Yangyang: Beach Club Nights & Mountain Wellness

A 1,300-year-old Buddhist temple perched dramatically on a cliff above the East Sea. The 16-metre Haesugwaneumsang (bronze Goddess of Mercy statue) gazes out to sea, while the Uisangdae Pavilion on its rocky headland offers some of the most breathtaking ocean panoramas in the country. Especially beautiful at sunrise.

The small working harbour right below Naksansa is lined with local restaurants specialising in seop-guk (wild mussel soup) and jjaebokttang (clam soup). Pick your own live seafood from the tanks and have it prepared as sashimi or grilled. The ocean views from the harbour restaurant decks are superb.

Korea's #1 surf destination — the country's first dedicated surf beach. Bamboo beach bars, hammocks, bean bags, and the yellow signature photo zones create a Bali-meets-East-Sea atmosphere. Even non-surfers love it. Surfboard rentals and beginner lessons available on-site.

Ingu Beach is Yangyang's most active surf spot — dozens of surf schools with English, Japanese, and Chinese-speaking instructors. A 2-hour beginner lesson covers sand basics then moves into the water; most first-timers stand up by the end. Gentle, consistent waves make it ideal for learners.

Yangyang's beachside strip of Ingu and Jukdo beaches that comes fully alive after dark — craft burger joints, surf-themed pubs, open-air BBQ spots, and clubs. In summer, beach bonfires and bar parties spill onto the sand. A true K-beach nightlife experience unlike anything in Seoul.

Where Sokcho's outer Seoraksan is all granite peaks and drama, the southern Seoraksan accessed from Yangyang's Osaek is a world of pristine valley streams and ancient primeval forest. The Jujeongol trail follows an emerald gorge on a mostly flat wooden boardwalk — perfect for walkers who aren't serious hikers. The autumn foliage here rivals anywhere in Korea.

After the hike, the village restaurants around the famous Osaek mineral spring serve sanchijeongshik — a full spread of fresh mountain vegetables (namul), grilled hwangtae (dried pollack), grilled deodeok root, and the star attraction: bluish-tinted dolsot rice cooked with the iron-rich Osaek spring water. Foreign visitors are always fascinated by the colour-changing rice.

Korea's most unusual spa experience — a naturally carbonated hot spring where the low-temperature mineral water covers your skin in soda-bubble clusters the moment you submerge. Unlike the intense heat of standard jjimjilbang, the effervescent water is gentle on the body and is said to improve circulation. The outdoor pool looks directly up at the Seoraksan ridgeline.

A coastal hermitage whose name means "a place to rest and let go." The highlight is a huge boulder on the shore that, from a certain angle, resembles a reclining Bodhisattva gazing at the sea. In the tidal shallows below the temple, tens of thousands of hwangeo (ide fish) swarm — visitors buy fish food and feed them from the rocks, a uniquely peaceful and joyful experience to end the trip.