A Beautiful City, Suncheon

Where do you want to go in Korea? I will recommend a city I want to go again and again. It is a city called Suncheon (순천) which is located in Jeollanam-do Province (전라남도), south of the Korea Peninsula. You can see where it is with map below

When you are in Seoul you can go Suncheon by bus, by train and maybe airplane. If you want to go by bus, it is only way to go to the Central City Terminal located in Gangnam. In subway, Express Bus Terminal Station (고속버스터미널역) on Line 3, 7, 9. The express bus fare for Suncheon depends on bus class. The fare for the premium bus services is 28,600 won and for ordinary bus services is 19,300. And it takes about 4 hours. The buses run about twice per hour. Bus class is depends on when you take a bus.

If you want to go by train, you have to go to Yongsan Station (용산역). The subway station is Yongsan Station on the Jungang Line (중앙선). The train fare and time for Suncheon depends on train class. The fare for ITX is 37,800 won and it takes about less 4 hours. The fare for KTX is 44,000 won and it takes about 2 1/2 hours. The fare for Mugunghwa-ho is 25,400 won and it takes about more than 4 hours. The trains run about twice per hour and class is depends on you, too.

It takes long time to go to the Suncheon. So I recommend train more. Because train is more free than bus. You can stand up and buy something to eat in train.

There are 3 places to introduce in Suncheon. Suncheonman Bay (순천만) and Suncheon Garden Expo Korea (순천만 국가정원) and Song-gwang-sa Temple (송광사).

Suncheonman Bay has beautiful view. I think Suncheonman Bay is the best place to see the view of the sunset. But it is not easy to see. Because you can see the sunset when the weather is nice. When you see the sunset I recommend to climb the hill. It will be better than in the field.

Don’t be frustrated because of cloudy weather. Suncheonman Bay has a large silver grass field, too. In summer it is pretty green. In fall it changes to yellow. Both views are great, but the silver grass is much greater when it is yellow. It is fall! It is time to go to Suncheonman Bay!

Next, Suncheon Garden Expo Korea. It is located near Suncheonman Bay. Garden Expo has many gardens from other countries such as China, Japan, Spain and any other countries. Garden Expo has an entrance fee of 8,000 Won and it includes entrance fee for Suncheonman Bay. Garden Expo is so large that it takes long time to look around all of the gardens. And it would be better to wear comfortable shoes to walk because you have to walk and walk. Sure there is a train to look around the Garden Expo, but I think it is just waste of money. Garden Expo is green so it made me relaxed. In Garden Expo you can go to the Suncheonman Bay with a small train like a ball.

Last, Song-gwang-sa Temple. This temple was built many years ago at the later stages of the Silla Dynasty, about eight hundred years ago. Of course, this temple was repaired many times. This temple is far from the bus terminal and train station. It takes about 1 1/2 hours to get there. Song-gwang-sa Temple is so secluded that you can feel silent. It has nice view, especially when it rains.

I introduced in order, Suncheonman Bay and Suncheon Garden Expo Korea because I think Suncheonman Bay is the most beautiful place in the area. But when you go there it would be better to go to the Garden Expo first and then visit Suncheonman Bay. Maybe it will be hard to go these three place in a day. So I recommend to look around slowly in two days. Go to Suncheon and I promise you will see the most beautiful view in the world.

Article by Hyosik from Korea