Suncheon

Introduction

Suncheon is a scenic agricultural and industrial city in the southeast of Jeonnam-Gwangju, South Korea. It is the largest city in the province, and its best-known attraction is Suncheon Bay.

It also makes a convenient base for exploring the surrounding area: the port city of Yeosu lies around forty minutes to the south, while Gwangyang is twenty minutes to the east.

Before you go

Getting there

Suncheon is reached by intercity bus from Seoul, with departures from the Express Bus Terminal (고속버스터미널). The journey takes around three hours and fifty minutes, so plan for the better part of a day on the road.

Getting around

Suncheon is easiest to navigate by combining public transport for longer hops with walking for the sights that cluster together. City buses are the workhorse of local transport, and almost every one passes both Suncheon station and the bus terminal, so these two points work well as places to pick up a route or change between services. City bus 77 is the most useful and frequent line for visitors: it links the old town with the new town by crossing the city. Suncheon station is a focal point of the local network and is served by the city's buses, making it straightforward to connect a train arrival with onward local travel. The source does not describe a metro or tram system, so plan on buses, taxis, bicycles and walking instead.

Cycling is not especially well catered for in Suncheon, but riding a bike along the Dongcheon stream toward Suncheon Bay is recommended, and the city has a well-managed public bicycle service for short, flexible trips. Walking suits the sights that sit close together, including the garden and wetland areas around Suncheon Bay, the historic walled town and folk village at Naganeupseong, and the film-location village in Jorye-dong, which preserves buildings from earlier decades. For crossing between the old town and the new town, look for city bus 77.

Where to stay

Accommodation in Suncheon clusters around two main areas, so your choice depends on how you arrive and what you plan to do. If you come in by train, look for guesthouses near Suncheon station. If you arrive by bus, motels are found around the bus terminal and in the new town.

• Suncheon station area — guesthouses, convenient if you are travelling by rail.
• Bus terminal and new town — motels, plus a brand new high class hotel in the new town if you want something more upmarket.

Food & drink

Suncheon's food scene is rooted in the markets and streets of the old town, where you can eat well without spending much. Head to Ut-jang market for the pork stew street (dwaeji-gukbap golmok), a cluster of restaurants serving the hearty pork-and-rice soup that Koreans reach for at any hour. Nearby, the duck dish street (ori golmok) reflects South Jeolla's reputation for duck: the province supplies a large share of Korea's duck meat, and the restaurants here turn it into duck stew and duck barbecue. If you're after something more challenging, look for mud hopper stew (jjangdungeotang), a spicy seafood stew that even many Koreans find an acquired taste.

For a sit-down meal, Byeok-dong in the Byeok-dong area is a barley rice restaurant open Monday to Saturday. To drink, try a cup of reed tea (galdaecha) made with reeds from Suncheon Bay, and order ipsaeju, the regional soju of South Jeolla, which is poured at almost every restaurant and bar in town.

What to see and do

In the old town, you can visit the Suncheon National University Museum for historic artifacts from the east of South Jeolla province, housed in a new two-story building. Maesan-road holds historical buildings constructed by Christian missionaries in the early 20th century, while Munhwauigeori, the Cultural street connected to Jungang-dong, is a small lane of traditional tea shops, cafes, restaurants and handicraft shops. For a view over the old town, walk about 30 minutes up Jukdobong Park, starting from Origolmok in Jogok-dong or the Railroad official residence village, also in Jogok-dong. In the new town, the Suncheon drama open set, reachable by citybus 77, is where many Korean films and dramas set in the 1960s to 1980s were shot.

In the suburbs, Naganeupseong Castle is a well-preserved Joseon dynasty era fortress built in 1397, and Suncheon Waeseong Castle was built during the second Japanese invasion of Korea in 1597. Songgwangsa Temple dates from 867, and Seonamsa Temple, dating from 861, has natural tea fields cultivated for many hundreds of years and is one of the Korean mountain monasteries inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Suncheon Bay is known for its vast reed fields and diverse bird species, and is especially beautiful at sunset. For activities, you can ride a bike or walk along Dongcheon, the East stream, or experience the night life of small regional college students along Suncheondaehakro, the Suncheon university street. At Hanokgeulbang, a Korean-style library on the Cultural street, you can read in a hanok building, though you should bring your own books unless you read Korean.

Three days in Suncheon

Day one: Start in Suncheon itself, getting your bearings in Jeonnam, South Korea. It is easy to reach from Seoul by bus from the Express Bus Terminal, and from nearby Gwangju, Yeosu and Gwangyang. Begin with the city's cultural side: the Suncheon National University Museum and the Munhwauigeori Cultural district give you context on the region. In the evening, eat Korean food in the city centre.

Day two: Head out to Suncheon Bay, the reason many travellers come this far down South Jeolla. Beyond the bay, the reed beds and tidal flats reward slow walking rather than rushing. If you have energy left, cycling along the Dongcheon is a good way to see the city from a different angle.

Day three: Go to Naganeupseong, the walled town, for a half day. Nearby you can also visit Jorye and Byeok. For accommodation, base yourself in Suncheon and use it as a hub for the surrounding area. Before you leave, note that some sites close on Monday, so plan around Saturday and Sunday if those are your main days.