Songdo Beach is South Korea’s very first public beach and it features clean sandy beaches, a beautifully designed skywalk, cable cars with breathtaking views, and more. Let’s dive into its beauty.
Location
- Songdo Beach: 100, Songdohaebyeon-ro, Seo-gu, Busan, South Korea
- Songdo Cloud Trails: 156, Songdohaebyeon-ro, Seo-gu, Busan, South Korea
Hours
- Open year-round
- Songdo Cloud Trails: 6 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Admission
Free
Directions
Subway: Line 1 (Orange Line). Get off at Jagalchi Station (자갈치/110), Exit 2 > Walk about 300m (about 1,000 feet) to Chungmu-dong gyocharo (충무동 교차로) bus stop > Transfer to Bus No. 26, 30, or 71 > Get off at Songdo Haesuyokjang (송도해수욕장 / Songdo Beach) bus stop
Parking
Paid Parking at Songdo Beach Parking Lot
Contact
- Call: Songdo Beach – Seogu Tourist Information Center +82 51-231-0252 / Songdo Cloud Trails – (9 a.m. – 6 p.m.) +82 51-240-4086 or (6 a.m. – 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. – 11 p.m.) +82 51-240-4222
- Website: Busan Seo-gu Tourism Homepage
Songdo Beach, South Korea’s First Public Beach
Songdo Beach is South Korea’s first public beach. It opened in 1913 and celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2013. Thanks to its location close to the original downtown of Busan, the beach got popular and it was developed way before Haeundae Beach and Gwangalli Beach rose to fame. Even more, the beach was once a top destination for a honeymoon.
Songdo Beach started losing its popularity once the water pollution in the area became serious. Too many restaurants, houses, lodges, and hotels were built and, eventually, the development around the beach went beyond control. Unfortunately, its natural beauty and fame turned into two sides of the sword. Since then, visitors began to leave for Haeundae and Gwangalli, and Songdo Beach completely lost its glory in the 1990s.
The renewal project for Songdo Beach began in 2000 and it brought back the beach into its heyday. Now Songdo Beach is one of the top beaches in South Korea with over five million annual visitors, thanks to beautiful sandy beaches, clean water, Songdo Cloud Trails, and Songdo Cable Cars. The beach made a list of the 100 Must-Visit Tourism Spots of Korea by The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization two consecutive times from 2019 to 2021.
Songdo Cloud Trails
Songdo Cloud Trails (also called Songdo Skywalk) is 365 meters long and connects Songdo Beach and Turtle Island. This skywalk resembles a dragon in a curved shape.
Visitors can enjoy an amazing view of the ocean and Songdo Cable Car above. At the same time, they will feel like walking over the sea while watching the ocean through a glass floor.
Songdo Cloud Trails is one of the top three skywalks in Busan along with Oryukdo Skywalk and Cheongsapo Daritdol Observatory.
Love Story of Turtle Island (거북섬 / Geobukseom)
On the way to the endpoint of Songdo Cloud Trails, you will step on Turtle Island (거북섬). The small island has a sad love story: A long, long time ago, a fisherman took shelter in a cave during the storm. He found a woman severely injured and took care of her with all the medicinal herbs he could find. Finally, she woke up. She told him that she was the daughter of the King of the Sea and she was actually a dragon. She got hurt while fighting against the sea monster to protect fishermen. As you may guess, they fell in love, and the princess started praying for a thousand days to become human to get married to the fisherman.
Alas, on the last day of one thousand days, the sea monster came out and interrupted the prayer. The fisherman found out this and he went out to the sea to fight against the sea monster with other village people. Although he won the battle, he lost his life during the fight. The princess couldn’t become a complete human, either, and sadly became a half-woman half-dragon. The King of the Sea had mercy for these two lovebirds. He turned the fisherman into the Turtle Rock and let the princess live on the rock so that they could stay together forever. In addition, the King blesses the visitors to Turtle Island with long life and wealth. If a couple visits the place, he lets their love last.
Annual Festival at Songdo Beach
Every October, the Mackerel Festival is held on Songdo Beach. Visitors can buy mackerels at better prices and taste various food made with this fish. Participants enjoy various music stages, quiz competitions, catching mackerels with bare hands, and many more events.
During summer, Hyeonin Gayoje opens on the beach as well. It’s an annual joint concert to commemorate Hyeonin, a famous Korean singer from the 1950s. Participating singers are mainly trot singers, and yet you can see singers from more genres including Kpop idol groups.
In Songdo Beach Area
If your schedule allows, you may spend a full day around the Songdo Beach area. Since its rebirth, Songdo Marine Cable Car has been a must-try attraction in Busan. Just steps away from the cable car station, the newly opened Songo Yonggung Suspension Bridge stands. From there you can enjoy hiking, either to Dudo Observatory through Amnam Park or back to Songdo Beach through Songdo Coastal Bollegil Trail, which is a part of the Busan Galmatgil Trail. And, of course, numerous cafes and restaurants will fill you up with good caffeine or delicious Korean food.
Things To Do Nearby: Gamcheon Culture Village
One of the most popular destinations in Busan is near Songdo Beach. Read a full post about Gamcheon Culture Village.
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