaehaesang National Park – before running back down to town.
We’d only seen a handful of other humans all day. Where were all the people from the ferry? The only folks we saw were a handful of grandmothers gardening in 2 gu, and a lone friendly hiker on his way up while we were going down.
I could have stayed forever, but we had a ferry to catch! We hurried down, made a loop around the narrow streets of the car-less village, and picked up our return tickets without a hitch. With a few minutes to spare, we ran back up on a secret little cliffside path over the harbor!
Finally, we had another lovely, scenic and sleepy ferry journey back through the islands to Mokpo and then onto the train to Seoul!
This was our 80th summit in Korea! It was a fast and furious trip – and one of my favorites of all time.
Know and Go! Hongdo
Transportation
Wherever you live in Korea, Hongdo is going to be a decent journey away. But that’s part of what makes this a magical destination! It’s the furthest island from the mainland in Korea’s southwest, and it feels almost as though you might sail right off the map – or over to China!
Practically speaking, getting to Hongdo requires a 2.5 hour ferry journey. Tickets for weekends and holidays should be booked in advance online here (Korean only, but you could try calling the phone number listed). It’s also important to note that there are only two ferries daily. The first leaves Mokpo at 7:50 am, arriving at Hongdo at 10:30 am. Your other option is a ferry leaving Mokpo at 1:00 pm and arriving at Hongdo at 3:30 pm. Both of these ferries can also be taken in the reverse direction, from Hongdo to Mokpo.
But first you’ll need to get to Mokpo’s fast ferry terminal! Mokpo is well-connected by rail and road, so although distant from Seoul, you should be able to get there directly.
Hike & Run
Hongdo’s main trail bears all the hallmarks of Korea’s national parks. There’s a set of nicely constructed wooden stairways to start with, and the trail through the forest is relatively wide and well-maintained. Follow this trail to Gitdaebong peak, and all the way down to the far side of the island to really explore it!
There are other trails around the island. On the far side, in 2 gu, you can visit a lighthouse and explore the coast on a walking path. On the south side of the town and ferry terminal, you can visit a sunrise observation tower. However, Yangsanbong, the peak on the south side of Hongdo, seems to be off-limits.
Despite the jagged cliffs that characterize the island, the trails to the peak is pretty runnable! Plus, it’s only a short distance to the peak, so you can challenge yourself on the stairs and then take a well-deserved rest on the peak.
Running or hiking, it’s definitely worth it head down to the tiny village of 2 gu on the far side of the island. It’s like walking into Korea a century or more ago – an atmospheric, well-preserved fishing village.
Stay & Eat
If you have the time to spare, I think it would be magical to spend the night on this quiet, remote island. There are no cars and few people, so I bet it would make for a tranquil getaway.
However, if you’re tight on time (or you live in the wilds of Gangwondo), it is possible to visit Hongdo on a day trip. There are only a couple of ferries per day though, so better plan to catch the first one and return on the last one (see transportation, above)!
Other Notes
Kent and I had a glorious time visiting Hongdo in May of 2018. We visited this beautiful island as part of our quest to climb Korea’s 120 famous summits. But we wound up really falling in love with this one!
Hongdo Gitdaebong is on the Korea Forest Service list of 100 famous mountains, available online here. It’s also part of the enchanting Dadohaehaesang National Park.
If you’d like, you can learn a little before your trip with help from the Korea National Park Service or Visit Korea. Both have short introductions to the island paradise that is Hongdo.
Gitdaebong is 365 meters directly above sea level. With its open sea views and the precipitous cliffs Hongdo is famous for, you really feel those 365 meters!
During our Hongdo trip, we did an 11k out and back run (with a lot of pauses and exploratory squiggles).
Want more of Korea’s marvelous mountains? Head back to the 120 summits main page, or check out the other national parks across Korea!